https://appalachia.co.uk/It's a meme restaurant claiming to serve Appalachian food which is kinda a thing but they aren't really serving much that's truly inspired by the area (having spent much time eating at local appalachian restaurants). Takedown review behind a paywall (archived):https://archive.is/8G59wI find the Sunday Times restaurant reviews interesting. They are trying to bring back sort of old fashioned restaurant reviews but they have the writers try to sort of act like your friends and be funny and informal. It's not like the US where the reviews just read like lazy ads, but it's not quite as polished as Australia where they seem (theage reviews) to balance a comic personal tone with being professional about it. This woman is their chief writer. She tries way too hard but it's not bad writing otherwise. The restaurant seems designed for rich hipsters. ==At one point we ordered a plate of brined chicken with miso grits and black pepper gravy, only to watch the kitchen chop it up, pore over its bloody ends, then put it back under the grill to fire it up a bit, then serve it five minutes later, still pink and raw.
First up, there is a hillbilly loaf with cultured apple butter. This sounds exciting but turns out to be an ordinary little milk loaf that tastes of airline croissants. The cultured apple butter is fine, a bit desultory and sour. And then there are the cornbread madeleines with cheddar and jalapeños, served with a nicely tart ranch dressing. These are, again, potentially intriguing but turn out to be crumbly, salty and dry, more like biscuits than madeleines.The tongue and head skewer is assembled from flavourful bits of pork neck and then stuffed onto a skewer, souvlaki-style, sprinkled with chives and bits of popped rice, and it’s all covered with an oyster glaze sauce and pork rinds that are so heavily seasoned they taste of nothing except funky peppered pig.And the duck heart tacos, tumbling little piles of heart on fragile, collapsing open tacos — well, they’re not chopped up finely enough. And they’re covered in chilli, coming at you with all the force of a cocaine bear roaring out of some derelict cabin in the damp, spittle-flecked woods.
In contrast, this review by the Guardian is all fawning and positivity:https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/jul/05/appalachia-london-n1-restaurant-review-grace-denthonestly the food just seems lazy and uninspired, banana pudding is basic its just banana flavored vanilla pudding, in this case caramelized banana slices at least, but the topping is just crushed up cookiesThe banana pudding choux bun, with layers of vanilla custard and Biscoff crumb with salted caramel popping candy, was a Shoreditch riff on the most reliable dessert in the American south, the one you’ll see at every church potluck and family gathering from Tennessee to West Virginia. The bananas in Borer’s version, however, were so chewy that I sat in the taxi home wondering if they were actually plantain. Borer is cooking the best Appalachian food in the UK, not least because he’s cooking almost the only fried green tomato salad on this side of the Atlantic. I can’t pretend his place isn’t weird, but the weirdness is delicious.The menu is a single, seasonally changing sheet on which Borer’s nerdy devotion to getting things right clearly shows. Chow-chow mignonette on British oysters tips a hat to that old pickling tradition, while the pot liquor poured over East Sussex mushrooms is essentially the liquid left over after cooking collard greens with smoked pork. There’s also a kilt salad for which hot bacon fat is poured over greens to wilt them. Then again, if pork is not your thing, you might well find Appalachia a bit testing, because rind, fat and various other piggy bits can be found nestling in many dishes. That said, the pimento cheeseburger with thick, hand-cut potato fries seemed to go down a storm, while vegetarians must – and I mean must – order the fried green tomato salad on a pickled ginger gravy base.
These crunchy, breadcrumbed tomatoes are one of my favourite things in London right now; the glossy-topped hillbilly loaf with a quenelle of cultured apple butter is pretty fantastic, too.To be honest, Appalachia feels like one of the absolutely hottest, most interesting spots in town. This is no theme bar, and not remotely a joke: they’re really, with full chested pride, doing proper Appalachian regional cooking on a side road near Old Street. Pull up a stool, and enjoy the butter-brined half chicken with miso grits and black pepper gravy, which was the star of our meal and reminded me of nothing so much as Sunday dinner on performance steroids. The beef tartare tostada that preceded it, however, turned up with so much spicy heat that the beef got slightly lost: brave and enjoyable, yes, but I doubt I’d ever order it again. The tongue and head skewer with an oyster sauce glaze was a reminder that here is a kitchen that strives to waste nothing, possibly in the great Appalachian tradition of being cut off from anything so much as resembling a Tesco Metro.
