Kimchi
CLAW
www.clawfood.com, www.3compasses.com
Lobster BLT
@ The Three Compasses, 99 Dalston Lane, London E8 1NH
@ The Three Compasses Reviewed by Michael M Sandwick
P
op up restaurants are an offshoot of the street food culture that has turned London into pig heaven. So trendy, they are popping up like popcorn all over. Even in our local pubs! Under-cover street food. YES! Let’s face it, no one has ever written a happy little song about dining in the rain! Too, when you pop out to your neighborhood pop up, you never get same old-same old. Win-win! The Three Compasses is a very cosy pub, just a short walk from Dalston Junction. It’s known for friendly service and indeed, Ryan took very good care of us. It has just the right combination of edge and atmosphere; cool, with period leather banquettes and lighting that even I look good in! All very sedate, till I went to the gents. Here the designer went a bit gaga, painted the walls gold and hung a chandelier! I guess there’s a little
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The American
Louis Quatorze in us all! The kitchen runs by residency only, so there is a new pop-up every few months. Until the end of January, it was CLAW that manned the pots and pans. Founded by Fabian Clark, CLAW is quite simply, a tribute to the Devon crab, street food style. The CLAW menu consists solely of burgers from £8.50 to £12 and three side dishes. The quality is very good. Local, sustainable, responsible, organic and most importantly, tasty! There are fish, octopus, meat and veg options, but we decided to stick with the crab theme. Samphire (£10) consisted of crab, iceberg, samphire, claw sauce and organic brioche. Simple and to the point, this was crab at its best, lifted by hip sea veg and a good, soft bun. The Kimchi, also at £10 was the spicy version, with the addition of hot Korean cabbage and a chili remoulade. A flavor bomb with lots of kick, but if you really want the
taste of crab, go with the Samphire. As there were only three sides, we decided to sample all of them. The Arancini (£4) was by far the best of the bunch. Crab risotto balls, filled with mozzarella, deep fried and served with lemon aioli. Excellent! Lots going on, great crust, piping hot and still the delicate taste of crab. The Slaw at £3 was just a simple red cabbage slaw without the usual gobs of runny mayo. Quite sweet, but enjoyable and filled me with veggie virtue while I was stuffing my gob and swilling East London gin! The Crab & Mac (£5) didn’t work at all. There was simply no taste, crab or cheese. It was a shame. Everything else was on the money. In fact, I would be more than happy if CLAW would pop up in my hood. Check out their website for where you can get your CLAWS on their Devon crab! www.clawfood. com