Elliot Cunningham

A Riot! Vans Shop Riot was so much fun the other week, also very reminiscent of some older times, I think it deserves its own post on the grid. I’ve spent a lot of time under the westway flyover, namely between the ages of 9-15. The skatepark was officially open to the public on 24th of May 1997 - fresh tarmac poured and few simple set ups. Some years past, Playstation got involved and sponsored the space; personally one of my favourite versions of it - the layout, range of obstacles, and the fact it wasn’t fully polished - it felt real to be able to skate there properly. Perhaps it’s the “back in my day” feeling, or the fact it was that set up that I spent the most time in - either way I loved it. The demos, the Graff, the locals, and THAT mini ramp 👌🏻😮‍💨🔥❤️ After a few years, Xbox took over and changed things up a bit, some new bits - some good some, not so good. They also included a little arcade room, under the Midi ramp, with Xbox arcade units bolted into the floor. I can still remember the smell…yeah it wasn’t great. 🥲 Though it had been through some changes, it was still a spot we often visited - with my younger brother @roryjcunningham , loosely accompanied by my dad who would drop us off with a carrier bag of random shit from tesco; meal deal sandwiches, cold dry sausage rolls and always a bottle of Kick - iykyk. Then he’d spend the day on portobello in a pub chewing anyone’s ear off he could. We’d have to go and meet his new friends in the pub on a lunch break or after the session; there were always some interesting characters for sure - I remember one guy, Tony, had finger nails so long they curved round to his thumb, and locs so moulded it was like someone had sprayed a thick towel with 10 cans of starch spray, to the degree he had to support is head on the back of the pub chair whilst talking to us. Mildy terrifying, as a shy young kid to be introduced to my dad’s new pals, but they were always the nicest people and best story tellers, like my Dad himself. To this day somethings have stuck with me since those conversations and i’m very grateful for it. ❤️ Cont below 👇🏻

I hope you all had a great NYE, and Christmas for those that celebrate. Mine was spent doing very little, which was absolutely fine by me. Here’s a few pics that caught my eye when doom scrolling through the festive limbo period. 👁️ 1) Beef Tartare; hand chopped beef fillet. Jalapeño, dill, red onion soy cured egg yolk and shoestring fries. Served with beef dripping toast. 2)Crab and House Saltfish Hush Puppies. A mash up of west African fritters and a southern american Hushy P. Similar in texture to a buttermilk doughnut, but carrying that salty, spicy, flavour kick of the fritter. I used some brown crab meat in substitution for some of the wet batter mix, which really made the flavour level up a notch. Fresh ginger, scotch bonnet and green onion providing a much needed freshness. 3) Fresher than fresh Herring from our pals @finandflounder Can see why they’re called silver darlings. 4)Individual Smoked Chicken and Leek Pies, for a Sunday Special. 5) A whole side of award winning Mutton from Charles @tastetradition ; deboned and stuffed with their delicious merguez mix. Big thanks to @jonnonsh ❤️ 6)Gravad Chalk Stream Trout - Cured how we would do at home; 50/50 sugar and salt, liberally covering the fillets before sandwiching them together with loads of chopped dill, wrapping and curing for a couple of days. Finally a freeze and thaw on the day of serving; this helps the texture but we would have done this back home to also kill any parasites that may be present in the fish. 7)Beautiful Fresh Slip Sole; Confit in EVO and Butter with a shed load of garlic. Served in the oil, with dill and caviar. 8)Hen of the woods, Pak choy and Tenderstem - sautéed in a heady mix of gochujang, smoked sesame, chilli and ginger. 9)Maldon Oyster at the Bumps. Chilli and Shallot Pickle Ft Winter Sunshine. 10) Nova in a wig because everyone needs to see it. What dishes would you like to see in the next couple of months? #food #eatlagom #londonbbq

Lagom Pants Coming Soon. ❤️ @eatlagom #baggytrousers 📸 @roryjcunningham

Choose your fighter 🥊🗽🦀💥 🟥In The Red Corner; weighing in at 250g a patty. An ode the classic bodega staple; Chopped Cheese. Chopped Beef Patty, grilled onions and shit cheese. Seared and seasoned before chopping and adding cheese. Piled into our milk bun, and topped with garlic mayo, lettuce and tomato. 🟦 In The Blue Corner! The Soft Shell Crab Bun; Buttermilk fried soft shell crab a top, Garlic mayo, dill vinegar slaw. A freshly sliced, buttery avocado on next before a final hit of mango naga hot sauce. Who’s your money on?

