ENGLISH TREATS

Yum yum! Just admiring my haul from Myers of Keswick

Bisto, Paxo, Heinz Salad Cream, Ploughmans Pickle, 3 Chocolate Oranges, 2lbs of sausages, 4 bags of Walkers, a packet of Bourbon creams and some Penguin biscuits.

It's not as if there isn't plenty of processed food available here in Manhattan, because of course there is. It's just that we, in our little family, like our peripheries to be processed and not the main deal. We prefer to smother something genuinely grown in a field with factory made salad cream, rather than something also made in a factory. It's called a balanced diet, foodie freaks!

Myers of Keswick is a shop in the Meatpacking district owned by a British bloke. My kids absolutely love it if I go there but I am dreading the day they discover the truth. The truth being, it's a short hop from the subway stop at 14th St. Since we moved here I visit only rarely and tell the teenz it's because the shop is far, far away, difficult to get to and in a very dangerous area. Myers of Keswick in their imagination exists as a lonely island in an urban hell-fest of shooters, muggers and video game type zombies. One day they will see it's dotted along from the Catharine Malandrino shop, close to the gourmet-heaven of the Chelsea Market. On the other hand, the particular bit of 9th Ave where it lies is pretty bleak and I noticed today that the Nicole Farhi shop/cafe in Chelsea Market has closed.

The secret truth is: Chelsea is still rickety-rackety as hell. Walking west on 14th Street it's hard to believe you're heading into one of the city's priciest areas. Also, talking to fellow New Yorkers including a real estate agent househunting for Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz - I KNOW!! It seems like property there is secretly very CHEAP. It's just that no-one in the property biz wants anyone (the rest of us)  to know.

Well, I've digressed again. Looking forward to cooking roast, organic pork this weekend with all the Myers trimmings - the pork, incidentally, has cost almost as much as an apartment in Chelsea.