This weeks Londoner is Chris Osburn, a hardcore foodie writer and photographer who’s been doing the rounds in London for a while, he knows his stuff he does…
So Chris how long have you offically been a Londoner and what made you stay?
I’ve been in London for about ten years which is the longest I’ve lived anywhere as an adult. I’m originally from small town USA. Through a series of global misadventures and the opportunity to attend a graduate programme, I wound up here.
Why do I continue live in London? Nowhere else seems to offer me quite as much as London has over the years. I’m not necessarily against moving on, but I’ve yet to grow tired of this town. As a writer and photographer, I find there’s always plenty of subject matter, and when I need to travel I can get pretty much anywhere else in the world with relative ease.
We hear you have your fingers in more pies than Delia Smith. Tell us more about your job…
I do all sorts of stuff to make a living (mostly photography and online media related work), but the short answer is to say I’m a blogger. Essentially, I try to have fun and find ways to share my experiences via blogs and other social channels. Sometimes I succeed. On rare occasion, I succeed wildly.
I’ve been blogging since 2006. It’s been fascinating to see how general attitudes toward blogs and bloggers have evolved over the years.
You obviously get to eat out lots, what’s your favourite restaurant in the city? A cliche we know…
Yeah, I’m really fortunate. To be honest though, I don’t think I have one absolute favourite place to eat. Where to dine just depends on too many factors. That said, here’s a list of my favourite London restaurants of 2012.
My best dining experiences so far this year have been trying the Ode to Great Britain tasting menu at Bo London and indulging in the weekend mega-brunch at the Intercontinental’s Cookbook Cafe – but it’s still early days yet.
A little more down to earth and affordable, my local kebab shop, Neden Urfa (113A Downs Road at Lower Clapton Road), is an underrated and too often overlooked wonder. Literally everything there is freshly made from scratch and very reasonably priced. Some of my most satisfying meals have been there. Thinking about some of the London eateries receiving so much buzz at the moment, I question how much of that is just hype when a solid family run place like Neden Urfa doesn’t have a perpetual queue wrapped round the corner to try its gorgeous offerings. I hope to write a proper blog post about this local gem soon.
Oooo we love a good kebab we do! Any must visit tips for our readers?
I love roaming round the Lea River and the Regent’s Canal and keeping an eye out for goings on around Stratford, Hackney Wick and Chatsworth Road. If you’re looking for fine dining at an affordable price, a lot of fancy schmancy restaurants offer really great lunch specials at a faction of their usual prices.
Maybe they’re a bit too touristy to deal with for a lot of Londoners, but we have access to some of the greatest museums in the world – with most of the coolest stuff on view for free. I’m getting very excited about the upcoming David Bowie exhibition at the V&A.
You can’t beat a bit of Bowie. Can you look into your crystal ball aka vast mind and tell us what you see as the next big foodie trend?
More and more pizza places seem to be springing up all over the place. As long as they’re halfway decent, I reckon that’s a good thing. I think the street food phenomenon is waning a bit as is the craving for all things American and massive. What’s next? Hmm …
One way to try and predict what’s going to be trendy here is to look at what’s currently hip and happening in Brooklyn, give it a few months and put an Anglicised spin on it. That’s seems to have often been the case since I’ve lived in London.
And finally what would your perfect day in London be?
Any “perfect day” would start with fresh ground coffee and involve lots and lots of street photography. There would be sunshine, my girlfriend, good food, a few close friends and most likely a pint in the pub at some point along the way.
Like what you read? Then check out Chris’s blog for more of the same…