Bears in London

[vaneramos]

Part of my excuse for visiting London on the weekend was to attend the Forest City Bears bar night at Tracks 722, part of Club London spa. I was pleased to learn bigmacbear and gmjambear would also arrive from Rochester. After running errands with detailbear on Saturday, we met the boys for dinner at a Hungarian Restaurant.

The Budapest has been around for 40 years. It is decorated with gold and red velvet wallpaper, and burgundy velvet curtains. The two waitresses, sisters, had apparently worked there since the beginning. The elder had too much arthritis to be waiting tables. We had the younger, who served with an ambiguous grimace. I settled on duckling, while the others ordered more conventional fare. Afterwards the beaming elder sister brought a dessert plate with poppy seed loaf, ice cream rolled in a crepe and drizzled with chocolate, and something else I couldn't attempt.

The four of us stuck together for bar night. I was also happy to bump into Cloey; hadn't seen him in weeks. I met a sexy and affectionate biker from Sarnia. Later I recessed to the spa for a couple hours. Kevin's house is conveniently located nine blocks from the club.

[bigmacbear has posted a photo of Kevin and me along with a link to a gallery of London photos in his journal.]

Comments

[leafshimmer.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting the photo link. You look eminently edible, as always. I bet you had fun in that spa. Was there a Maypole--or several??

I loved your description of the Budapest. I could see the whole place and the two sisters in my mind's eye. Has Bill ever been there? It would be interesting to hear his take on it, and, of course, his review of what the kitchen produces. (I wonder whether there's anything vegetarian on the menu, beyond the desserts?)

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Yes, multiple maypoles. You would have been delighted. Even two at once. Never a flower in sight, I fear, but I didn't miss them.

Bill would have had a riot at the Budapest. I've gone with him and Daniel to a Hungarian restaurant in Toronto, which is relatively greasy-spoon but only slightly less entertaining. Hungarian cuisine is uniquely unhealthy: all fat and carbs and hardly a vegetable in sight except beets and cabbages.

However, I do recall seeing a vegetarian item or two on the Budapest's menu. Some kind of emasculated cabbage roll perhaps. ;-P