A Year of Nando's

The next post in our London recaps was supposed to be about our visit to Nando's Peri-Peri, our fourth visit to a Nando's in 2015 while on vacation. Unfortunately we haven't gotten around to recapping any of the other Nando's visits, so any comparisons we would make between the restaurants in London and the States would have no context whatsoever. Considering that, and also the fact that the next post in our Savannah recaps was also supposed to be about Nando's, we thought it was best to just put them all together in one post and take you through our year of Nando's.

Visit #1: Woodbridge, Virginia (Savannah road trip)

We had known about Nando's Peri-Peri for a long time before we ever tried it. Founded in South Africa, Nando's is a fast casual restaurant serving grilled chicken (and other stuff, but the draw for most people is the chicken) with peri-peri sauces, flavors that originated from Portugal and Mozambique. Nando's only recently expanded to the US, with locations in Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Chicago. Unfortunately they don't yet have one in New York, but that was why we definitely wanted to try some on our way to Savannah.

A got the half chicken, medium spiciness, with macho peas ("rugged pea mash with whole peas, parsley, mint and chilli" according to the menu). The chicken was very moist except for a few sections of the white meat which was a bit on the drier side. The sauce had a good amount of heat that didn't overpower his senses, and the peri peri seasoning added a nice floral hint. The macho peas were very tasty. They had a good bit of heat to them, and our guess was that they included the same chilli as their peri peri seasoning in them. The mint and parsley added a nice herbal freshness to the dish as well.

M got the sandwich called "Nandocas choice" which made her top 10 list that year. The sandwich was a chicken breast topped with cole slaw on buttery garlic bread. It was really, really good. She thought that the flavor of the chicken itself might have been a little bit better on A's regular flame grilled chicken, but all together, this combination was great. Can't really go wrong with a sandwich built on garlic bread.

Visit #2: Hanover, Maryland (Savannah road trip)

We liked Nando's so much on our first visit, just like we thought we would, that we also got lunch at one of the Maryland locations on our drive back home. The Hanover location was in the Arundel Mills mall not too far from our hotel, so it was our last real meal on the trip (if you don't count rest stop fries). We thought the Virginia location was a little better as far as organization and layout, but we really didn't care because we were eating delicious Nando's chicken.

The first time we got the chicken, we didn't add much seasoning or extra sauce to it, because we wanted to taste it right out of the kitchen with the flavors it was supposed to have. This visit, we experimented more with the sauces, especially the wild herb and garlic, which we liked even more mixed together. The garlic herb peri-peri sauce was our favorite on its own. We love garlic, and this had a really good garlicky flavor to it. The wild herb peri-peri sauce had a good flavor to it, but it just wasn't as good as the garlic herb. Together they formed a great, balanced sauce.

A wanted to kick things up a bit so he got the half chicken, hot spiciness, with corn. The chicken was similar, moist but with a few dry spots in the white meat, and the hot sauce was good and hot, but it was, for the most part, the same chicken he had on the way down. The corn was nice. He had seen a bunch of people ordering it on our first visit so he wanted to give it a try. It was really just a grilled ear of corn, but it was sweet, and the char on the corn gave it a nice smokiness. M isn't as big a fan of corn on the cob, but she thought it tasted good from the little bit she tried.

For her meal, M got a chicken breast (medium) sandwich with arugula, tomato, pickled onion, and peri-peri mayo, with sides of macho peas and fries. These were the same two sides that we had gotten in Virginia, and they were both good. As for the sandwich, it was fine, not as exciting as the Nandocas choice, but the chicken was really good. That said, M still thought A's chicken was better so she decided she would ditch the sandwiches and get regular chicken whenever we were lucky enough to go to Nando's again.

