In search of Greenwich’s best… Chocolate Brownie

With all of the excellent bakeries in Greenwich, you’d think getting a brownie would be easy. Not so, surprisingly. You can’t move for cupcakes these days but I found just three indy bakeries selling squidgy brownies on Sunday.

For me a brownie needs to be dense and a little gooey in the middle. It needs to be heavier than a chocolate sponge. I’m a brownie purist so I don’t want bells and whistles in my brownies (for goodness sake, stop putting Oreos in them), just chocolate will suit me fine.

So which one was best?

Black Vanilla, College Approach

Oh, I truly wanted this one to be a winner. I’ve been excited about visiting Black Vanilla, which just opened last week in College Approach, but I knew when I was buying it that it wasn’t going to take the top spot. It looked dry and it was. It tasted of cocoa rather than chocolate and was actually pretty small – it was too thin to get a decent squidge. And the most expensive at £2.50.

But, to get to the cake counter you have to walk past the ice cream, and that looks phenomenal. I’m not discounting Black Vanilla altogether, I think they’re a fabulous addition to Greenwich and were very friendly when I popped in.

Rhodes, College Approach

They call their brownie the ‘best in the world’ and while the hyperbole irritates me, it was pretty good. It looked amazing. Thick, stodgy, unhealthy. Still soft in the middle despite being flaky on the top. Yep, this is one mighty fine brownie. Surprisingly not bitter despite it being so dark. It was the cheapest as well – just £1.80. Getting anything tasty under two quid is a bit of a challenge.

The downside? Not once have I seen the staff smile in Rhodes. I come here for the cake and I take it away rather than staying. A bit of a chat and a smile wouldn’t go amiss.

The Real Baking Company, Greenwich Market

A firm favourite in Greenwich Market, they were getting reading to close up when I visited. Still, I was greeted with a smile and a bit of a chat (they must have been FREEZING after standing outside all day).

The brownie was £2.40 so certainly not cheap, but worth the money. There was an unusual aftertaste to this one. Cherries, or some sort of sweet fruit. It’s certainly no bad thing. The addition of chocolate chips was welcome, too. You could eat one of these in one go, and be very happy that you did.

Verdict

It’s absolutely a tie between The Real Baking Company and Rhodes. If the staff in Rhodes could crack a smile, they’d just edge it for me. Which means obviously you should try both and make up your own mind.

Who do you think does the best chocolate brownie in Greenwich?

Council’s iPhone app “worth every penny”

THE DEPUTY Leader of the Council, Peter Brooks, has praised the council’s iPhone app designed to promote Greenwich.

Speaking at last week’s full council meeting, Cllr Brooks said the application, which cost over £5,000 to develop, was “worth every penny”.

Holding his iPhone in his hand, the councillor said he had downloaded the app a day earlier and that it was a “very good app”.

It was revealed in a written answer to Councillor Alex Wilson that the application was downloaded 185 times between 20 August 2010 and 18 November 2010. Since then, the developer has not been able to supply further information, the answer states, but downloads have been estimated at 15 per week.

However, in a previous answer given in response to a Freedom of Information request from 853′s Darryl Chamberlain in December 2010, it was stated that the app had been downloaded 563 times.

Destination Greenwich has been promoted in the council’s Greenwich Time newspaper, which is delivered to every home in the borough.

The application contains a countdown to the London 2012 Olympics and a list of “treasures” in the borough.

£2,550 of the development cost was spent on the script, studio time and narration of the application’s list of local treasures. The application contains 35 minutes of narration.

Destination Greenwich’s list of Greenwich Treasures

• The O2
• Royal Observatory
• Greenwich Park
• Old Royal Naval College
• Queen’s House
• National Maritime Museum
• St Alfege Church
• Greenwich Market
• Discover Greenwich Visitor Centre
• Cutty Sark
• Royal Artillery Barracks

Which “treasures” do you think the council should add to its list?

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Exeter City v Charlton Athletic (28/01/2011)

Exeter City 0 Charlton 1 (Green 55).

Kevin Nolan reports from St. James Park.

In football, if you can’t be good, at least be lucky. It’s good advice, which Charlton followed to the letter in South Devon. In squeezing past lowly Exeter City, the Addicks weren’t all that good but just when they needed it most, they got lucky. And like the champions they expect to be in May, they rode that luck to three more vital points. So it turned out they were good enough.

