Saturday 21 January 2012

BOUNDARY CAFE and THE BOOK CLUB

So, I'm housesitting in Hoxton and I've realised that brunch is the thing here. Queues form early outside the most popular joints such as The Breakfast Club or The Diner; by 'early' read late morning. C'mon would you really expect any self-respecting hipster to emerge before midday? There's the the skinny jeans to ease on, the Hoxton Fin (yes, some still sport them) or Undercut to style, the eyeliner to apply (male and female) and the vintage cardi to shrug on. 


Hoxton Fin (noun) firmly styled longitudinal hair appendage favoured among the Shoreditch Set around 2000 - 2002.
I'm going to get an Hoxton Fin haircut down Shoreditch High Street.


Undercut (noun) a hairstyle in which the sides and back are shaved and long hair is grown at the top of the head.
Guy 1: Hey, Man, check out her undercut!
Guy 2: We should do it too!

At 12.30 -1pm  they arrive in droves to gaze mordantly into their coffee cups, tap a Doc Marten to a beat still lodged in their heads from last night and order a stack of buttermilk pancakes ... and who can blame them;  these breakfast places are almost faultless with well cooked food,  friendly service and a lively  ambiance, where you can nurse a hangover with a well-made Bloody Mary or Hard Shake. 



The Albion is a slightly up market venue for this sort of thing. A Conran cafe and shop attached to The Boundary Restaurant favoured by well-heeled young families and designer clad couples. 
It is a light inviting space and we while away a couple of hours reading the paper and eating bacon and egg rolls and drinking coffee. 
The shop also has a nice range of vegetables (organic of course), pastries, cakes and bread.


The Book Club in Leonard St, weirdly, is located on the site of the publishing company where I used to work. 
We sit at a table where my desk used to be, eat smoked haddock and poached eggs, watch  a couple of guys play table tennis and I wonder where the bloody hell does time go - it seems yesterday I was sitting in the same spot worrying about deadlines.  
Tempus Fugit or, as they say in Shoreditch, WTF.


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4 comments:

  1. House-sitting is clearly the way forward! I've wanted to visit the Albion for a long time, does it live up to the hype?

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    1. Very nice - have been back there since. The bar and restaurant downstairs also look fab

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  2. For a moment, I thought you're talking about The Albion - the Georgian styled gastropub at Barnsbury. :)

    I had a look at the Book Club's site. Doesn't look like a place where people sit around and have book discussions, more like a full service restaurant, isn't it? Hmm... but I never say no to hearty food!

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  3. I had a birthday party at the book club - really enjoyed the atmosphere and can't remember the food...

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