still know nothing about wines

living in a room is starting to feel ...a bit much now that doctor is home again, all the time. i am trying to work while he is on a stationary bike watching a horror movie....not ideal. to his credit, mostly he watches better stuff, and not while biking.


i met someone through Vina yesterday at this innovative wine bar Vagabond. im not necessarily 100% sold on the idea, but i think it was interesting. u go to the bar, get a card, load money on it like you would on a travel card, and then u can go around and get your own glass of wine. if at the end of the night u have money left on your card, they give it back to you. same with the 5£ deposit of the card itself. im sure they are happy if u just keep the card and become a frequent visitor. immediate thoughts:
 

• the trouble of educating people on how it works, oh lord...  when you go to a new place and they say "so is this your first time here? let me tell u how we work..."  i go "fuck..." in my head. the time and effort, seriously!
• definitely allows people better chance of trying different things; u have time to ponder and see the options right in front of you (instead of words on a menu), u see the bottles, u can read about them, take a tasting note with you, only buy a tasting glass (25ml)...  so its great for wine hobby-ists and wannabes alike
• for the casual wine drinker, its also ok...doesnt beat table service tho
• the wines are handly organized by taste, not by region or something posh. so this end is for the sweeter wines? thank youuu.....
• the food and nibbles menu complements the wines well, i enjoyed
• skipping the bar queue is handy when u want to fill ur glass
• u still need to go to the bar at the beginning and end though, to buy/charge a card and at the end for the deposit, if nothing else
• at the Northcote branch, the atmosphere is nice and cozy, but as expected for anything nice in London, it's full even on a wednesday night...  good luck getting a table :/ but so this is a common problem
• holy F*** how much must it have cost to develop the self service system?? i cant not think about it. i had to google to find out they did develop it themselves, i was sure there is an american company who is just selling the license. now im sure vagabond must be selling (or trying to sell) the license, to recoup the development costs. running 4 bars cant cover them, can they? but what do i know. 

the back room of Vagabond. 

 

last weekend in Cay Tre for some vietnamese, with Avner & Elmor. tasty stuff, and not crazy expensive.

 something i tried last week. gets the jenni stamp of approval.

me and doctor decided to try this one as it is apparently a local delicacy. we didnt think so, it was meh. 

Zigfrid von Underbelly, a hisptery trendy bar in Shoreditch. very nice no doubt but PACKED in the weekend. i hate packed. 

vintage yard sale at Flat Iron Square. i went there with Susanna. the weather was jus a bit chilly, of course, i think it makes  sense to come back in 6 or so months...