A first half of so-so quality had drifted by almost unnoticed when, 10 minutes after the break, Danny Green moved along the right wing and crossed disappointingly into goalkeeper Artur Krysiak’s catching orbit. Distracted by his near post, the big Pole succeeded only in fumbling the ball over his goalline, under modest pressure from Yann Kermorgant. Green duly claimed his third goal of the season and possession being 9/10ths of the law, may hang on to it.

Not that the visitors were undeserving of this important win. Their performance might have lacked sparkle but they had enough about them to prevail by other means. While the Grecians struggled in the defensive vice that has seen Charlton concede only 19 goals in 27 league games, a third consecutive 1-0 victory for the leaders was always likely. Organisation and discipline are part of playing well. Even Barcelona understand their tika-taka is underpinned by those frequently overlooked qualities.

So Charlton’s 11th win on the road was unspectacular but soundly based on team spirit and watertight resistance. Any one of a magnificent back four could have been named man-of-the match. Behind them, Ben Hamer survived a couple of the potentially disastrous handling errors which have troubled him lately but contributed two fine second half saves as City sought an unlikely equaliser.

In midfield, the meteoric rise of Bradley Pritchard gathered pace. Owner of an enviable engine, the non-league graduate worked selflessly for the cause, snapping into tackles, stealing possession and passing sensibly. An occasional goal would round off the satisfying development of a player who, just last season, was doing his stuff in the Conference. Manager Chris Powell assures us that he has a few in his locker.

Powell might reserve his broadest smile, though, for the brief, but impressive substitute cameo provided by fit-again Dale Stephens. Recovered from injury after a three-month absence, the slim stylist showed sufficient class during a 10 minute-plus stint to remind the boss what he’s been missing. Even in League One’s frenetic hurly-burly, there’s nothing quite like an innate ability to put a foot on the ball, pick the right pass and dictate the pace of a game. They used to call them “schemers” and no amount of trendy toffee about “operating in the hole” or “dropping in behind the strikers” devalues their importance to a team. Expect Stephens to be back in the starting line-up before very long. It’ll be like having a new player.

Elsewhere, there was precious little action to describe. Commanding centre back Matt Taylor, a St. James Park alumnus, supplied the visitors’ best first half effort with a nimbly executed overhead shot, which Richard Duffy alertly kicked off the line. Adventurous left back Rhoys Wiggins also got forward to force an alert save from Krysiak at his right post.
At the other end, John O’Flynn wastefully headed a Scott Golbourne cross into Hamer’s hands before Danny Coles pounced on rare hesitation from Pritchard but fired left-footed over the bar.

Green’s flukey goal had the effect of triggering a second half flurry of activity. Spurred into reprisal by the setback, Grecians gaffer Paul Tisdale went hell-for-leather with two attacking substitutes in Guillem Bauza and Danny Nardiello, whose knuckleheaded dismissal at The Valley in September torpedoed Exeter’s chances in an eventual 2-0 defeat.

Tisdale’s aggressive statement of intent almost paid instant dividends as Bauza turned sharply to draw an excellent save from Hamer. The Spaniard tried again with a glancing header but Hamer defied him for a second time; first to the rebound, Richard Logan blasted it wildly into the crowd and was probably relieved to discover that he’d been flagged offside.

A second goal was recommended but strikers Bradley Wright-Phillips (9 games) and Kermorgant (5 games) can’t buy one between them at the moment. They did combine brilliantly, to be fair, with Wright-Phillips escaping down the left before delivering a peach of a centre which his French partner headed powerfully but inexplicably wide of the left post. Sums up their current plight in a way.

By now practised in the art of stretching a little a long way, the Addicks sensibly made do with what they had, efficiently mopping up City’s spasmodic forays on their way to another deceptively narrow, yet relatively comfortable, victory. Their hapless victims were left to “suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” inflicted by Green’s errant right foot. Their fate was sort of like a Grecian tragedy.

What did you think of the match? Post your comments below!

Exeter: Krysiak, Tully, Golbourne, Duffy ( Bauza 56), Archibald-Henville, Coles, Dunne, Noble, Bennett, Taylor ( Nardiello 64), O’Flynn (Logan 56). Not used: Pidgeley, Jones.

