Eating Out and About in London for the 2007 WSOP Europe

The view from our bangers and mash in the upstairs dining room of "The Cock" pub in London during the 2007 WSOP Europe. (Bodog Beat Image)

What with all the slagging (this is a cool new word we've learned) that British food gets, we decided to set out and try some of the more traditional English fare to make up our own minds. So, of course, we set out in search of a pub for a late lunch.

After perusing the menu for a bit and seeing many different dishes that looked like they would fit the bill, we finally settled on the quintessential "bangers and mash," with a pint, of course. While this may sound more than a little unappealing to the untrained ear, it is in fact quite appetizing. The dish consists of a pile of mashed potatoes that, depending on the place, can run from chunky to smooth (usually chunky though), and the potatoes are topped with anywhere from two to four sausages (also depends on the place and size of the sausages).

The sausages are of the Cumberland variety, from the county of Cumberland in England, and are highly seasoned with different types of pepper, herbs and spices. Far from the "blandness" that is usually attributed to British food, the sausages were quite tasty, especially when soaked with onion gravy, as ours were, and topped with a bit of Colman's mustard.

During our post-lunch constitutional, we stumbled across this soporific scene:

No matter what you think of British food, you can't argue with where they choose to eat it. This was Soho Square at lunchtime on a Wednesday, packed with office workers and others enjoying a rare sunny English afternoon. We don't know about you, but our lunchroom isn't quite this pastoral.

Stay tuned for more adventures out and about in London during the 2007 WSOP Europe.