Living in London

Yesterday we ventured out for our second try at the Sunday Roast experience. We went to one of our “locals,” a pub called the Abingdon and realized something significant – Sunday is a madhouse at most restaurants here, with many group and family outings. This was confirmed by our waiter who urged us to return under more tranquil weekday conditions. We will do a proper restaurant review at that time.

For now, the beef, potatoes, and green vegetables were all quite satisfying. However, the highlight of the day was the opportunity to solve a long running mystery for us involving the British concept of pudding.

The menu stated that the dinner came with Yorkshire Pudding. To our puzzlement, when the entree arrived, there was no "pudding" in sight. There was, however, something that Americans would call a popover. It was a bowl-shaped puffy pastry filled with a scoop of gravy. Is that it?

According to Answers.com, we were indeed enjoying Yorkshire pudding.

Yorkshire pudding . . . is like a cross between a Popover and a Souffle; and not at all like a pudding. It's made with a batter of eggs, milk and flour, baked in beef drippings until puffy, crisp and golden brown. It may be prepared in a shallow baking dish, muffin tins or other small containers, or in the same pan as the roast. Like a hot souffle, Yorkshire pudding will deflate shortly after it's removed from the oven. This specialty takes its name from England's northern county of Yorkshire.

Here is a recipe for Yorkshire pudding.

We have one more Sunday roast is scheduled, and then I think we will have had our fill of tradition and will move on to more exciting menu items.