Smokehouse, Islington

Smokehouse @SmokehouseN1
61-63 Canonbury Road, Islington N1 2DG

Not long after leaving the John Salt, Neil Rankin is back stoking the fire at a joint venture between the Pig & Butcher and himself. Rankin (also ex-Pitt Cue Co & Barbecoa) has a vast background in all things barbecue, and armed with his collection of Green Eggs, like something out of Game of Thrones, an offset smoker, and a robata grill they have put together a menu beyond just pulled pork and ribs. With covers for well over 50 this place has far more elbow space than other revered BBQ places like Pitt Cue...and a fair few more beers on the menu to say the least

This butter be good

WARNING: this post contains obscene amounts of delicious fat and calories. 

Many people are surprised when I tell them I have around 40g of butter every morning. Most people respond with 'Urrrgh' 'Why would you do that?', or a slap to the face. Bet you are sitting there thinking exactly the same. But why is there this instant reaction, after all butter is just churned cream, where the casein associated with heart disease and diabetes, is removed. Some of the healthiest people on the planet, Tibetans, are reknowned for their butter tea, and have ridiculously low incidence of heart disease. The dogma that fat is bad for you is not right, that half your required vitamins for you to work properly are fat soluble, does it not make sense that fat should be a larger part of your diet.

But before you take a big chunk out of that block of butter, please beware fats, and butters for that matter, are NOT created equal

A buttery prophecy

Our top 3 burgers

It's fair to say looking at the list of places we've been to amoungst everything else, we've devoured a fair amount of burgers. To celebrated bursting through the 20 (and 21) mark we've come up with our favourites. We don't always agree, especially when it comes to optimal seasoning, so no surprise that we've come to different conclusions. I think the question of the top burgers in the game is always a contentious issue though. What would be your picks?