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Morrison, Taylor, Wiggins, Green ( Stephens 82), Hollands, Pritchard ( Haynes 89), Jackson, Wright-Phillips (Clarke 71). Not used: Sullivan, Cort.

Referee: Graham Salisbury. Attendance: 5,439.

Daily Photo: 27/01/2011 – St Alfege’s restored cherubs

St Alfege church, which is marking the 1000th anniversary of the martyrdom of Alfege this year, has taken off the covers to reveal the latest stage of its restoration. The restoration of the tower was completed last year and the next phase, according to St Alfege’s website, was to include “the restoration of the ‘cherubs’ on the drums at ground level, the railings and the repaving of the north east corner.”

But with the work revealed, local historian Horatio Blood has offered a withering assessment of what’s been done. He says:

The once beautifully weathered cherubs on the drums have been subjected to the most hideously brutal and insensitive cleaning imaginable. Previously, the beauty of these much-eroded sculptures lay entirely in the fact that the dirt gave a definition to the carving, and the resulting chiaroscuro possessed them with a mysterious romantic and spiritual aspect that can never be replaced.

All of the qualities bestowed by the passage of time and the onslaught of the elements have been entirely eradicated and consequently these sculptures have lost not just their weathered patina but also their historic integrity and aesthetic value.

Today, they rather sadly resemble ornaments from a garden centre. One friend remarked that they now seem to be sculpted from lard. What makes a bad situation worse, is that the rest of the portico has not been cleaned so the drums and cherubs now resemble newly fitted gleaming false teeth grinning from a battered old face.

What do you think of the newly restored cherubs?

Planning Board backs latest London 2012 submission

DETAILED plans for the hosting of London 2012 events in Greenwich Park won the backing of councillors last night.

The Planning Board voted to support the application from Locog who were submitting details of how they plan to deliver the equestrian events in Greenwich Park.

A new picture was revealed (see above) showing how organisers think the temporary stadium in the park will look. Locog also disclosed that on cross country day – the busiest day of the equestrian events – there will be a total of 50,000 ticketed spectators at the venue, a figure scaled down from previous estimates.

Concerns were raised by critics about the pruning of trees in Greenwich Park, the positioning of security lighting down the Maze Hill side of the park and about the restoration of the Circus Field, which will be used as a service area.

Greenwich West councillor and Deputy Mayor, David Grant, spoke – as a resident – in favour of the application but said he would to see donkey rides retained by the gates of Greenwich Park, and also suggested that Locog “grass over” Duke Humphrey Road as a legacy project.

Locog said grassing over the road would be an expensive project but they are in discussions regarding the fate of the donkey rides at games time.

Councillor Steve Offord said he was “perfectly satisfied” with the details, although he did add that the travel plans were “badly in need of review”.

Cllr Dermot Poston voted against the original application and remained unconvinced: “All that equestrian and entertainment junk is just a travesty of the Greenwich Park I’ve known all my life,” he said.

Councillor Denise Hyland was more positive: “I think these are going to be absolutely iconic pictures of our park and they are going to be beamed around the world, making Greenwich even more famous than it already is,” she said.

The Planning Board voted in favour of the application by a majority of 4-2.

Listen to London 2012 Greenwich Park Venue Manager, Jeremy Edwards, reacting to the decision:

North Greenwich Arena plans on display

Later on today, a drop in session will open at Ravensbourne College where London 2012 organisers will explain their transport plans for North Greenwich.

The O2 arena will be renamed as the North Greenwich Arena and a shuttle bus service will get ticket-holders to the venue from Charlton railway station.

Bars and restaurants inside the O2 will remain open throughout the games, although non-Olympic visitors will have to travel through the same queues and security as spectators. Commuter parking, managed by AEG, will be remain open throughout the games.

London 2012 organisers have put together their plans without mention of the under-development cable car, but they say if it’s completed by the games, they will be prepared for it.

London 2012 Drop-in sessions at Ravensbourne College
Friday 27th – Noon – 8pm
Saturday 28th – 10am – 4pm

Council leader’s dramatic challenge: “Stop this nonsense once and for all”

THE LEADER of Greenwich Council, Chris Roberts, challenged a member of the public to stop spreading “rumours” of wrong-doing about him last night.

