Heaven is a Place on Earth...

And its name is Borough Market in London, England. Now let me explain. Phil and I just spent a long weekend in London. We had multiple reasons for going. First, we wanted to visit our friend Tia, a fellow Tarheel living in London. Second, we (well, probably more I) had to attend the NFL’s first game in Europe to see my beloved NY Giants stomp on the Miami Dolphins (more on the game in a separate post later). Lastly, because we could! How could we say no to a short two hour flight from Prague to London? Little did I know that I would actual find my own personal heaven in smer-y London. (Smer-y is a new word I learned that means “not really raining, but sort of damp or misty”. Amazing addition to my vocabulary. Really, brilliant. (Another UKism that I think is quality.) Anyway, on to the market…

Anyone who says London doesn’t have good food has certainly has never been to Borough Market. It is located on the south side of the Thames River near the London Bridge tube station (for anyone who is familiar with the area). It is apparently the oldest food market in London and has been there for 250 years. As someone who LOVES food markets, I jumped at Tia’s suggestion that we go for lunch on Saturday. It did not disappoint. There were endless stands of incredible produce, specialty shops of every variety, fresh fish stands, butchers…you name it and it was there. It was a veritable Mecca for food. Now I love our local Charlottesville farmers' market, I adored the Baltimore City Market, and first discovered my love of local markets at a small weekly market in Brookline, MA (Thanks to Edith Dietz!), but Borough brought the market experience to a whole new level. In my humble opinion, it was much better than the Green Market in Union Square, NYC. Our goal for the afternoon was to buy some bread, cheese, olives, and chocolates. We ended up sitting at a nearby pub with outside seating and enjoyed a few beers with our bounty. But what actually made me decide that Borough Market was heaven was the famous Brindisa chorizo roll, the best sandwich I have ever eaten. I can admit that I am not afraid of hyperbole on occasion (one of my favorite words is phenomenal), but this meal was the real deal.

The queue at Brindisa, a specialty shop selling Spanish delicacies, was no less than 50 people long when we arrived. Tia assured me that it would go quickly, but I had my doubts about the superiority of this particular sandwich when I saw how long we had to wait. Tia, you were right, I was wrong, thank goodness you made us wait. If you don’t like chorizo, you won’t appreciate the magic of this meal. (And I think you are just plain crazy.) But if you love charred chorizo, this one is for you. First, the chorizo is split and thrown on a searing hot flat top grill. After a few minutes, it is then charred on a flaming grill. The "single or double meat" is then thrown onto grilled ciabatta bread. Roasted red peppers, rocket (aka spicy arugula), and a drizzle of olive oil finish off this masterpiece. For your viewing pleasure, here is a video of how the magic happens.

We have plenty more to tell you about London’s museums, beautiful green spaces, interesting people and, of course, the Giants game. But seriously, if you had just discovered heaven on earth, wouldn’t you want to tell your friends and family about it first?

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."
Virginia Woolf