Visit #3: West Loop, Chicago (Great Lakes road trip)

The first Nando's in Chicago opened in spring of 2015 in the West Loop, and once we learned that, we knew where we absolutely had to go during our time in Chicago over the summer. This location was a little different from the other two we had been to, in that it wasn't located in a mall or shopping development, but just a regular neighborhood restaurant. We were really excited to see if anything was different about the Chicago locations, but they were mostly the same. The Chicago one did have better decor though.

A got a half chicken, hot spiciness, with peas and Portuguese rice. The flavor of this Nando's was just as good as before, but the chicken size was much smaller. The peas were tasty like last time, and the rice had really good flavor. We also used the garlic and herb sauce like last time and it was just as delicious.

M got a quarter chicken, medium spiciness, white meat, with coleslaw and garlic bread as sides. The garlic bread was delicious, even if garlic bread is the type of thing we could probably make it at home. The coleslaw was really, really good and better than M remembered from before. With the sides she picked, it was like she could make the Nandocas choice sandwich all over again if she really wanted to, selections which weren't intentional but perhaps subconscious.

Visit #4: Shepherd's Bush, London (2015 vacation)

Our stomachs weren't feeling particularly great after our pie and mash and jellied eels lunch, so we thought the best thing to do was to grab some Nando's for dinner. Grilled chicken sounded like it would be nice and calming. There were two Nando's locations not too far from our hotel, including one a little more conveniently located at the Westfield mall. (You might remember the mall from our first day visits to Square Pie and Pho.) The Nando's at the mall wasn't in the takeaway food court, but in a section with other restaurants. When we got there and saw the line, we were alarmed to see it stretching out of the restaurant and around a corner. The mall was packed, but it was a Tuesday night so we really weren't expecting it to be so crowded. (We kept forgetting it was half term.)

Since that wasn't going to work, we left the mall and walked over to the other Shepherd's Bush location, which had free tables and very little line. It was nice being in a place where there was more than one Nando's within walking distance.

M got a half chicken, medium spiciness, with garlic bread and coleslaw, pretty much the same thing she got in Chicago. She got a half so that A could eat some of the dark meat, since she was planning to eat mostly white meat. The chicken seemed to be very similar to the ones we got in the States, and it was nice to see that the quality was consistent. Both sides were good, but the garlic bread wasn't seasoned as much and didn't have the garlic spread to the edges, so it wasn't quite as good as the ones we had had previously. It was probably healthier that way, but M likes garlic bread with lots of butter and garlic on it. It was a nice, solid dinner that M really hoped would soothe her stomach and erase all memories of jellied eels.

A got the chicken livers which we both knew he was going to get as soon as we looked at the English menu. The chicken livers aren't on the American menu, and that's a real shame. The chicken livers came with a Portuguese roll and he got a side of fries. We couldn't pinpoint exactly what they used to cook the chicken livers, but they were so good. Looking at the Nando's recipes online before they were removed, it sounded like it was just butter and peri-peri sauce, but it tasted like something more than that. There was something familiar about it, but we just couldn't figure it out. We tried these on everything: plain, on the roll, on M's garlic bread, and even on the fries. It didn't matter how we ate them, they were just awesome. There was a little bit of a spiciness to the sauce as well as A ordered them with medium spiciness.

Dinner was really good. We were very glad that we had such a good, tasty dinner since lunch was not as good as we were expecting it to be.

After visiting Nando's four times in 2015, we haven't been to one since then, pretty much since they don't have one here in New York. When the day comes (hopefully) that they do open here, we will be so happy. It's the perfect fast casual type of spot - good flavorful food, no fuss, not too expensive. Nando's, please open in NYC, and if possible bring the chicken livers too!

M's Favorite Food Memories of 2015

2015 was a pretty great eating year for us. We went on road trips to both the South and the Midwest, and went across the pond for a week in London. We also had some great food right here at home in New York City. The year went by pretty quickly, but it was nice taking some time out this week to think about what my 10 favorite food memories were. In no particular order, here are this year's favorites.

