Blog goddess: Krista

Eating well and cheaply and on-the-go didn't seem so important to London when I first moved here from Chicago in 2004. Imagine a depressed Yank lost at 1.30pm somewhere on the Northern Line, surrounded by nothing but cold triangle sandwiches in paper boxes and empty bags of crisps. In the States, I had hot food for lunch most days – Mexican, Thai, Indian, more Mexican. And when I wasn't having hot food, I was having a fantastic salad. And it was all take-away. The kind where you don't have to call ahead. And cheap! Five bucks. Maybe six.
 
To a stranger in a strange land, you ate your cold sandwich of cold prawns and cold avocados and ubiquitous (and cold) rocket late. 1pm. Rarely noon. (Or midday, as you say.) When I wasn't homesick, I was starving. (Dare I admit it? In the U.S., sometimes we eat lunch at 11! Particularly after a 6 am workout. Yes, 6am!)
 
And, oh, how you drink! At lunch! During the workday! I remember leaning crookedly on the (seemingly crooked) arches of London's Leadenhall Market one rare and sunny summer afternoon thinking, "Surely, no one is going back to the office after this." But off they – and I – all went. I and my liver had led a very sheltered life, apparently, until arriving on your shores.
 
My homesickness was cured by two things: pork belly and Welsh rarebit. Britain, you make a good pig. And I like your cheddar, particularly melted on toast with Worcestershire sauce. I also like how your eggs come in brown shells and your supermarkets so excitedly advertise ENGLISH strawberries. I love drinking Pimms on the lawn – any lawn, really, although you do have to be careful about that. And I've come to love a glass of rosé on a nice day. (Back where I'm from, pink wine only comes in five gallon boxes and is normally accompanied by spray cheese and Doritos).
 
All that said, you can take the girl out of the States, but you can't take the States out of the girl. I don't know why (or how) you pay for all that bottled water at dinner when tap water is just fine. I can't understand why you let restaurants automatically add 12.5% to the tab for shabby service. And can anyone explain why some pubs keep jars of pickled eggs behind the bar or why so many bars serve Thai food when all I really want is a nice pie or some fish and chips?

Check out Krista's blog here

Quick Q&As
 
What made you start blogging?
Homesickness! Although we share a common language, I was still a bit out of sorts when I initially arrived in the UK. My first site was all about the cultural differences. But then on a whim, I started writing about some of the restaurants I had visited and I got really positive feedback. I also gained a bit of weight, but I'll save that story for my book deal.
 
Does the blog have a theme?
American girl likes food. And London. But not cooking. I'm working on the cooking bit. But it's a slow process.
 
What inspired your love of food?
While most kids I knew went off to school on a stomach full of cold cereal, my mom filled me and my brother with blueberry pancakes or waffles with powdered sugar. I guess I never really knew that food could be bad until I started eating at other people's homes! Plus, my dad was a New York City police officer for 20 years and then a taxi driver so he always knew about these little out-of-the way places with fantastic food. My dad says that you should always ask the cops and taxi drivers where to eat… they really appreciate good value. The taxi driver thing, in particular, really inspired me to get off the beaten path and explore.
 
Favourite thing about blogging?
I blog mainly to discover London. It's a great excuse to go someplace you've never been before. Just as an example of how it can work, after I wrote about how much I loved Fernandez & Wells off of Oxford Street, a guy in Australia suggested I visit Lina's, an Italian deli right around the corner. So I did. And now I have enough ravioli to feed 12 people. Do you want to come over for dinner?
 
Least favourite thing?
 
Have you made friends with other bloggers?
Yes, I see Howard and Ben from Food & Drink pretty often, as well as Jess from Ripe London. A few months ago, Jess raffled me off to eligible bachelors via her blog. There was exactly one applicant, but he was a Ph.D. from Harvard so that's gotta count for something.
 
Your favourite blogs?
Ripe London. Food and romance, beautifully written. I've forgiven her "Win a Date with Krista."
Food & Drink London. By my pals Howard and Ben. Howard takes great photos.
Stonch's Beer Blog. I like beer. A lot. But Stonch really likes beer.
London Review of Breakfasts. The Full English at its romantically tragic best.
 
Your top tips?
For blogging? Stay committed. I can't tell you how many people email me asking me to link to their site, and a month or two later, they've already stopped posting! And don't apologize. So many posts start with "I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while… " It gets boring. Don't put yourself in that situation. Pick a schedule and try to stick with it. I usually have my blog content scheduled out two weeks in advance.

Oh, and don't be stingy with the link love!
 
Your signature dish?
I'm really not much of a cook, but I do like to roast chickens occasionally. Makes the house smell nice. Also, I make a decent tortilla if I really concentrate.
 
Your favourite food moment?
I was just in San Sebastian for the wedding of two good friends of mine (Hi Bryan! Hi Stacey!) and we did a tapas crawl. It was some of the best food and the most fun I've had. I love La Cepa!
 
Your worst cooking disaster?
I set off my smoke detector pretty regularly. I like to think it's the oven and not me. This one time, I couldn't figure out how to turn the smoke detector off, even though there wasn't 'really' a fire. Talk about a panic attack! I was convinced the fire brigade were going to show up any second. They didn't, which causes its own concerns!