>>22105962>open site>first thing i see is an oysterhuh? >https://archive.is/8G59wwhat a cunt
>what a cuntthat's her gimmick to act like a bitchy gay man in the reviews esp if she doesn't like the foodand some of her britishisms are impenetrable, australian english feels closer to American Englishbut I like the idea of random countries making meme "appalachia" restaurants for hipsters, and the food can be anything
>>22105962>Appalachian foodso it serves people to feral humans?
>>22105977there's actually lots of local foods like ramps, pepperoni rolls, pierogis (mentioned), black walnut syrup, trout, sassafras, wild game, local grains you can make into pasta like sorghum and buckwheat, but this is just hipster british food sold as appalachia, im more commenting on appalachia as a marketing device for hipster food
>>22105981>appalachia as a marketing devicethis just seems odd.why would they market incest?
>>22105985they are marketing the scenic beauty and exoticism of hillbillies trapped in zany green endless mountains>why would they market incest?it's the united kingdomwhat do you think the nobility does on an island?
>>22105990>implying there's any noble people that came from germanic descent
>>22105993They fuck Americans if recent history is anything to go by.
>>22105993https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_of_Mecklenburg-StrelitzCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. As George's wife, she was also Electress of Hanover until becoming Queen of Hanover on 12 October 1814. Charlotte was Britain's longest-serving queen consort, serving for 57 years and 70 days.Charlotte was born into the ruling family of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, a duchy in northern Germany. In 1760, the young and unmarried George III inherited the British throne. As Charlotte was a minor German princess with no interest in politics, the King considered her a suitable consort, and they married in 1761. Their 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood, included two future British monarchs, George IV and William IV; as well as Charlotte, Princess Royal, who became Queen of Württemberg; and Prince Ernest Augustus, who became King of Hanover.--also, separately, assuming the largely frankish/french nobility is somehow distinct from ethnic germans is chauvinism but, the british royal family is quite literally half from germany
>>22105962Ive never really thought of Appalachia as a food destination. Maybe it just gets lumped in with old style country cooking?
>>22105976>Appalachia>beef tartare>old bay>misoLol wut.
>>22105998there's mountains and there's lots of foraging and local ingredients possibleyou have people living remotely and they are cooking their own food and often growing much of it too because food is expensive and difficult to importits more that there's not been too much effort to commercialize it outside the smokies, where you have this:https://www.blackberryfarm.com/a luxury farm and hotel selling expensive local food where Kelly Clarkson had her wedding
>>22106004I get it. I've been in the smokies quite a bit. However, this seems more like an Ashville, NC. Yuppy themed place rather than what you are describing. What Hillbilly or random backpacker is foraging and making their own Harissa?
>>22106007Asheville slipped my mind. I guess that's the epicenter of hipster appalachian food although plenty of it is just literal low country cooking chains like tupelo honey or not american like chai pani>Yuppy themed place rather than what you are describing. What Hillbilly or random backpacker is foraging and making their own Harissa?people who live on farms and in trailers often make their own salsas and preserves there's plenty of balkan immigrants I bet someone has pickled red peppers beforeI agree the actual food of the meme restaurant is not really Appalachian food, but the concept is possible. >I've been in the smokies quite a bit.yseems like a tourist trap to me, so much nice stuff nearby
>>22106013Black mountain is nice and the Blue Ridge range has some great views and hiking. You'll often run into a backpacker and have a simple lunch on the trail together before going seperate ways. Most people only associate the Smokies with touristy spots like Gattlinburg in Tennesee however.
>>22105985incest is wincest.
