Gourmet Food Courts

Humans in the Western Hemisphere of Planet Earth in the early part of the 21st century are involved with sex, love, family, friends, survival, work, entertainment, tattooing, drinking, shopping, buying overpriced beauty products, travel, healthy or unhealthy eating, drugs, pop music, and sex. 

Me? Mostly I just do lunch.

If like me, you eat out often, and again like me, you do that alone too often, you probably appreciate the new gourmet food courts that have been cropping up everywhere. I know I do. These places don’t seem to care if you're alone or in a party of ten. You get the same service. And they don't expect a reservation. The best ones are not really cheap but the bill comes to less than it would in an old fashion, full-service restaurant. And the cuisine is a level higher and more interesting. 

The Time Out Market in Lisbon, their first, is huge with 24 food stalls, 8 bars, shops, and live music concerts. It's become Lisbon's number one tourist attraction. There are now Time Out Markets in Miami, Boston, Chicago, Montreal, and one just a short walk from where I stayed with my friend in DUMBO Brooklyn. There's another one scheduled to open in London next year. 

Frankly, I found the Time Out in Lisbon overwhelming. Variety is nice but too much variety makes it hard to choose. 

Here in Liverpool, we now have the Duke Street Food and Drink Market. They opened recently in an attractive, bright space with 7 food stalls. One does very good Italian (at last!), and another features Cuban cuisine. All eateries these days offer both vegetarian and vegan items on their menus. 



The one thing I have a problem with at Duke Street is understanding the various stall menus. I have no idea what they have on offer at the (Spanish?) place on the top level . . . and I just spent almost a year in Seville.  

The Vanishing Siesta

It was in Rome in the summer of '66, I believe, when I first discovered the beneficial pleasures of an afternoon nap. Italians used the Spanish word siesta, a so much more attractive term for losing consciousness for a brief time during the day. The Italian is pisolo or pisolino. Siesta sounds adult, sophisticated, and exotic. 

Naps are for kids. 

I was walking around in the heat of the afternoon taking pictures and I stopped in the little park across from the Santa Maria Church where they keep The Mouth of Truth. Three men were sprawled out on stone benches fast asleep. That looks like a good idea, I remember thinking. And the next day I tried it myself for the first time, but in my bed in Trastevere. 

In modern Spain, the business community has all but done away with the traditional siesta. That's true in Italy too. I, however, remain loyal to this Mediterranean tradition. Zzzzzz.

This worked well when I was on a travel photo assignment. I'd start the day at sunrise, work until lunch, read a bit and sleep for thirty to forty minutes. Then I'd get back to shooting pictures until the night descended. So I skipped that part of the day when the sun was directly overhead and produced unattractive lighting. Well, that's what I told myself, how I rationalized my schedule. 

What did I do on those days when I had to be up and moving and miss my siesta, you're thinking. I would adjust. For one thing, I would not have wine or beer at lunch. 

I've been finding some better places to eat here in Liverpool. More on that next week. 

Those Herring Gulls

Here in Liverpool, I have three separate alarm systems to wake me in the morning. There’s my iPhone and then there's my internal clock that wakes me just before the phone alarm goes off. If either of those were to fail, I now have cawing herring gulls as they greet the dawn. 

As I recall, the seagulls we had in New York City looked about half the size of European Herring Gulls. These are big birds. I've been told that they can be a real nuisance, swooping down to steal food from people trying to enjoy an alfresco snack. I've never actually seen them do that but I'm sure it's true. 

These sea birds are found of chips (French fried potatoes or fries to Americans). Sometimes I stop and talk to one of these gulls, point out that they should be flying out over the Irish Sea to find a herring because herrings have far more nutritional value than chips. I could point this out to British humans, too. In Liverpool, even the Indian, Mexican, and Middle Eastern restaurants serve chips. 

"Listen up, big bird. It's just not right that a guy from New York should eat more herring than you do. You're living on garbage. Cold chips dropped on the ground? That's garbage! You have those big strong wings. Get out there and fly! Do some fishing!"

I'm either ignored or I get an angry caw for an answer. 

"Mama! Where are my chips?"

I asked Paul what he would do about these gulls. He's from Liverpool, I think. He just stood there like a statue and said nothing.

Okay okay, like the herring gulls, I don't get all my calories from fish, fruit, and veggies either. I've been known to consume other things from time to time. 

I came upon this statue or bas-relief of the mythical Liver Bird on the side of a building recently. Is that a chip it has in its beak?

Breakfast for Lunch

Both the full-Irish and full-England breakfasts are more than I can face in the morning. I get up early and these large breakfasts are just too much, too much meat, too much fat, too rich, and in general just too much food. I’m not talking about healthy eating here, just what I can't face on an empty stomach. I never eat dinner. 

For those of you who are not from these parts, the full-Irish always includes both black and white pudding. Those are options with the full-English (also known as a fry-up), which often has some baked bean on the plate. I do occasionally eat this large fry-up but I have it at lunch. Both full breakfasts have fried eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and . . . and . . . I think that's it. Usually, even at lunch, my breakfasts are somewhat less full.

Breakfast for lunch is something I do about once a week.

Liverpool’s Côte Brasserie is next door to the John Lewis department store. It's part of the large UK chain featuring French food. Well, French-inspired food. On their menu is a French breakfast that includes black mushrooms and boudin noir, the French version of black pudding. The scrambled eggs and crisp, streaky bacon will make Americans think of home. I like a lot of the other things on the Côte menu beside the breakfasts. And their prices seem fair.



Another plus for me? They play soft jazz in the background instead of pop or rock. 

Brasseries and bistros are what French cuisine has become. And the Spanish tapas concept has caught on everywhere, a choice of portions sizes on a smaller menu. That's fine with me. Where, outside of a few restaurants in Lyon, Paris, and Brussels, do you find classic haute cuisine nowadays? 




The other place I favor for the occasional breakfast-like lunch is the small and cheerful Dale Street Kitchen. No jazz, but it has the added attraction of being very inexpensive. The mix that you see above is smoked salmon, guacamole, chili aubergine (eggplant), roasted tomatoes, and poached eggs. That comes with toasted brown bread. Lucy in the Sky near the Town Hall is nice too, but smaller than Dale Street and they don't serve wine or beer.

I've not yet found many good places to eat in Liverpool. And there are over 1,000 to choose from. Am I being too picky? I don't think so. I'm looking for food that's healthy, fresh, tasty, and authentic. I'm also interested in cost. Modern places that serve food here and everywhere are more interested in the presentation. It's showbiz. 

I found three very good Italian restaurants in Ireland. That was a real surprise. And the best one was in Sligo. The ones I've tried here, even the most popular place on Stanley Street, have been disappointing. However, let me point out that I did not like the food in New York's Little Italy either. So maybe with Italian cooking, I am picky. Okay, more than picky. I'm unforgiving when it comes to mediocre Italian cuisine. 

Bacaro on Castle Street is not bad for Italian. It's not authentic but it's not bad. They don't make the mistake of adding more and more items to a recipe thinking that will make things better. I'll be trying them again.