Burgers and Buns! A busy couple of weeks in the @3compassese8 kitchen. Fun opportunity to play with some more dive-bar menu styles with Lagom twist. Here’s a few favourites from the last few weeks. 1) A nod to a Caribbean beef and cheese pattie, a favourite snack of mine. Seasoned aged beef patty, using what id typically season my oxtail with; proper pimento, scotch bonnet, thyme, ginger, spring onion etc. Garlic mayo, a tiny shredded lettuce, pickled scotch bonnets and of course, cheese. 2) XL Cornmeal Fried Flounder Goujons. Salt brined then dunked in seasoned buttermilk before a final dredge in cornmeal and flour. Alongside some of the seasons finest, PSB. Charred and sat a top sunflower seed romesco, sunflower seed cream and toasted sunflower seeds. Nutty, vibrant and indulgent. 3) Fresh Scottish mackerel seasoned in pul biber, garlic, lemon and s&p. Grilled hard and fast for wrap take on an istanbul classic; the balik ekmek. 4) Pork, Egg and Cheese. 5) The lesser spotted double smash, but a firm staple with the crowds so far! Our classic smash; mustard mayo, aged patty, dill vinegar slaw and cheese. 6) Green market Salad. Both baby butterhead and mixed leaf salad from our pals at Shrub - dressed in a mustard vinaigrette, covered in parm and crunchy msg croutons. 7)A test of a Jalapeño and mozzarella smash, similar to an oklahoma style but replace the onions with jalapeño and mozz. Smashing into into the grill with the fatty patty creates not only a nice beefy crust but addition of a little char to the jalapeños and cheese similar to those crunchy bits on a toasty. Topped finally with Bbq sauce and pink onions. Reminiscent of a classic 🍔👑 8) Iberico Buffalo Ribs. Brined Iberico Pork Ribs, steamed, fried and doused in house made naga buffalo sauce. Served with gorgonzola dip and pickles. 9) Fish Bun. Cornmeal Fried Flounder Fillets, same as above on Jalapeño Tartar, and loads of fresh cold lettuce. 10)The crispiest fried chicken. Call me the General. 11) My take of a favourite of mine; Räkmacka - a Swedish prawn sandwich; we’ve added crayfish and a little jalapeño for kick. Heaps of dill and egg. Mums! What are you picking?

Choose Your Fighter! 💥🤺 Playing with some ideas for our pop up @3compassese8 today. Both using soy and honey braised pork belly, with the addition of some cascabel, pasilla, habanero chillies and a boat load of ginger. First up, the the red corner! A cold cut style sandwich, pork, honey mustard mayo, lettuce, tomatoes and some pickled sivri biber. In the Blue Corner, a cuban style sandwich; pork, american cheese, mustard mayo, and pickles. Brushed liberally with smoked rapeseed oil before a toast for that crunch. I’d like to get both on at some stage, possibly one for Saturday afternoons. Which corner are you fighting? 🟥🟦

I’ve been a little quiet on here as of late but wanted to introduce to you our new “Burgers and Buns” offering at @3compassese8 In Dalston. A smaller, bun focused menu that will be serving your favourites, as well as some exciting new additions and specials. Expect to see our award winning Smash Burger, crispy potatoes, alongside some tried and tested previous specials of @eatlagom 1) Buttermilk Fried Chicken. Gorgonzola. Pickled Chillies. Lettuce and Garlic Mayo. 2) The OG Smash - Mustard Mayo. Aged Beef Patty. American Cheese. Dill Vinegar Slaw. 3/4/5) Fried Soft Shell Crab Bun. Garlic Mayo And Butter. Masala Chilli Sauce. Dill Vinegar Slaw - @whatwillycook Fave! 6) Brisket. MSG Ranch. Jalapeños. 7) Lamb Burger. Köfte Seasoned Lamb Patty. Cemen Yoghurt. Ezme. Kebab Chillies. 8)The OG Smash With Added XL Diver Scallop. 9) Crispiest Potatoes. Garlic Mayo. 10) A Couple OGs. 11) Beer Battered Fish Bun. Jalapeño Tartar. Dill Vinegar Slaw. 12) Spice Bag. Fried Chicken Beef And Pork. Salt N Pepper Onions and Peppers. 13) Stuffed Aubergine Bun. Mozzarella. Garlic Mayo. Lettuce And Tomato. 14) Buns And Burgers. 15) Chopped Pork. Garlic Mayo. 16/17) Crispy Celeriac Bun. Garlic Mayo. Dill Vinegar Slaw. Tonkatsu Sauce. What are you choosing? Kicking off next week and I cannot wait to see you all ❤️ Lots of Love E xxxx

