Contemplation on Crisps

After spending the day visiting the Museum of London and St. Paul's Cathedral, we ventured into "The City" to find an historic London pub - Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.  I have wanted to come to this pub since first finding out I would be spending part of my summer in London. 

My mascot and a pint of Samuel
 Smith  Old Brewery Bitter

This pub was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London (1666) destroyed the original.  It is of special interest to me because of all the amazing people who have visited the pub over its long history. Here are a few of the patrons you might know: Dr. Samuel Johnson, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Wilkie Collins, Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  However, the big reason behind me wanting to visit is because this was one of Charles Dickens favorite haunts. I just had to sit down in the Gentleman's Bar (it allows women now), and think about where he might have sat.  Turns out I should have had the guidebook - we sat at the table next to his favorite!

Five of us decided to visit the pub after the climb through St. Paul's Cathedral. We needed a rest and some fortifying crisps!  For you Americans reading, crisps are potato chips. As a rule, I'm a plain chip kind of girl. I might venture into sea salt territory, but that is as flavorful as I get. The one thing I have noticed about British crisps - they do not believe in plain! In fact, the crisps we enjoyed today were Roast Beef flavored!  I'll admit, the first bite was weird, but after that they were oddly delicious!  It was very Willy Wonka like - imagine the flavor of mashed potatoes and roast beef in crunchy form.

Upon further investigation, Walker's (Lay's in the US) has several interesting flavors: prawn cocktail, smoky bacon, and roast chicken are just a few. I have decided to venture into flavored crisp territory while I am here.  I will keep you posted on my gastronomical adventures!