GREEN & RED REDUX

OK SEA BASS, GREAT MULLET

There are few real benefits to knowing Jay Rayner. A few free meals, obviously, the occasional opportunity to give him a hard time for being the only person in christendom who thinks that M&S' Blue Harbour line is fashionable and, er, that's about it.

However, last night when he was kind enough to invite Dos Hermanos to join him at Green & Red, he really came up trumps. Not only was he late ( 'serves him right for living South of the river" to quote hermano Primero ) but he had a mullet. Not just a slight lengthening of the hair at the back of the head, but a full on Billy Ray Cyrus, Achy Breaky Heart, mullet. A Jon Bon Jovi c 1988 mullet. It was all I could do to stop myself from singing "you give criticism a bad name" Actually, I think I did.

I am afraid, that the mullet, like watching a car wreck was too distracting and informed most of our evening. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture said mullet on camera. Mr Rayner was shy of having his fizzog on my blog. Strange given that it is plastered on the header of his column every week. Such a desire to be shy and retiring seems out of place with this 6ft + , 200lb + lumbering behomoth of a man. A bit like Paris Hilton getting all coy and saying she does not put out on the first date. Ah Well. All I could get was this image of him, napkin over head ( actually a good look for him ) looking disturbingly like The Elephant Man.

Anyway, arriving bang on 8pm as directed. HP and I went straight to the house margarita's. Very good indeed and, when JR did turn up, it took little persuading for us to have another round.

The room was packed with beautiful young things and the sight of three middle aged men salivating was not a good look, I am sure. The trouble is, once you pass 40, you become entirely invisible to attractive women. I guess it does allow you to letch with impunity. I, of course, was not guitly of such things. I wish I could say the same for the other two. Shameful.

JR took control of the menu and we ordered about 80% of the menu.

The food was as good as on my previous visit and we tried some things I had not eaten before amongst them chorizo and also a whole baked sea bass

This time, the Birria was the star for me. A slow braised lamb shank in a thin chilli broth. A comment on my previous post about this explained how this is cooked in a pit before being braised. As Jay said, given that this is Bethnal green, I am pretty glad it had not been buried anywhere.

We also managed to try a few postre. The chocolate and churros was not a bad stab although the churros were too dense and not as light and hot as they could have been. A creme catalan style dessert was probably the best of the bunch.

With the cocktails and a few rounds of Negro Modela, the bill came to £150 of which a good 60% was probably on the booze so we were more than happy to cough up a bit towards the tab. After all, Jay has a family and that mullet to support.

All together now

DON"T BREAK MY HEART, MY ACHY BREAKY HEART