1. Fried chicken sandwich from Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter (New York, NY)

2015 seemed to be the year of the fried chicken sandwich. As that is one of my favorite foods, that got no complaints from me. I ate a bunch of them this year - the Southern style sandwich from Delaney Chicken, the very hyped (and in our opinion, overhyped) sandwich from Fuku+, the old standby chicken sandwich at Manhattan's first real Chick-fil-A, a fried chicken biscuit from Southern chain Bojangles, a bunch of sandwiches from Do-Rite in Chicago, a bunch more sandwiches from Hill Country Chicken down in Flatiron, and probably more that I can't even recall off the top of my head. But my favorite of all is the fried chicken sandwich from Bobwhite down in the East Village. The chicken is fried perfectly, is so juicy, and is just the right size for that soft buttery roll. This year wasn't the first time I had it, but previously I had it with pimento cheese instead of the bread and butter pickles, and I like the simple pickles version so much more. It's my perfect chicken sandwich.

2. Freshly picked raspberries and blackberries from Johnson's Farm Produce (Hobart, IN)

As we started our return journey east from Chicago on our Great Lakes road trip, we went with A's family to a farm in Hobart, Indiana to pick some berries. Raspberries and blackberries were in season, and they were so good. It was great to get out of the city, be surrounded by open fields, and indulge in some really tasty berries. I'm not really one for picking them (takes too much patience, lots of bees, etc), but I loved watching the care that A (and his mom) put into selecting the perfect berries for us. We started snacking on the berries in the car after lunch and they didn't even make it halfway to Cleveland (our stop for the night). The blackberries especially were this perfect balance of sweetness and tartness unlike any blackberries I had ever had before. I'm not sure I'll ever get blackberries as fresh and ripe as these.

3. Cheese toastie from Kappacasein at Borough Market (London, UK)

I already wrote an ode to the cheese toastie from Kappacasein back during the Week 45 cooking challenge when I made my own version of the toastie at home. Not as good as the original in London, but I didn't have the exact same cheeses or the griddle that they used with cheese remnants of the hundreds of sandwiches that came before it. The toastie was delicious. The 3 cheese blend they used was extremely high quality, and the little bits of cheese on the side of the crusty bread were fantastic. The sandwich had a nice crunch to it. On top of all that, the onions and leeks that they mixed into the cheese made it so different from most cheese toasties and incredibly addictive. We wanted another one so badly after that, but forced ourselves to go try other things. 

4. Smoked bluefish fried rice from Kin Shop (New York, NY)

This fall, we sadly bid farewell to Kin Shop with a goodbye dinner where we got some old favorites (like the duck larb and brussels sprouts) and tried some new things, like this smoked bluefish fried rice. This hadn't been on the menu on any of our previous visits, and it was incredible. Garlic, shallots, smoked fish, hot sauce, perfectly cooked fried rice, so much good stuff here. We're so sad that we'll never be able to get this again.

5. Nandocas Choice sandwich from Nando's Peri-Peri (Woodbridge, VA)

We had been looking forward to our Southern road trip for many reasons, and one of those was our plan to stop at Nando's Peri-Peri on the way down to Savannah. The Baltimore/DC area has quite a few Nando's, but they haven't made it up to NYC yet. We had been obsessed with them for ages and couldn't wait to try the chicken. For my first taste of Nando's, I opted for a sandwich called Nandocas choice - chicken breast topped with cole slaw on their buttery garlic bread. It sounded amazing, and it really was. The flavor of the chicken itself might have been a little bit better on A's regular flame grilled chicken, but all together, this combination was great (and after trying many different things, those are still my 2 favorite sides for the chicken). We completely understood why people from England were so obsessed with Nando's. It's pretty amusing how 2015 has been, in some ways, the year of Nando's for us. We got our first taste in Virginia on the way down to Savannah, then again on the drive back in Maryland, and then we went to one of the new Nando's stores in Chicago. On top of that, we also went to Nando's in London and got to try some of the stuff there that is different from what we can get at home. Now all we need is a Nando's in NYC.

