The Urban Foodie: Gazetteer - Verde, Spitalfields

Tuesday, 13 November 2007

Gazetteer - Verde, Spitalfields

Tucked away in Shoreditch is one of my favourite foodie emporiums, Verde. Sat opposite Spitalfield Market and owned by the writer Jeanette Winterson, Verde is a Dickensian gem selling fabulous handmade chocolates, artisan pantry supplies, spices, teas and homemade cakes and pastries, as well as pretty much anything you desire to order. In the winter this bijou store sometimes has a crackling fire, and when possible you can squeeze in and sit and have tea and macaroons. I always have to go in and have a poke about whenever I'm in East London, where you can get lost amongst so many of the wonderful things for sale.

Verde, 40 Brushfield Street, London E1.

3 comments:

Vida said...: Darl, why didn't you invite me to this little Nirvan??? It screams my name... beckoning me to enter and enjoy all the things I love most in the world... Vida x; 14 November 2007 at 02:55
Steve Wallis said...: Well next time you're in London there'll be plenty of places I'll take you too - this place you'll love!
X; 14 November 2007 at 05:28
Vida said...: Steven, thanks, you are a honey and don't think I won't come... I will be there with bells on and we can run amuck, a real eating frenzy!!! Vida x; 14 November 2007 at 07:24

MUSINGS AND QUOTES ON FOOD

"My weaknesses have always been food and men, in that order."

Dolly Parton

"Fish, to taste right, must swim three times - in water, in butter, and in wine."

Polish Proverb

"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do."

P.J. O'Rourke

"An empty belly is the best cook."

Estonian Proverb

"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch."

James Beard

"The smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us...."
Marcel Proust

"When the girl returned, some hours later, she carried a tray, with a cup of fragrant tea steaming on it; and a plate piled up with very hot buttered toast, cut thick, very brown on both sides, with the butter running through the holes in it in great golden drops, like honey from the honeycomb. The smell of that buttered toast simply talked to Toad, and with no uncertain voice; talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cosy parlour firesides on winter evenings, when one's ramble was over and slippered feet were propped on the fender, of the purring of contented cats, and the twitter of sleepy canaries."
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it is safer to harrass rich women than motorcycle gangs."
Unknown

"Scallops are expensive, so they should be treated with some class. But then, I suppose that every creature that gives his life for our table should be treated with class."
Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet

"Never eat more than you can lift.."
Miss Piggy, Diva.

"The squid is so cooperative. Its body forms a tube that can be stuffed with marvelous fillings. You don't have to be Greek to enjoy this one. "
Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet

"The joys of the table belong equally to all ages, conditions, countries and times; they mix with all other pleasures, and remain the last to console us for their loss."
Jean Antheleme Brillet-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste