Streets of London : Indulgences in Finchley

Today was a complete indulgence. At lunch yesterday, our Italian trattoria chef, noticing how we just loved his food, recommended we visit Durum, a traditional Turkish restaurant in Finchley. He had been himself, he said, kissing his fingers at the memory, so we figured if an Italian chef makes this sort of a glowing gesture, then we must follow his advice.

So we did. Not having a clue where Finchley was we relied on our trusty free bus App, which is worth its weight in food. It knows where you are; you just type in where you want to go; and it tells you which buses to catch, with a minimum of connections, and precisely where the interchanges are. No books, no maps, no schedules. How ever did we live without it!

It took two hours to get there by bus, so that was the indulgence. Well, one of the indulgences. Spending a day going to lunch is an indulgence in itself, but going by bus, so that you can see different new areas, instead of arriving in under a half an hour by metro, is our idiosyncratic preference. Especially, as we came home by bus as well. And that was in rush hour, and slower once we hit the city. But worth it.

Lunch was sublime. Grills and grains and salads: our favourite foods all in one meal. This time quail was in the mix and I have only ever had flame grilled quail once, maybe twice before, so that was another rarity. I love how the Turks can get the meat charred on the outside yet it be so juicy still inside. We cannot find that quick perfect balance at home, despite years and years of barbecuing. But still we try.

For some reason you must finish a meal with something sweet in Turkey. They will never let us out a door without tempting us with something. This is something we are slowly learning to do. You actually need the sweet touch at the end of a meal. It puts a finishing touch to the whole eating experience, and leaves you smiling. We never order sweets here because we never think to at home. We are not used to two courses, anymore. Here, we never even have time to think to place an order. The Turkish wait staff are just so innately hospitable that when they clear away the main course the next act is to put a plate of goodies in front of you after every meal because that is what they have, and they think you should to. It is gold. And who can ever resist locum or baklava.

We came out on the streets after lunch and had time to look around. Finchley is a humble suburb, with humble housing, but is diverse and rich in its diversity. Amazingly so. Shopfronts are where all the action is. The glass cutter's workshop is right there street side. You can see him work. So, too, is the oven for the nut smoker: right where you can see it in operation and smell the diving smell of nuts caramelising. Here, the tailor, with all her accoutrement, while she sizes a suit for a customer who is trying it on for a fit: all close to the window and the street. Here, you see what you get. We spent the afternoon just wandering one block: another indulgence: taking so much time just to enjoy it.

We saw different produce stores filled with different foodstuffs from many different countries, all specialising: Eastern European, Persian, Turkish, Indian and Russian, among others. In just one small block. Most of the food choices we had no chance of deciphering, but customers heard us pondering, and helped out. So did many shop keepers. So we learned a lot. Sour grape powder has a flavour of sour citrus and is heaped into curries and casseroles, we were told. Gormeh-e-Sabzi is an Iranian stew, probably close to a national dish: this mix of spices, including fenugreek and parsley among other things, is mixture of herbs something like a baharat mix, though that is of spices. Zulbieh, or Bamieh, is a Persian sweet. Similar to the Indian sweet, Jalebi. Made from plain flour and yoghurt, swirled into a pretzel shape, then soaked until it is heavy in sugar syrup. Sometimes it is rosewater flavoured. Sometimes citrus. Very sweet, very toothsome.

We have no idea what many ingredients were used for. And we could not always understand the tale teller helping us. Which is something we are having to get used to, these days in London: that most people, so many now who serve customers, have English as their second language. We are slowly learning to listen carefully and find we need to articulate what we want more than once. But, always the service is exceedingly helpful and accommodating.

We have bought so much to bring home but we wonder what Customs will end up allowing us to keep on entry. We may lose it all. We really need to do more research on that before we buy too much more. And we were just bemoaning to a friend in the States the other day that we were missing Louisiana crawfish: then lo and behold in the back of one shop full of brilliant smoked fish and shell, what did we find!

We are definitely returning to Finchley. Next time to try the food in a Persian restaurant that has a clay bread oven in the window. Right there for all the world to see. Just loved our day.