Caravan
I thought it was somewhere temporary. At least that’s what I thought a caravan was supposed to be. In the dictionary, it is defined as a vehicle towed by a car, used for holidays.
Allusions to a transient nature aside, I enjoyed parking myself in its rather permanent (and industrial) establishment.
Open airy spaces, steel reinforcements and bare wooden tables. It made me feel relaxed. Funny how tastes change over time. In the industrial age, I can easily image that this may have been the setting of a brutal steelworks. Hammering, sparks flying and an unbearably hot temperature. Perhaps the romantic notion of sweaty, industrial blue collar workers is what led to Brexit Britain. After all, isn’t that the whole reason for breaking away from the continent? So we can onshore such work to the UK, where it belongs. Yet, I digress and I would not want you to listen to my tirade of how the “will of the people”, that rather zealously overused phrase, justifies the oppression of the extremely sizeable minority.
Jalapeño cornbread, chorizo, avocado, chipotle butter, fried eggs. This was rather good. The deeper vegetable taste of the bread, the meaty pungent chorizo, the smooth avocado and delicate eggs went down well. The combination of all these elements served to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Now if this was food that you could often expect while travelling hitched to a trailer, I would be all for more road trips.
Paprika and spring onion waffle, thick cut bacon, maple-date butter. The bacon was eminently meaty, just as it was supposed to be. Perhaps I am scarred by restaurants offering “thick cut bacon” but then copping out with some sad rind from the backside of a pig. However, this was the real deal. The waffle pattern helped to create an interesting taste with the syrup pooled into the rectangles waiting to burst into your mouth and the salty bacon. Good.
Latte. With a little heart, I think the idea was that it was supposed to bring out reciprocal gushy feelings from me towards Caravan. Unfortunately, it was just something rather ordinary. Although, perhaps they did get one element of the transient life right here, as it was slightly burnt and bitter.
It was a pleasant day to visit. Light filled. Industrial feeling. The food, as some may describe it, was wholesome and fresh. Just like being out in the UK countryside. I guess we all need things to cheer us up in these sometime torrid (both literally and figuratively) days. I guess we can all just hope that this is a phase and it will pass soon. In the meantime, why not enjoy the transient nature of life from an aptly named and pleasant restaurant. Caravan, here I come.
A quiet eating 7/10.
Lunch (1 course) was GBP10 excluding drinks and service.
22 Bloomberg Arcade,
London EC4N 8AR