London, England

“Mind the Gap,” “Bubble & Squeak,” “Zed” not “Zee” for the last letter of the alphabet and “Crisps” not “Pototo Chips.” The British have their own unique phrases and we were determined to embrace the Queen’s English and the London lifestyle from day one. From our inaugural ride on the underground subway to our first meal of Bubble & Squeak (a charming British name for Vegetable Hash), we were Londoners for a week.  

 

Mapping the Day

A 10-hour flight across the Pond landed us at Heathrow Airport at 9 in the morning. We had researched in advance how to take the subway system to our hotel. Why not begin our weeklong stay just like a local Londoner? So we gathered our baggage and began a trek down the long hallways to the Underground Station.

At the ticket window, the cashier guided us in purchasing an Oyster Pass. The prepaid card would allow us to travel within three primary zones in the city plus a round trip from and back to the airport for £40 (about $60) each. What a bargain!

We approached the station gate and tapped the card on the payment podium, then we passed with ease to the Piccadilly Line platform toward Cockfosters. An announcement explained that there was clear service on all lines. The electronic signage announced our train was coming in just one minute.

As the train sped into the platform area and came to a halt we heard “Mind the Gap”. The train doors opened and people stepped out of the train over the spatial gap between the train and platform in quick order. We then entered the train lifting our bags over the forewarned gap and found two seats. We were on our way to Green Park station in London.

 

Local Story

About an hour passed when we readied ourselves at the train door. “This is Green Park. Change here for the Jubilee and Victoria lines. This is a Piccadilly line service to Cockfosters.” The doors opened and we heard “Mind the Gap” as we exited.

 

We had arrived in our London home neighborhood for the next week and managed to step over the gap twice without tripping. As we navigated to our hotel, we commented how very polite the British are to warn us of the gap. We were off to a blissful stay.

 

View from the Table

It was early in their day, so our hotel room was not quite ready for us to move in. The bellman traded a ticket stub for our heavy bags and guided us to restaurants nearby on Piccadilly. We were starving for our first British meal. We sat down at Henry’s Cafe Bar where every table around us was filled with conversations, all with that lovely British accent. One of the menu items immediately caught my attention: Bubble & Squeak with Back Bacon and a Poached Egg. It was a perfect beginning to our visit. And we were already feeling quite at home in London.

The British often dine on Roast Beef and Vegetables for their Sunday Supper.  Leftover vegetables, traditionally potatoes, Brussels sprouts and carrots, are then cubed and fried on high heat the next morning for breakfast. The bubble action and squeaky sounds of crisping vegetables in a pan resulted in the classic British name for this easy and hearty breakfast. Use any cooked vegetables you have on hand or cook them in the oven or on the grill specifically for the dish. For our RoadTripFlavors version, we used colorful yellow, orange and purple carrots, Brussels sprouts, onions and Red Rose potatoes.

 

 

 

Roasted Vegetable Hash

with Sausage and An Egg

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