Year of Eating Differently (115): Neal's Corner Sandwich Shop, Shaftesbury Avenue

So, in a bit of a hurry today, and it's grey and wet outside, so a quick visit here was all I required. This is probably one of the best small sandwich shops that I've been to in recent weeks; bread for my tricolore panino tasted much fresher, and the avocado actually had a bit of flavour to it too (unlike say the chilled-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life-and-never-quite-revived stuff you get at Pret, for example). Service is admirably quick, and they have a pretty good selection of gooey chocolate cake.

Year of Eating Differently (113): Julia's Meadow, Newman Street

Well, it was this or Spud-u-like in the Plaza, and my companion was unimpressed by that idea, so we ended up here instead, sat down at a table and drinking ginger beer like civilised people.

Service was a bit slow because there was a constant stream of people coming in for takeaway and being prioritised over us, so if you were in a rush this wouldn't be much good. Then again, if you were in a rush for take out, you'd probably be in a huff that the smug people hunkered down over a table were getting their stuff first.
Had a panino; the usual triumvirate of green, white and red. Wasn't bad, wasn't anything special.

Year of Eating Differently (104): Cotton Cafe, Berwick Street

The sign at the door says to mind the step. What is ambiguous about this is that you mind the step as you walk in from the street, not realising there's another step to trip across as you step up again into the restaurant. Thankfully I didn't land face first in somebody else's lunch; not sure if I recovered or not. Had an avocado melt, which is really a panino, but a bit dirtier; avocado and swiss cheese stuck in a panini toaster for a few minutes, but slathered on the outside with butter. Somehow this was much heavier on the filth-factor than other panini I've eaten - well done. They offer chilli hot chocolate as well - not sure about whether that's a good idea or an incredibly dangerous one - but did have a piece of pear and ginger chocolate cake, which was very good indeed.
Went back to the office, found that my date for the night had gone home sick and thus I'm without company for the evening. Possibly that's justice for yesterday's post, but it is the 14th of February...

Year of Eating Differently (100): Carlton's Coffee House, Broadwick Street

Possibly the worst panino I've eaten in living memory. Mainly because they don't have a panini toaster (or possibly to save time, although the more I think about the logistics of this, the more confused I become), they have one of those conveyor belt heating devices that in a normal cafe would be used to heat slices of toast. Thus the bread isn't forced together and fused with the innards in the way that you usually get with a panino; it's more like a sliced baguette with some warmed over sundried tomatoes and mozzarella inside. Not impressed. But the place was heaving with people - then again, it is a Friday lunchtime. Hey ho.

Year of Eating Differently (77): Cafe Dolce, Wardour Street

Another 45 minutes lost in the post office trying to mail a bicycle part to Germany. And thence down Wardour Street to Cafe Dolce, tucked away on Wardour Street behind St Anne's Court.
On the downside, service is a bit rushed because it's packed here at lunchtime, and the selection of sandwiches was limited to one panino. If I'd had time to stay, there was a huge variety of pastas, sausage and mash and so on that would outclass Malletti (particularly now that the pizza captain / project manager / overseer at Malletti has gone off to have a baby and their QA has dropped).
On the upside - they do what looks like a monumentally good roast chicken sandwich, the guy serving me looked like a white haired hitman and the waitress in charge of building sandwiches and operating toasters had three stars tattooed on the inside of her right wrist - what does all that mean?

Year of Eating Differently (74): Burlington Cafe, D'Arblay Street

This does look a rather gloomy establishment from the picture, but that's probably because it was cold cold cold today. In a spare five minutes from upsetting myself by reading comments from angry US citizens on blogs on the BBC website, nipped out, posted a book I'd just sold, and then wandered lost around London looking for somewhere I hadn't eaten before.
It was ... ok. I guess my hackles were raised when I noticed the menu had 'Jaket potato' on offer, and possibly with 'Gherking' - either that's a very royal pickle, or somebody is mistaking their nouns with their verbs. Had some crisps, had an apple, had a 'vegetarian melt' which turns out to be a panino. But not bad, and it's a lot better looking in real life than it is in the photo, and a lot bigger inside than it looks from the outside.

Year of Eating Differently (66): Costa, Old Compton Street

OK, it's a chain. And it's staffed entirely by mittel-Europeans (on closer consultation of my list of all flags, think that more exactly they might be Lithuanian), but they do a better job of serving you than the three English builders are managing with trying to get a half-constructed sofa down the stairs into the basement.
Presentation is a bit lacking - you can't see half the baked goods at the counter because there's a pile of tables in the way. Whether this is a protest at rabid over-commercialism, or incompetence, or just because the cafe is too damn small, squeezed as it is into the corner opposite the big green sex shop (and diagonally opposite Dirty White Boy) I just didn't care - my hands were ready to fall off due to the cold and me leaving my gloves at the office.
There are at least TWO lies in the next paragraph.
A brie and cranberry panino? It makes no sense, no sense at all. Is it Christmas already? If it is, surely I should drop the pretence of being vegetarian and binge on turkey, not on a combination of French, Italian, and - and - and where do cranberries come from again? New England, or something daft? Never mind. It's a well attested fact that the French don't celebrate Christmas, and moreover the Italians think that a traditional Christmas meal is a pannetone that's been hollowed out and filled with limoncello. And the panino is ok. Well, it's aaaalriiight, but in a mellow, drawn out kind of way, rather than the panicked yell of a builder as his chums drop the sofa on his head. But the pink innards are disconcerting - you start worrying that Vita has dosed you up with the wrong sandwich entirely, and even when you're eating it, part of you is saying this is wrong, this is so wrong. But it's not like a punishment beating.
For afters, got a muffin. Jolly excited about this because I had a ginger muffin in Costa in Bromley at the weekend (breakfast, I'm afraid, which says a lot about my diet and my burgeoning waistline) and it was better than the fabled Starbucks muffin of yore. This one has got icing on top and a uniform consistency throughout, unlike the disgusting muffins of Pret. A little concerned that it might be of pensionable age, given the display in the shop, and indeed, now it's up close it's not quite so appetising, but not to worry - this is great. It's exactly like a big lump of Jamaican Ginger Cake, but with icing too - well stoked is what I am.

Year of Eating Differently (45): Silva's Grill and Sandwich Bar, Shaftesbury Avenue

Cold clear day, so what better than to wander down New Oxford Street, pick up some photos from Jessops and then wander south to the warm environs of Silva's? Had a tri colore pannino - very good, although afterwards I still felt hungry enough to go and buy some rubbish from Starbucks to go on top.

It's a bit crowded inside, but you can sit down at one of the bench seats, and then steak and chips somebody was having for lunch looked magnificent, in a prosaic "let's stuff the calories in at lunchtime in the form of a dirty big lump of cow" kind of way. How I miss meat...

Year of Eating Differently (32): Starbucks, corner of Soho Street & Oxford Street

Very tired, very hungry today - probably a mistake to have more than a pint of beer last night after climbing. Shambled into work, felt starving hungry by 11.30. Thus an early trip to Starbucks.
On the positive side, the hot chocolate is good. Better than the insipid stuff I've had from Cafe Nero and Eat recently. On the negative, the panini took forever to arrive, probably because they were attempting to get it up to radioactive temperatures. Didn't really taste of anything apart from a burnt mouth.
Cake: Starbucks have gone downhill since they got rid of the ginger muffin. The apple cake is like eating some kind of packing materials that were stored near some apples once. And the whole damn thing costs too much. Nine pounds something for a panini, two bits of cake and a hot chocolate? Ho-bloody-ho.