I'm alive!

I woke up today. Alive! The eyes are less itchy and pink, the nose has stopped dripping, I'm still coughing up weird stuff but after 3 days of hell, I think I'm on the mend. Thank god.

My older brother came back to Hackney today which was great since we have hardly spent any time together, and we had a little trip to 'Violet', one of the coffee shop's I found the other day. It was very cute inside as I suspected (and also as I could see through their window), and the service was super, however, if I am being honest, the coffee and cakes weren't amazing. Sorry Violet. The brother had a flat white with an orange and polenta cake and I had a mocha and a brownie. I obviously drunk the coffee and ate the cake although I would only rate both 5 coffee beans out of a possible 10.

In the evening however, we took the brother out for a birthday meal as it's his birthday tomorrow and had a delicious old time. We went to Bistrotheque, which is a cool bar / restaurant / cabaret place hidden away in Hackney. I went there for the first time when it opened about 6 years ago and then totally forgot about it, but The Wig suggested going there this evening and it was a triumph. Good call Wig!

http://www.bistrotheque.com/

Unfortunately The Wig went to the wrong place to meet us...snigger.... (that will teach you to read your emails...), but when he did finally find us we had a nice drink in the bar downstairs then went to the restaurant upstairs and ate steak tartare, pig leg, fish and chips, pig cheeks, guinea fowl, lemon tart and various wines. Burp. The service was ok, but the atmosphere, setting and food was great. I would score it 8 trotters out of a possible 10. A definite Hare recommend.

To top the night off, when we got home, I cracked open a bottle of dessert wine which we bought last year when we were in Hunter Valley with my brother. I have been saving it for when my brother was here so we could drink it together. It was delicious, although I find most wine delicious to be honest... I had hoped at some point this evening to ask my brother a question either at the meal or over the dessert wine, but somehow the opportunity never arose. And I am a bit embarrassed. Maybe I'll ask him tomorrow...