48 hours and counting in london

Josh and I decided another movie was in store today.  Not that there are not plenty of cultural things we could opt for, we have just both had enough. 

Our movie wasn't playing for awhile so we stopped at a pub in Leicester Square.  I had half a pint.

We split the ploughman's lunch.  I basically lived on the ploughman's lunch and ale my semester abroad.  No wonder I gained about 15 pounds when I lived here. 

Still time to kill so we went to see an exhibit at the National Gallery called Close Examinations:  Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries.  The exhibit shows how vital science is in investigating a paintings physical properties and can determine if the piece was really made by the supposed artist.  Interesting but neither of us are big fans of art made before the mid 1800's which is really what the exhibit was about.   Outside the National Gallery has an ice cream cart.  Really good.  We shared an ice cream.

Took a look at the Maze that has been erected in Trafalgar Square.  Is Trafalgar Square every quiet?

Movie time.  We went to see Eclipse, the new Twilight film.  Yes, we did.  We knew it was going to be terrible but Josh felt he had to see it.  He read the first three books and said he bagged it when he began the fourth.  Brutally slow and the whole plot is contrived around the age old tale of two boys are in love with one girl.  She must pick between the two of them.  Ugh.  Torture.

Dinner was really delicious.  We went to Bocco di Lupo.  Great menu, great vibe.  Felt like we were somewhere in Milan.  Loved the chandelier in the back room which is the only dining room.  The rest of the dining takes place at the bar.  Small place.  Not my favorite neighborhood but perfect for pre/post-theater.

Almost everything on the menu comes small or large and notes the region.  You can order fried items a la carte.  I got mozzarella, artichokes and zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovy for the table.  The artichokes were beautiful.  No reason to stuff anchovy in the flowers but still good.

Jess went with the caponata, her favorite.  I really liked how chunky it was.  Delicious.

I had the salad of shaved radishes, celeriac, pecorino cheese mixed with pomegranates and truffle oil.  Excellent.  Crisp and a really nice mixture of flavors.

Fred and Em went with a ravioli.  Nettle and chard stuffed ravioli with a walnut sauce (pesto sauce using walnuts instead of basil).  Wow.  Rich and beyond good.  Josh has the chilled broad bean, zucchini and basil soup.  Simple, tasty and a nice start.

For the mains, Josh and Fred had the roast suckling pig.  A tad dry but I liked the presentation.  I would have liked to peak in the kitchen to see how they went about cutting up the pig.  Each piece was a totally different.

Em and I went with the whole grilled sea bream with lemon and oil.  Simple.  Well done.  Jess had a plate of red prawns, sea bream, langoustines and scallop crudo seasoned with a little bit of rosemary oil.

Side were cold spinach with lemon and oil.

Roast fennel with thin slices of crisp oranges and red onions.  The orange was key.  Very good.  Might have to recreate this at home.  Some cannellini beans with tomatoes and sage went around too.

Not that easy to get into.  I made the reservations when we first got here.  Not a lot of seating.  Glad we went.  Good spot.  Recommend it.