A Sunday kind of love @eatlagom @hackneychurchbrewco by @elliotcunningham 💥 This was recommended to me when I was on my way to @blacklockchops (also amazing!) so I HAD to make the trip for a family roast last weekend. 12 hour 1kg Prime Rib for the family to share accompanied by veg, the most deliciously crispy potatoes and ginormous Yorkshire puddings. All based in a brewery for the perfect accoutrement! 🍻 YUM. • • • #sundayroast #sundaylunch #london #londonsundayroast #roastdinner #roastdinnerlondon #primerib #beef #roastbeef #familylunch #hackney #hackneyeats #londoneats #meatfest #allthemeat #primerib #yum #hackneychurch #hackneychurchbrewco

A couple bits from last week 🔥 1)Monkfish Cheeks. Dredged in seasoned flour then into a wet batter made using rice lager and soda water; the result, a beautifully tender but crispy coating, with meaty….errrm cheeks. 😳 Served with pickled lemon drop chillies, slaw and jalapeño tartar sauce. 2) Beef. Fire. Maillard. 3) Grilled 1kg Seabass. Garlic Butter. Crispies and Jalapeño Tartar. 4)Sleeping Beauty ❤️ 5) Ugly Delicious. Beautiful Chinese cabbage from our pals @shrub.london grilled and smothered in miso garlic butter, and topped with smoked hazelnuts. 6) Sparkling Bass from our friends @finandflounder 7) I found some glasses. Lots of love Exx

A few favourites from the last month or so, as always forever grateful to work with such brilliant suppliers, friends and family. ❤️ 1) Salted Beef Tongue Bun. Cured similarly to salt beef, followed by a rub in pastrami spice, before a low and slow smoke over night. Sliced and into a bun with garlic mayo, ranch and house pickles. 2) A Gillardeau treat from my friends @finandflounder 3)Deep Fried Mac and Cheese. Burger mince ragout. a shit tonne of parmesan. 4) Blackened Chilli Sauce. Using the first of the seasons chillies from our pals @shrub.london 🔥 5)Slowly Grilled Plaice. Herb Butter. 6) Iberico Pork Collar Chop. Chilli Sauce. 7)12 Hr Prime Rib. For our award winning sunday roast at @eatlagom 8) Grilled Pork Belly. 9) Look mum i’ve made it! My ugly mug on the cover of @peak_mag on a recent trip back to the homeland. lots of love to you all ❤️🔥🫶🏻 Elliot xx

More heat from the kitchen, the last couple of weeks. 1) 1KG Porterhouse. Grilled over oak. 2)Upside Down English Nectarine Cake. Cardamom Custard. 3)Beautiful English Jalapeños. 4)Our Sunday Hangover Bowl. Mixed meat trims, spuds, veg, yorkie and gravy. 5)Serious cheese pull from our fried aubergine bun. 6)Minute Steak and eggs. Crispy potatoes and chilli butter. 7) Grilled Onions. Smoked Oil. 8) Lamb Skewer. Anchovy and Salted Lemon glaze. Sumac Onions and pickled chillies. 9) Grilled Monkfish tail. Crab and garlic butter. Samphire. 10) Pickled Fennel. Thanks as always you lovely lot 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 Exxx

Another brilliant week under the arches in Hackney Central. Here are some of my favourites, a few classics, a few newbies but always the best produce we can get our hands on. 1) Big Butterhead Salad. Buttermilk and dill dressing, before a cover with parm, bacon bits and smoked rapeseed oil. A nod to a classics wedge, how can you go wrong. 2)The crispiest baby squid from Cornwall, via our friends @finandflounder . Garlic mayo and Lemon. Serious snacking. 3)Fried Chicken Bun. Honey-butter gochujang glaze. Garlic mayo and slaw. 4)Girolles. Hand picked by a lovely gent I met at Meatopia Glasgow. Posted down from Highlands - Thanks Charley! 5)Smoked Pork Ribs. Jalapeño and Apple Glaze. Maldon. 6)Braised Pork Bun. Belly slices braised down in a heady mix of ginger, sugar, szechuan, cardamom and dried chillies before a chop. Cucumbers dressed in soy, garlic, sesame and peanuts. Mustard Mayo and Slaw. 7) Cold Pigs Ear Salad. Blanched first in a simple “fresh” stock, before a braise in the same stock as above for the pork belly. Chilled and sliced before dressing with a chilli sauce, coriander, peanuts and sesame. Not for everyone, but that leaves more for me. Crunchy but soft, spicy and rich - perfect beer snack IMO. 8)Smoked and Fried Cauliflower. Jalapeño Sour Cream. Honey and Lagom Spice rub. 9)Jalapeño and cheddar cornbread. Doused in butter and honey - what’s not to love?? As always thank you to our suppliers, customers and followers. ❤️❤️ Have a lovely week! Exxx