>>22105997>the british royal family is quite literally half from germanythat was my point.there is nothing noble about that entire group.
>>22106020Is black mountain just the name of a town? I want to hike Black Balsam Knob (which is pretty touristy I think though) but I'm waiting till it cools off a bit even though the entire point of the thing is having high mountains that aren't as hot in summer. I prefer further west in TN around big south fork, but some of the trails are harder to figure out there's some views I have no idea where to park or walk for, I just have a picture of the view and the coordinates, puzzles I tell ya>>22106044well, most of the upper crust of the uk are french, which is closer ethnically to germany than celts or whatever the heck weird ass dna lower class british people have
>poor as shit who rely on sustenance farming, where the food culture is basically what can you hunt or grow and make edible>"I got it, we'll make a themed bougie restaurant"I don't understand
>>22106143rich people have been appropriating various cultures of poors for decades.
>>22106003Yeah its like opening a Mexican restaurant and serving gyros. Hilarious. I always like seeing how wrong foreign countries get American food; its amusing seeing stuff claimed as authentic that most Americans wouldnt have heard of At least Old Bay is sort of feasible. Im sure its made its way up to some Appalachia. grocery stores from Maryland.
>>22105962I live in Appalachia and I don't know what a restaurant based on this area would be exactly. We don't have a really defined distinct food culture, it feels like it would just be any other vaguely southern restaurant at best
>>22106202ramps, paw paws, there's tons of local berries you could make into foodcorn, buckwheat, sorghumyou could make cinnamon rolls except with sassafras icing instead of cinnamonthere's plenty of creative stuff you could do with local foodsnoma gets people to pay 500 dollars for tweezer-lain seaweed
chinkypins
>>22106230hmm so those brown thorny things on the ground with that texture like a rambutan are chestnuts?
>>22105998I’m as Appalachian as it gets and we don’t really have any regional food. maybe biscuits and sawmill gravy, but again that is so ubiquitous with the south who can say where it originated. squirrel maybe? I grew up on things like meatloaf, fried chicken livers, chicken and dumplings, greens, butter and brown sugar biscuits. it’s just handmedown European Great Depression food
>>22105963>coming at you with all the force of a cocaine bearYeh not bad writing at all...
>>22105985Rates of incest in appalachia is negligible/non existant75% of marriages in pakistan are consanguinous, a third of those are between first cousins
>>22105966>its just banana flavored vanilla puddingI'm not even American and I can tell you that's not what banana pudding is in Appalachia or to an Amerisoutherner. It's vanilla pudding layered with Nilla Wafers and sliced banana. It's literally just yank trifle.t. Euro who dated a girl from what Americans call "the Piedmont" (a plateau just south of Appalachia)
>>22106396I'm >>22106434 and that's all stuff my ex grew up on, too. Her mother made the fucking worst macaroni and cheese, though.>>22106200To be fair, Americans have less than no idea what the rest of the world eat, either. None of us from anywhere really understand what other cultures eat, sometimes even after visiting that country.I live in the US, a neighbour just got back from Italy and was surprised that Italians eat roast chicken with spinach and potatoes. I'm like "duh, bitch; everybody everywhere eats that. There's some dude in Chongching China eating that shit right now".
>>22106450that’s true. I traveled a lot in the military and the more places you go the more you see the same things.
APPALACHIA, YEAAAHPEPPERONNI ROLLS, YEAAAHSQUIRREL GRAVY ,YEAAAHSHOOTING A TURKEY IN YOUR BACK YARD, YEAAAHWVU, GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!
>>22105962what do they serve, heroin?
>>22106422jeez
>>22105962>Appalachian foodSo squash patties, ramp burgers, hot dogs, and tons of beer. People here in appalachia are fat as fuck.
>>22106093Yes, Black mountain is a small town east of ashville up in the hills.
