McDonald's "English Pub Burger" is an insult to our native cuisine
If someone asks you if you fancy an English Pub burger, the correct response is Yes! This sandwich is smashing, made with 1/3 lb of 100 percent Angus beef, hickory-smoked bacon, white cheddar and American cheese, grilled onions, tangy steak sauce and and smokey Dijon mustard sauce all housed on an artisan roll. It’s so tasty you’ll be gobsmacked!
In England…
Fancy means feel like or would like
Smashing means excellent or awesome
Gobsmacked means astonished or astounded
So to recap: the “English Pub Burger” uses Angus beef (from Scotland, originally), hickory smoking (a technique beloved of the American deep south), American cheese (from America), and Dijon mustard (originated in France). The grilled onions we’ll let them have.
Shame on McDonalds for traducing our culinary heritage in this way. A true English pub burger must be made from 100% intensively farmed smartprice beef, microwaved bacon, a single cheese slice, topped with ketchup from a brand you’ve never heard of but which certainly isn’t Heinz, all housed on a deliciously soggy bun. I won’t accept anything else, and neither should you. It’s our culture, for goodness sake.
07 Jul 2011
London agenda for Thursday 7 July
1. Immerse oneself into re:Definition – Kano [Le Cool]
2. Crawl into a deep, dark tunnel and ArtWank [Run Riot]
3. Share an obsession with outer space at Kerry Tribe: Dead Star Light [Flavorpill]
4. Reject any notion about the effectiveness of protesting [Ian Visits]
5. Visit Peter de Wit’s Cafe [Tired of London]
07 Jul 2011
Reviewed: The revamped Hoxton Square
Work on Hoxton Square 2.0 has been completed. Here are my observations, based on a brief visit last night.
1. The flowers and shrubs are to die for. I have no idea what most of them are, but the planting is excellent, there’s a nice variety of green in the foliage, the occasional splash of colour in the petals, and it all looks really nice. Hopefully this will last.
2. It is too soon to judge the long term impact on the square’s clientele. However, preliminary investigation revealed that at 7.30pm last night there were 7 groups lolling on the grass, 3 smaller groups sitting on the benches, and 1 man lounging on a wall. Estimated total population: 30-35.
3. Of these, 3 males were wearing caps, and 3 were wearing sunglasses (it was cloudy). Approximately 7 males had beards. At least 2 females were wearing denim shorts, and indeed denim proliferated widely among all groups. The majority of people were drinking from cans. Red Stripe appeared the favourite.
4. The shiny new litter and recycling bins appeared to be well used. Litter was sparse across the square. However it must be noted that the man lounging on the wall spat violently on the floor a couple of times during my observations. He appeared unrepentant.
5. It was cheering to see that staple of East End life, the redundant flyer, making an appearance. The fact that “doggy day care” is advertised in Hoxton Square was, for me, a comforting sign that although the landscape may have been refreshed, the ethos of the place remains intact.
07 Jul 2011
Future Islands - Before The Bridge
Future Islands – Before the Bridge from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.
Here’s the striking video for Snipe favourites Future Islands‘ new single, taken from the forthcoming album “On The Water”. See them live on Saturday at Plan B in Brixton. Highly recommended.
06 Jul 2011
All Tomorrow's Parties: I'll Be Your Mirror
Ahead of IBYM, Amy Liptrot infiltrates ATP HQ
This summer, as well as hosting a boxing tournament, a wine festival and model engineering exhibition, Alexandra Palace – at the top of North London – is the venue for two days of I’ll Be Your Mirror, a ‘sister event’ to the All Tomorrows Parties festivals. The incongruity of the location’s uses suits an organisation that began by putting on festivals in Pontins and Butlins holiday camps: avant garde noise bands playing where the weekend before redcoats performed hits from musicals, among arcade games and neon fast food outlets.
At his home in Highgate, which doubles up as ATP HQ for a “close-knit” staff of eight, founder Barry Hogan – who, 12 years after the first Bowlie weekender is, with wife Deborah, involved in all parts of the ATP’s growing empire (now including a record label) – explains the idea behind the I’ll Be Your Mirror: “We wanted to design something that you could do in a city, without the accommodation but still with the curator aspect, so people could maybe come just for the day, so they get to embrace it”.
