NICE OMELETTE

It doesn’t often occur to me to review food, but you know what? It turns out that the food at the Café Crèma on New Cross Road is fuckin’ a!

Yes, if a cheese and broccoli omelette could really be said to be the omelette equivalent of The Thermals, then that was the omelette I had.

You see, I forgot to make myself a sandwich today, and I spent the morning in work freezing cold and hungry, and I guess that probably made it extra nice.

So I went to the café, wondering what I’d end up with for lunch. And I said, “Gimme an omelette!” (well actually I requested one in a more soft-spoken and polite fashion – everyone in this joint is soft-spoken and polite, which suits me - but I’m just trying to make this more punchy to read, y’know?), and I sat down next to the radiator (heat), and I drank my coffee (which wasn’t much good, but it’s still coffee) and I read my book.

So I sat there and I finished reading John Fahey’s visionary and somewhat disturbing account of his rediscovery of Skip James. The scope of the disillusionment and general ‘lack’ expressed in Fahey’s writing didn’t really gel very well with the mild-mannered, shiny-eyed art-schooly enthusiasm radiated by the café and it’s patrons, and this cruel conflict of incompatible vibes started to subtly recall some bad memories in a way I doubt I could ever really explain.

But then they brought my omelette, and boy howdy, what an amazing fucking omelette! DAMN good food! I am renewed! Somebody really put a bit of effort into cooking this thing, and making it taste nice – a concept rarer than gold when grabbing lunch in an urban area. This omelette was just a beautiful as the Fahey book, and just, no almost, (actually not at all, but I’m here to praise the omelette, so let it slide), as beautiful as the studenty girls with their dark, dark hair and nose-rings sitting in the corners and studiously doing whatever it is they do.

And the bread was pretty great too! It tasted like proper baker’s bread, not this nasty, doughy supermarket stuff. I wouldn’t have thought there was a decent bakery left within five miles of this dump (London = bread nightmare). So again, somebody’s been putting in some effort. And I appreciate it, I really do!

And besides omelettes and bread, this place does other neat stuff too. Like on April 11th, they’re doing a thing in the evening where for £6 you get a meal, a movie screening and a performance by a band... how’s that for value? And furthermore, the band is Congregation, who are perhaps my favourite currently active band in London. And, as has been established, the meal is sure to be good, so even if the movie sucks, that’s still two out of three. Will the wonders of this heavenly café never cease..?

Sadly, I won’t be able to go to that event because I will be in Wales for my Easter break, but you (yes, YOU) might like to attend.

Bit of a trivial and overtly personal post today I realise, but just thought I’d share my omelette gnosis with you.