Benugo, Great Portland Street

Benugo has been around for about 10 years but this is the first time I've visited.




The shop, which specializes is grilled sandwiches, has a deli feel to it and is quite spacious. They have recently introduced free wi-fi for customers too.

I'm not sure if I got the ordering system right on my visit. Do you order you food at the deli counter section and then pay at the till? Or order at the till? Whichever it is, the system is a bit confusing and you seem to end up waiting in two queues and then milling around at the end as you wait for your food.

I ordered a cumberland sausage sandwich in a crusty roll, part of the breakfast menu.




I suppose it shows that appearances can be deceptive. Despite Benugo's funky, designer look the sandwich was a let down. A bland, squashed, flaky bread roll concealed a sliced cumberland sausage that was in need of a bit more heating up. Not much love of food was apparent. I might have expected something like this from an anonymous, side-street cafe but not from somewhere with such a bright, cosmopolitan image.

As always with a negative review, I can't slam an entire establishment based soley on its sausage sandwich. For all I know Benugo's other food could be outstanding. But for the purposes of this blog, I have to put Benugo in the 'don't bother' pile (unless you really need somewhere with free wi-fi).

1 out of 5

Leon (various locations)

I discovered recently that the trendy, 'fast food that is healthy' chain Leon has an extensive breakfast menu.

Besides a variety of porridges, yoghurts, fruit and smoothies, they also sell a sausage bap, a bacon bap, a mushroom and tomato bap and an 'I Love England' bap which is basically all of the above combined into one sandwich.

Naturally, I went for the sausage bap:




What we have here is a wholemeal bun encasing a couple of thin pork sausages with a homemade-style tomato sauce.

The bread was quite dense and I'm not sure its musty, wholemeal taste combined very well with the tomato sauce. As for the sauce, it lacked the tartness you normally get with ketchup and seemed a little watery.

The sausages themselves were pretty good but were small and their flavour was drowned out somewhat by the sauce and the bread. All in all it was just a mush of flavours that didn't really compliment one another.

It felt healthy but was a little unsatisfying. The concept behind Leon is that you order your food at a counter and get it quickly - like a fast food restaurant - but the dishes themselves are designed to be as unlike junk food as possible (healthy, made with fresh, natural ingredients etc.).

So if you want to eat healthily, I think Leon is a great choice but I sometimes find their food lacks the taste hit that makes 'bad' fast food so popular. Their evening menu looks a little more promising.

If you want a sausage sandwich from a chain such as this, I would recommend Eat's toasted sausage muffin instead.

2.5 out of 5. Guilt-free but not very tasty.

Enjoy, Berners Street

Having reviewed a lot of places in Soho and Covent Garden, I thought it was time to have a look at the area north of Oxford Street.

Enjoy is a new-looking sandwich shop at the very top end of Berners Street. It's at the edge of a big cluster of restaurants and cafes that stretches all along the eastern end of Goodge Street, leading to Charlotte Street. If you work in this part of town you're spoilt for places to eat.

I ordered a sausage sandwich in a griddled panini bun:



Fairly simple but nice. The bread had a touch of fakery to it - it was the kind with the griddle pattern pre-seared on - but it was fresh enough and it toasted well. The sausage also seemed fresh I was surprised at the solid, meaty texture and decent herbiness.

It's a little out of the way but this is a pleasant, clean cafe with nice staff.

3.5 out of 5. Not a standout but you can do a lot worse.

Get yourself down to the Covent Garden night market!

Every Thursday and Friday evening for the next few weeks, Covent Garden's piazza is hosting a fantastic night-time food and produce market. I was able to pop down there last night and I can report it's well worth a visit.

Fresh oysters, roast beef rolls, roast pork sandwiches (carved from a whole spit-roast pig), Jewish deli food, cakes, ice creams, breads and chocolates are just some of the goodies on offer.

Sausage-wise, there's a German Deli stand selling a variety of pre-packed Teutonic sausages as well hot Bratwurst rolls with sauerkraut (review to follow, hopefully). I bought a packet of kaesekrainer from here to try at home and will review them at a later date.

Carluccio's has a stand selling a variety of dishes including Italian salsicce sandwiches and there are several stands selling chorizo and salami.