06 Jul 2011
Dodgy derivative cripples Irish Banksy
A couple of new stencils near Hackney Downs have caused a stir. The Hackney Gazette hoped they were Banksy’s, but Hooked blog makes a convincing case for them being the work of an Irish artist called Solus.
I strolled past the sitting boy smoking a cigar this morning on the way to work. Judged in isolation it’s a nice addition and very well framed by Andre St (cobbles, railway arches, mechanics in oily overalls etc.) But the imagery is so derivative that there’s no power in it any more. It’s the street art equivalent of a landscape print on your mum’s living room wall. The neighbours will like it, but it’s essentially meaningless.
06 Jul 2011
London agenda for Wednesday 6 July
1. Geek out with the London’s indie magazine crowd at Stack presents Printout! [Le Cool]
2. Geek out with London’s indie animation crowd at Cartoon [Run Riot]
3. Get wet and surf some fake waves in the City at Naked Urban Surf [Flavorpill]
4. Have a face-to-face with Alison Steadman [Time Out]
5. Make a medical meander around Marylebone [Ian Visits]
6. Admire the Pagoda at Kew [Tired of London]
06 Jul 2011
Carnival by Disclosure
Baby-faced garage assassins Guy and Howard Lawrence, a.k.a. Disclosure, released a double A-side – Carnival/I Love That You Know – earlier in June via Transparent. You can now download a free EP featuring both tracks, plus three new ones, by hitting the ‘like’ button on their Facebook page.
05 Jul 2011
US hotdog eating championship heralds decline of Western civilisation
The news:
“Joey “Jaws” Chestnut maintained pigout primacy Monday, winning his fifth straight mustard belt…Chestnut, the certified champ, choked down 62 dogs and water-soaked buns.”
But his victory was controversial, because a rival was disqualified:
“Kobayashi, who was ineligible to compete in the beloved Brooklyn contest because he won’t sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating, put away 69 dogs purchased earlier in the day.”
Rarely does a news story come along which so completely illustrates the state of contemporary culture. For here we have decadence, and we have excess; we have the dread hand of commerce, and the fat thrusting fist of individualism; we have irony and sincerity, we have laughter and despair. We have, at the end of it all, an organisation called Major League Eating. This is who we are.
05 Jul 2011
The best church names in London, and where they come from
St Benet Gracechurch Or “Grass Church”, because it was next to a hay market.
St Andrew Undershaft A shaft, or maypole, was erected in front of the door.
St Andrew by the Wardrobe The great wardrobe (a storehouse for clothes) of Edward the Third stood nearby.
St Bride’s A corrupted form of St Bridget, patron saint of milkmaids.
St Ethelburga-the-Virgin-within-Bishopsgate Dedicated to Ethelburga, daughter of Ethelbert and sister of Erkenwald. A 7th century virgin.
St James Garlickhythe Stands on the hill where garlic used to be sold.
St Katherine Cree Cree is a corruption of Christ.
St Margaret Pattens Connected to the “pattens” or overshoes which parishioners would wear to stop their feet getting muddy.
St Mary Abchurch A corruption of Upchurch, as it stands at the top of a hill.
St Mary-le-bow Named for the arches, or bowes, which were a feature of the old church.
St Mary Woolnoth Perhaps after a benefactor, one Wulnoth de Walebrok, or because it used to have a beam in the churchyard for the weighing of wool.
St Michael Paternoster Royal Because it stood at the junction of Paternoster Lane and Royal Lane, which is corrupted from the colloquial La Ryole, itself corrupted from La Reole, a town in Bordeaux from where many of the wine merchants on the street got their produce. Tragically, this lane no longer exists.
St Swithin, London Stone Located next to the Roman milestone from which, it is thought, all distances out of London were calculated.
Check out our list of similarly brilliant old pub names here
05 Jul 2011
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- Random Interview: Eileen Conn, co-ordinator of Peckham Vision
- 9 poems about London: one for each of your moods
- Margaret Thatcher statue rejected by public
- Diary of the shy Londoner
- Number of people using Thames cable car plunges
- Nice map of London's fruit trees shows you where to pick free food
- Hope and despair in Woolwich town centre
- Punk brewery just as sexist and homophobic as the industry they rail against
- A unique collection of photos of Edwardian Londoners
- Summer Camp: Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days
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