cupcake club: the event

So, to some pictures from the cupcake club meet itself.

Unfortunately marred by the tube strike, the turnout was pretty tight but everyone who came along was lovely - there was Anne from I heart Cupcakes and Manny, Kelly from An American Cupcake in London and Marcus, who came along bearing extremely delicious brandy snaps and also very kindly bought me a pint of Blue Moon.

We ate cakes, we talked about the Walking Dead and moaned about TFL and afterwards I felt like I never wanted to eat a cake again (I soon recovered from that).

Firstly Kelly made both mulled wine and gingerbread cupcakes, aside from the sweet gingerbread men the cakes were delish. Even Mr LROC liked them and he only likes fruit cake. Anne's caramel and Bailey's cakes with a soft centre and Quality Street on the top were amazing and just the thing for a pre-Christmas get together. Also, suitably festive were her sprout cakes which won a prize for most novel cake at Cupcake Camp. Although tasting much more like a carrot cake and the cake itself being delicious, I couldn't shake the knowledge that I was eating sprouts, but well worth a try.

On that note it will be fab to meet up again, and hopefully some more cake bloggers too.

the commercial tavern

The Commercial Tavern on Commercial Street in Spitalfields isn't an amazing pub - I've had fun playing pool there and knocking back drinks with friends but it still doesn't really have the feel of a local. That said it's a pretty good place for a drink after a sojourn around Brick Lane and the various Sunday markets.

What is remarkable about it however are two things - the fantastic selection of offbeat beers, real ales and locally brewed whatnots including, you guessed it, Meantime and the extraordinary eclectic interior. Late on Sunday afternoon Mr LROC and I decided to stop by for a swift few and I took a couple of photos.

I would highly recommend the Meantime Helles - much nicer than their London Pale Ale and with a light German taste (I'm guessing it's called Helles because it is just that - since Hell is German for light) so if you're in the area do stop by.

the old brewery, greenwich

I do like a brew, even better if it's made locally, so it's natural that I should like the Meantime Brewery based, naturlich, in Greenwich.

They already have a pub, called the Greenwich Union, but when I heard that they had opened a kind of bar/cafe/restaurant in the old naval college I was pretty much beyond excited, but it took until a hot weekend in July to tempt me over there.

Unlike a lot of English breweries Meantime is about more than real ale, in fact ale, with the exception of their London IPA, in practically off the menu in exchange for lovely hoppy malty, European style beers and lagers. They also serve a selection of bottled trappist beers, American lager on tap such as Brooklyn lager and various other German beers like Schneider Weisse. Carlsberg, is, fortunately totally off the menu.

We both tried their Kellerbier, although this is the first time I've opted for it, their Pilsner is becoming almost commonplace in pubs and bars around the UK and I've drunk it a number of times. It was pleasant, though I think I thought I would find it a bit less bitter and a bit more refreshing, in line with the Pilsner.

I am ordinarily a massive fan of wheat beer, but the brief tagline on the pump which mentioned it tasted of clove put me off, so anyone who has tasted it please let me know I this is the case.

Mr LROC sampled a Kolner, when quizzed about it he said it was 'like a lager, but nice' so you can see what I have to put up with! My second drink was a Brooklyn lager, described as a 'smooth full bodied lager' it was dark, cool and hoppy.

They also have a restaurant and cafe, although the restaurant menu is served only from 6pm and errs on the pricey side it is all designed to complement the beer and what we did see coming out from the kitchen to the shaded al fresco garden looked delicious.

Personally, as a beer lover, it's great to see somewhere take a stand from to dominance of wine with food and a great place to visit on a sunny weekend.