Another stand worth checking out is Manor Farm and their game sausages. I bought two from the tireless girl working on the stand who looked like she'd been grilling sausages all day: the duck, orange and apricot, and the venison and red wine. The Venison sausage was interesting - its tastes exactly like a hamburger with a slight livery note which is is quite bizarre. The duck sausage I found a bit baffling as, try as I might, I could not taste duck, orange or apricot in it. I'm convinced I was given the wrong sausage as one of the guys behind the stand assured me the sausage is supposed to contain 65% duck. Never mind, I'll go back for a second try.

UPDATE: On my second visit I tried 3 more sausage sandwiches and can recommend all of them: The bratwurst hot dog from the German Deli stand; The pigeon and peach sausage in a roll from the Manor Farm Game stall and the Tuscan sausage sandwich from the Carluccio's stall (photos at top).

If you get there early enough there are also some cookery demonstrations (details here). But if it's just the food you're interested in, here's a full list of stallholders and some photos from last night. Enjoy!:

Traders:
Simpson’s Quality Meat – Prime and interesting game including, pigeon, venison, wild boar, and the currently ‘trendy’ grey squirrel
Thames fisherman who sources all his fish from the Thames
Melt chocolates who’s famous truffles take 5 days to make
Willie Wonka will also be trading with his chocolate Venezuelan Black

Hot and Cold Food
Northfield Farm www.northfieldfarm.com – burgers, sausages and fresh farm meat
Rainha Santa www.rainhasanta.co.uk – hog roast
German Deli www.germandeli.co.uk – german deli selection
Crème de la Crepe www.cremedelacrepe.co.uk – gourmet crepes
Carluccios – Italian deli
Just Food www.justonline.co.uk – New company making seasonal produce puff pastry tartlets
Clos Maggiore – French produce, also will do kitchen demo

Fresh Produce
Sporeboys www.sporeboys.com – raw and cooked mushrooms
Ash Green Organics www.aashgreenorganics.com – organic veg and fruit, and apple juice
Tomato Stall www.thetomatostall.co.uk – fresh tomatoes direct from IoW farm
City Veggies www.cityveggies.co.uk – seed grown culinary herbs in pots and window boxes

Cheese and Deli
Norbiton Fine Cheese www.norbitoncheese.co.uk – small farm cheeses
Grove Farm – dairy farm specialises in unpasteurised produce
Rowan Tree Goats www.rowantreegoats.co.uk – Goat produce
Iberica London www.ibericalondon.co.uk – Spanish produce, live carving
The French Store – French staples and store cupboard
Prelibato www.prelibato.com – Specialist Italian deli – fresh truffles
Le Marche du Quartier - paella
Wild Beef – wild beef from Devon moors
76 Portland Place Restaurant – head chef to do seafood stall and demo
McManus Oysters – fresh oysters
Primal Snacks www.primalsnacks.com – locally sourced biltong
Derreensillach Smokehouse – oak smoked fish from Ireland

Specialist Produce
The Olive Bar – olives, feta, other deli foods
Apulia Blend – Italian oils, truffles and vinegars
English Preserves www.englishpreserves.co.uk – small batch makers of handmade jams
Herbs & Spice www.herbspice.co.uk – spices and herbs, oils and chillies
De-Gustibus www.degustibus.co.uk – handmade breads
Teapig www.teapig.co.uk – specialist exotic teas

Patisserie, Cakes and Pastry
Artisan Foods www.artisan.co.uk – fresh baked biscuits, tarts and cakes
Violet Cakes www.violetcakes.co.uk – cupcakes (2 weeks)
Lavender Bakery www.lavenderbakery.co.uk – alternatives to cupcakes
Primrose Bakery www.primrosebakery.org.uk – cupcakes (2 weeks)
Gourmet Candy Company www.gourmetcandycompany.com – sweets
Cinnamon Tree Bakery – trade English biscuits
Amesha Sweets – Middle East pastries
Rummuna www.rummanco.co.uk – Jamaican pickles and preserves
Simply Ice Cream

Drinks
Choc Star – van serving chocolate drinks and treats ( 3 weeks)
CA PHE Vietnam – Vietnamese coffee
Quaffs www.quaffs.co.uk – specialist bottled beers
Burgil Coffee www.burgil.com – specialist coffee and soft drinks