6. Scallops from Nopi (London, UK)

When I saw the scallops on the menu at Nopi, one of the Ottolenghi spots in London, I thought they sounded interesting. We were trying to narrow down our choices from a gigantic menu that sounded good, and it was tough to decide what to get. Then a few dishes arrived at the table next to us, and one of them was this scallop dish. The aroma of the scallops overpowered anything else in our area, and we both knew we had to get it. The scallops came with an apple yuzu puree, some soft roasted endives, and little bits of pork, and they were cooked perfectly. We expected nothing less from an Ottolenghi spot, but this dish was amazing. I can still taste it today, the rich scallops, the bright purees, the hearty pork, and the comforting endives. So good.

7. Mentaiko spaghetti from Noreetuh (New York, NY)

We went to Noreetuh to celebrate our anniversary this year, which made complete sense since we got married in Hawaii and Noreetuh serves elevated and inventive Hawaiian cuisine. One of our favorite dishes was this mentaiko spaghetti with smoked butterfish (clearly, I love smoked fish), aonori, and chili. The pasta was just right and al dente, the fish was soft and silky, and the entire dish was really smoky and so rich and buttery. The balance of the seasonings was spot-on, and we cleaned every bit of sauce off that plate.

8. Sunday roast pulled pork from The Pig and Butcher (London, UK)

The Sunday roast at The Pig and Butcher was one of our favorite London experiences. You got to choose your meat - I went with pork - and then it came with standard sides of leeks, roasted vegetables, fried potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding.  The pork was a roasted pork shoulder that came with a side of applesauce and also a side sauce of your choosing (at their suggestion, I went with dijon mustard). This was the best roasted pork I have ever had in my life. It had the texture of a good pulled pork, but it wasn't barbecue like most of the pulled pork here in the States. It felt like comfort food, and was such a great way to experience classic London.

9. Fried chicken livers and grits from Planters Tavern at the Olde Pink House (Savannah, GA)

We had a lot of good Southern cooking in Savannah and I had quite a few dishes as possibilities for this top 10 list. In the end, the one that won a place was this dish of fried chicken livers, Geechie Boy grits, bordelaise, and fried spinach from Planters Tavern, the downstairs old school tavern under one of the most famous Savannah restaurants, the Olde Pink House. We loved the vibe of the tavern as we sat at the bar having a few appetizers. While the chicken livers were really tasty, the best part of this dish was the grits. I love grits and these were possibly the best grits ever. I liked them so much that while I sat at the bar eating them, I was researching on my phone where Geechie Boy grits came from (Edisto Island, SC) and how far it would be from our planned driving route in South Carolina (almost an hour detour each way). They were so good that we were really tempted to change plans to get some of these grits, but in the end, just didn't think we could fit it into the trip. The fact that we even considered it I think says everything about how highly we thought of them.

10. Home cooking and the 52 week cooking challenge

As has been the case for the past few years, I'm devoting one slot on the top 10 list to home cooking, and just like last year, it's to dishes from the 52 week cooking challenge. I have become a much better cook than I was 2 years ago, and I think part of that is due to pushing boundaries and making myself try new things instead of making the same old, comfortable dishes week after week. Some of my favorite things from this year were the loaded baked potato salad, cocoa jerk tofu, Chilean butternut squash casserole, the cheese and leek toastie, leeks with bacon and mushrooms, and of course, one of my favorite dishes in the entire world, larb gai. The fact that because of the challenge I can now make larb at home is alone one of the highlights of my year. I'm incredibly grateful that something like this challenge even exists to get me out of my comfort zone and give some structure to my cooking journey (which has in many ways taken place on this blog; reading some of the early cooking posts, I've really seen how far I've come).

There it is - my top 10 food memories of 2015. Hoping 2016 brings some excellent food adventures!