>>22107331I do like the hot dog + chili + coleslaw concept. You could "elevate" those ingredients with a local half-smoke (fat spicy sausage), real chili and homemade slaw made with scratch mayo and it could be really good - esp with a nice bun .I had an AMAZING burger at a place in Richwood, WV, deep in the mtns small town, closed now, "whistlepunk cafe and grill" places with ridiculous names always close rip pavemint smokin' taphouse bbq in front royal the BEST bbq that no longer exists, anyways whistlehouse had the most amazing burger, just really fresh beef and served rare too, and I drove back with family to try it again, we were too early, they wouldn't serve us "oh we open at 4" it was 3pm, we had driven hours just to eat there, they closed within a few months>>22107356there's some cute town between asheville and linville gorge I keep meaning to stop in, nice shops, not sure of the name. Open to suggestions in the area. Got a Hare Krishna pamphlet from a woman who complimented my hair a few months ago.
>>22105962They eat food that isn’t road kill, cheap beer, or bologna on cheap white bread?
>>22107486I have a oil painting in my office from a local artist in Black Mountain. I stumbled upon her shop while she was painting and I needed a glass of water. We talked for a few hours. I'll try to find her name when I get home. I hope she still has her shop.
>>22107486I also meant to point out that Charleston, WV is actually a wonderful place to visit. So mean great views on the drive. We went for a research presentation and spent a good chunk of time I. The wikderness collecting plants in the area.
>>22107495I can't really afford oil paintings, let alone in Asheville, but if you remember the name of the shop, sure. I have tons of art and no idea who made a lot of it unless it's really clearly marked. Do you live in the Asheville area?>>22107497t. cryptid>drive to charleston>immediately blacks>body warns me, go no further, only trouble here>go to WV state museum>gift shop is closed, leaveIf you have something specific in Charleston you think is nice, sure, but I think it's just kinda sad.
>>22106200Western Maryland is just barely part of Appalachia so it kind of counts.
>>22107526Good call, yeah that's true. >>22106450Yeah i know, just look at what we in the USA think Chinese or Italian food is. Not to say its bad but Chinese people in China dont eat General Tso's. Every country just does its best interpretation of foreign cuisine that fits locals tastes.
>>22107526>barelyoh no its totally parkoakland md has plenty of amish and you can easily drive from there to davis, a class wv mtn townthey just don't have a lot of accessible land and the trails are somewhat disappointingmeadow mountain is niceyou can hike to high rock on savage mountain where a woman severed her bf's neck one cold rainy jan night and tried to pretend it was a mutual suicide pact thing and they were gonna jump from the rocks then she went down to someone's house to call 911 (she survived, he did not), and she's now rotting in prison for at least 20 more years I think. There's a fire tower next to the rocks that would have a much better view but you can't go in it. That's the real problem they just don't really care about the user experience. They closed the Deep Creek Lake fire tower entirely, and before it was only open select warm-weather Saturdays limited hours. No other ways to get a view (that I know of) on public land near Deep Creek.
>>22105963I'm torn. On the one hand, this sounds like stupid hipster "Appalachian food if they could afford ridiculous ingredients". On the other hand, the reviewer sounds like a miserable cunt.You want Appalachian food?* fried chicken* hot cornbread baked in a cast-iron skillet, with butter (use White Lily mix or fuck off)* biscuits (again, White Lily flour or fuck off)* gravy gravy gravy* bacon bacon bacon* fried eggs, over easy or scrambled, your choice* chicken and rice with button mushrooms thrown in* gratin potatoes* pan-fried steak* cornbread-crusted lake perchGod I miss my grandparents so much.
>>22107597I truly wish I could find au gratin potatoes anywhere in Appalachia.
I'm an Appalachian. Some authentic appalachian dishes that I cook are:>Miso soup>fried rice>pancakes and bacon>steaks>hamburgers/hot dogs>tacos>fajitas>spaghetti bolognes>pizza>waffle house>chicken and rice>pulled porkJust a few dishes from our beautiful aristocratic Appalachian culture. Have you guys heard of any of these? The folks in the hollers are just bums, not really representative of us real ones.
