We have a semi-quest on-going with the neighbours: find the best ribs establishment in Town. Until now it has been Frankie and Benny's in the O2. Last night we tried Bodean's in Tower Hill which was a qualified success.

The decor of the place was truly amazing, a vaguely updated, American-themed, 50s restaurant: red walls, antler chandeliers and metal pig's head light fittings. Odd. I was rather horrified, if we are honest, but Daniel loved it.

The menu had plenty of barbecue favourites, and we both had a starter which included pulled pork. I had supreme nachos and Daniel a quesadilla. We had looked up what pulled pork was before arriving, and it sounded reasonably interesting. It tasted a lot better than it sounded; yummy, tender, flavoursome pork. This really made both of our dishes. Nachos with plenty of pulled pork were meat-tastic and the pulled pork-stuffed quesadillas were excellent.

We had both decided to go for a slab of baby back ribs, Daniel taking them with onions rings and I chose barbecue beans. The sides dishes were perfectly nice, the big onion rings a particular treat, but the ribs were a bit odd. They had a lovely smoked aroma, and looked quite meaty, but the texture was rather dry and tough. Nice barbecue sauce on them, but just a bit too chewy.

Drink of choice is Sierra Navada Pale Ale by the pint. Two courses and a pint each cost £55. I'd like to return, but will go for more pulled pork and fewer ribs next time.

Menu and contact details on their website.

The partner is just back from Finland were they sell the most appealingly-named soup you could wish to try:

Red soup

Yellow soup

And, most thrillingly, white soup. Yum.

more fail, owned and pwned pics and videos

I'm roasting a chicken, one of the excellent organic Sheepdrove Farm chicken that Waitrose sell. I am using a slight variation on my fool-proof recipe I posted back in June. The only difference is that I made a couple of cuts in the skin and shoved some un-salted butter, tarragon and chives under the skin and against the flesh. The idea being that the butter will make the chicken even more moist and the herbs will transfer more flavour. This "under the skin"-technique is what you do with truffles if you are fortunate enough to have some and want a lovely, truffled chicken.