La Petite Bouchee’s Croque Madame

Croque madame from La Petite Bouchee, Sydenham

This weekend I found the perfect croque madame in the back of a van in Sydenham.  Those are words I never thought I would type.  Allow me to explain…

To be honest, I was wondering when this was going to happen.  My search for a good croque madame has been a long one.  For there are many in London, but few that are actually any good.  Usually they fall down on the cheese.  I’ve seen it all from the poor-quality cheese that somehow refuses to melt, the cheese that tastes of practically nothing and the cheese that is so stingy in portion size that it is barely cheese at all.  I was beginning to give up, but then I was invited to a brunch that had a croque madame on the menu and thought I would have one last go at finding a good one.

There was to be no restaurant at the end of this invitation, but something altogether more special:  a 1973 Citroen H van that had been transformed into a perfect little dining room.  It is called La Petite Bouchee, which literally translates as “the little mouthful” and is parked up opposite a lake in this pretty little south-east London park.  It has everything you might expect when out for brunch: orange juice on the table, the weekend newspapers and a pot of fresh coffee with milk and sugar.  It can accommodate four people and is remarkably spacious considering its diminutive size.  An outdoor kitchen, where all the food is prepared, transforms it into a French bistro serving up local, organic and seasonal foods.

The brunch menu is typically French.  As well as the two croques (monsieur et madame), there are eggs Benedict, Florentine and Royale; and a selection of omelettes.  And like every good brunch, there is booze.  Either prosecco or a bloody mary made with their house-infused vodka.

So, about the croque:  this is not only the best croque madame I have ever had, but one of the best sandwiches I have ever had.  Every element is so well-chosen and executed with such care that when it comes together it is sheer perfection.  The bread is a good-quality white loaf, sliced thickly enough to hold together the filling and lightly crisped in the pan.  The ham is decent and a little smoked and the egg placed on the top perfectly cooked with a soft yolk.  The cheese, often the disappointment of a croque madame, was perfectly melted in the middle of the sandwich, and on the top made into the most delightfully oozing cheese sauce, spiked with just a little mustard.  I asked Anita-Clare, our cook, which cheese she used and she replied “Emmental in the morning and Gruyère in the afternoon.  Gruyère is too much in the morning.”  And she was totally right.

Try as I might, I couldn’t finish it. This is one huge sandwich.  Fortunately there were three other eager diners, forks poised, ready to polish off what I left.

La Petite Bouchee, Sydenham Wells Park, London SE26.  BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL.

For transparency I should mention that I was a guest of La Petite Bouchee, but not in return for a review, simply because they are kind … I just had to share the croque!

The Frenchie’s Duck Confit Burger

Duck confit burger with duck skin scratching at The Frenchie, Camden Food Market

I had heard whisperings on Twitter about this duck confit burger for some time, and therefore have had confit duck and brioche on the brain.  When my brother came to visit last weekend and expressed a wish for good street food, I knew this was my chance to try it.  Only one problem:  I would have to go to Camden for it.

I lived in NW1 when I first moved to London and although there were many things about it I loved, having to push through crowds of tourists, surly goths and the local, erm, marijuana pushers just to get a pint of milk in the morning was not one of them.  Camden is a busy place, especially around the lock, so putting a food market right there seems like a good idea, no?  Well, actually, no.  It is a bloody terrible idea.  For one, it is in a completely enclosed courtyard, bordered on one side by a canal and on the other by a kind of indoor shopping mall, which makes escape rather difficult.  This means that people browse, buy and eat in one place, which would be fine, except that there are millions of them.

I turned up, arranged a vague meeting-up strategy with my companions and went on the hunt for The Frenchie.  When I arrived, there was a relatively small queue so I quickly joined it and started to peruse the menu.  The concept is very simple:  you have a portion of the confit duck on brioche with a sprinkle of duck skin scratchings, some mustard, lettuce and then a choice of cheese.  The options are smoked cheddar, goats cheese with honey and a blue cheese.  This is all cooked on a hot plate and served up to you for around £6.00.  Or £6.50.  I forget.

Anyway, once I had navigated this sandwich through the crowds to a quiet corner, I found it to be one of the most spectacular sandwiches I had ever eaten.  The charms of confit duck in general require no big description, but this was a particularly excellent example:  flavoursome and moist, almost gelatinous in texture with a lovely salty crunch provided by the little pearls of duck skin scratchings scattered throughout.  I chose the smoked cheddar for the topping as I was worried the goats cheese and blue cheese might be too overpowering, and it was perfect; there was enough of smokiness to enhance the sandwich, but not too much flavour that it killed off the duck.  The brioche held it all together well until the last bite.

I have since been told that The Frenchie appear at other food markets across London, so I can enjoy another one of these wonderful creations without going to Camden. YES.