>>22105962I hate everything about this, from the retarded larp food that has nothing to do with us to the leftoid obsession with trying to separate Appalachia from "the South". If there is "Appalachian food" it's 95% the same as what you'd get at a country buffet or barbecue place. Fried chicken livers (one of my favorite thing) is the only thing that might be kind of particular to the highland culture in my experience.
>>22107597>God I miss my grandparents so muchMe too. I miss my grandma's chocolate pie every day.
>>22107699Bro, southern grandmas are fuckin crazy when it comes to the pantry and countertop staples. German Chocolate cake, Coconut cream cake, chocolate cake, pound cake, apple pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, sour cherry pie (if they have a cherry tree), blackberry cobblers. They always ran like a dessert bakery just for the family. I miss my ole nanny (and papa) but holy fuck I'd be fat as fuck if she was still around. That generation was so fucking based on absolutely EVERY aspect in life, especially the jokes they tell in private.. I can't believe my parent's gen came from them.
>>22107712lmao. I'm the euro from yesterday with the Southern ex. Her grandmother was exactly like that. All four of her sons have diabetes and I can't help but think it's because she kept cakes out on the counter. Plural. There were always at least two, usually three or four. Omnipresent was coconut rum cake. She soaked a pair of typical sponge rounds in Malibu, made coconut pudding frosting for the crumb layer and outer bits then covered it in a mix of regular, sweetened and toasted coconut shreds. Gotta admit, it's a very good, boozy cake but Jesus Christ. Between that and her 7up cake, which is a sponge soaked in fucking 7up for the teetotal church ladies instead of rum, it's surprising anyone in that family and community still has both feet.My ex somehow wasn't fat. She was a chunky kid but lost weight in college and was proper fit by uni.
>>22107732Funnily enough, I'm pretty sure it's a heritage cultural thing from the colonial days. Having plump kids/family members meant your family as a whole was doing well and was seen as a status symbol. That generation was directly impacted by the constant ongoing overbearing economic destruction after the civil war 60 years earlier, their parents getting fucked over during the great depression (losing siblings and shit too), living during ww2 rationing and shit, and finally got to experience abundance in the 50's/60's. I guess they wanted to make sure their kids and grandkids were always taken care and would never have to know true poverty.
>>22107797its not like appalachia tries really hard to make cool outdoor stuff they have all these amazing landscapes and all they do is post no trespassing signs and tell you to fuck off instead of adding steps, viewpoints, and walking paths, or if there is that it was put in in the 1930s and crumbling ever since.
white duck taco sounds pretty good rngo neers
>>22107819There's plenty of places to go. You just gotta know about them and a lot of them are well kept secrets. I'd share some incredible places, but quite frankly, fuck west coast diaspora and yanks.Anyways, staying on topic, the only unique ingredient I can think of is the brook trout. Another dish popular there, but not unique is fiddlehead greens, but I've never had that. Brook trout on the other hand is so fucking soft and flaky and has a sweet almost chicken taste. I need to renew my fishing license..
>>22107831That place, biscuit head, funkatorium, and wicked weed brew pub live rent-free in my head. I really dislike the people in asheville, but there are some good places to eat and the surrounding backcountry is otherworldly.
>>22107861>There's plenty of places to go.and there's plenty more where the trails are falling apart, the overlooks are blocked, or it's just outright fenced off>I'd share some incredible places, but quite frankly, fuck west coast diaspora and yanks.oh yeah im sure ur the expertI bought black walnut syrup (its expensive as fuck) from a guy who inherited the trees and land going back generations and originally the family came from Germany in the 1800s I think but that's just a guess he said he didn't know but internet says its a German last name. It has a rather distinct taste but it would be interesting on liver pate or you could get creative and instead of using coconut sugar for thai dipping sauce you could make roast duck wrapped in roti bread but with black walnut syrup mixed with local vinegars - there's a place called Keepwell Vinegars out of Harrisburg PA that makes artisan vinegars, really amazing stuffrestaurants barely try the appalachia menu is lazy af
>>22105962>appalachia restaurantwhat do they serve, crystal meth and incest?