The dramatic exchange took place during public questions at the full meeting of the council at Woolwich Town Hall.

Babubhai Master, a constituent in Cllr Roberts’ Glyndon ward, has repeatedly laid down written questions about the council’s relationship with a property developer over the last year.

Mr Master, who this website understands is a member of the local Labour Party and stood as a candidate for the council in 1982, complained to the mayor that he had not been allowed to raise in his written question whether there was a conflict of interest in the Leader of the Council’s purchase of a property from a developer in the borough.

“I will have to go somewhere else to ask the questions,” he told the mayor.

At this, the Leader of the Council stood up to raise a point of order:

“He is referring to my purchase of a property.

“If he believes, and if he has any cause to believe, that there is anything incorrect with the purchase of my property there are several courses of action open to him. He can report it to the Chief Executive, to the District Auditor or to the Police and I challenge him now publicly to do all three and stop this nonsense once and for all.

“What he is doing is suggesting is that I behave in a certain way which I certainly do not. So I would actually ask him to raise those questions directly with the Chief Executive, the District Auditor and the Police. Stop the rumour, stop the innuendo and let charges be laid if there are any so that they can be properly answerered.”

Daily Photo: 25/01/2012 – Christina O

Super yacht Christina O made her way up the Thames this today and moored at West India Dock. The former frigate turned luxury yacht was once owned by Aristotle Onassis. Read more about her colourful history here.

Thanks to Dazza for the photo above.

Serviced offices open for business on Greenwich Peninsula

A NEW serviced office centre has opened for business in North Greenwich.

The new business centre is based on the 8th floor of the 6 Mitre Passsage building, close to the Thames cable car development.

The offices are being operated by fast-growing serviced office company, i2 Office, who have already established similar business centres in the City of London and other cities around the UK.

Speaking to offices.org.uk, i2 Office CEO Philip Grace said:

“I think the opportunity to trail-blaze and have a serviced office in this location appealed because there are a number of serviced offices in Canary Wharf but by coming here, we are not competing head to head with Canada Tower and we’re able to deliver in an environment which is slightly different.

He said he is hoping to attract  ”new start ups, established businesses, SMEs and blue chips.” As well as office space, the new centre also offers meeting rooms for hire and virtual addresses.

Read full interview with offices.org.uk

This office overlooks the cable car and the Thames Barrier.

Astronomer of the year competition gets under way

Jupiter with Io and Ganymede, September 2010 © Damian Peach (UK)

THE ROYAL Observatory in Greenwich has started its annual search for the astronomy photographer of the year.

A top prize of £1,500 is on offer for the overall winner with smaller prizes available to individual category winners.

Entries close on June 29th and winning entries will be exhibited at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park. Last year’s winners, including the overall winner by Damian Peach of Jupiter and two of its moons, (shown above) are currently on display.

Dr Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich and judge in the competition said: “Astronomy is becoming increasingly popular with the public which is reflected in the big rise in entries we saw in 2011. Every year the competition has brought new surprises, I love the fact that we receive entries from people all around the world and from complete beginners as well as seasoned experts. All the judges are excited about what we’re going to see this time around.”

Click here to find out how to enter

The observatory, now under the new Royal Museums Greenwich umbrella, is also running an astrophotography course for beginners during February and March.

Champagne bar on ice but gelateria to open this week

PLANS to open a new champagne bar in Greenwich town centre have been put on ice but the owners say they remain “committed” to the concept.

Black Vanilla Champagne Bar & Gelateria planned to open in College Approach but the council turned down their application for a premises license.

The owners announced they would appeal against the decision and gathered almost 150 signatures on a petition of support, but no appeal was lodged before the deadline expired last week.

After a series of delays to the opening, the owners say the new ground floor gelateria will open this week while plans for a fresh premises licence application are prepared. A spokesperson told Greenwich.co.uk:

“Black Vanilla SE10 will be opening for business on Tuesday 24 January 2012 at 5 College Approach. Following Greenwich Council’s decision not to grant them an alcohol licence, the owners have decided to proceed in opening without alcohol on the menu for the time being.

“Black Vanilla remains committed to Greenwich and their original concept, and will be exploring all options to deliver a full service in the future.”

Black Vanilla also run a gelateria and “boutique bakery” in Blackheath.

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