The Friend At Hand, Bloomsbury, London

After a morning spent prowling the stolen antiquities at the British Museum we were a bit peckish and set off through the University of London neighbourhoods to try and find some nourishment, but wound up looping back to the area adjacent to Russell Square tube station before we found the Friend at Hand (actually there was a really nice looking Italian place next to the tube stop but it closed at 2:30 and we got there at 2:31).

After a week without air traffic, you can actually move freely in tourist sites

I had a Mad Goose Pale Ale from Purity Brewing and ordered up the roast beef which was served up a bit overdone with roast potatoes to complement the big plop of mashed potatoes; there were also peas and carrots and it really was delicious in spite of the overcooked beef.  Jamie enjoyed her big glass of wine more than the chicken caesar salad but it was really just some ballast for continued tourism.

There was a smattering of live entertainment that the Irish manager (hey, maybe that explains the slavish devotion to the taters) pointed out as a truck driver tried to maneuver a huge tractor-trailer rig into one very narrow street from another one that was even smaller and through an approximate 135 degree turn.  Fortunately for the drunks behind us (a middle aged businessman and a much younger–but not young–female companion) the outside fixtures that the truck hit several times during the multiple attempts at the turn weren’t sent hurtling through the window and onto their table, not that they would be likely to notice.  What a fun place!

 

Google satellite view as of 28 May 2011...don't remember low flying aircraft on our visit