Kebabs, Sake Bombs, and Space Rock - Chef's Night Out with Rita’s

**A Night of Unpredictability**

It started as a simple kitchen experiment gone wrong, with Luka remarking "What the fuck? It's a little mid-evening snack." The comment was made after trying what he described as "butter made of meat," which tasted surprisingly good. His friends and flatmates joined in on the excitement, turning what was meant to be a quiet dinner into an impromptu gathering.

The group soon decided to take their revelry outside, literally hijacking a van with blue strip lighting and heading out to watch a band play at a local dive bar. The atmosphere was electric, with everyone embracing their inner party animal. As they made their way to the bar, they were met with a surprise – a hipster chef attempting to be taken seriously despite his questionable tattoos.

The night continued in this vein of unpredictability, with the group stopping off at a ramen bar called Tonkoysu that specialized in pork-based noodles with housemade goodness. The flavors and textures danced on their taste buds, leaving them wanting more. A series of drinks followed, including Japanese Bloody Marys and sake bombs, which seemed to either sober up or get everyone slightly more intoxicated.

As the night wore on, the group decided to take a road trip in a giant white spaceship van, complete with blue strip lighting. Their destination was another favorite dive bar, where they watched The Riddles play live music. Despite initial reservations about his lack of hair, one member of the band seemed to fit right in with the rest.

The evening culminated in a culinary extravaganza, with a variety of dishes created and devoured by the group. From lamb and Chipotle chilis to wild garlic mayonnaise and pineapple juice-braised meat, every bite was a masterclass in flavor and texture. The food was so good that even the most skeptical members of the group were won over.

As the night drew to a close, the group reflected on the ethos behind their little restaurant venture. It was all about embracing simplicity and having fun, rather than trying to be overly fancy or pretentious. And as they sat around, enjoying their food and each other's company, it was clear that this impromptu gathering had become something truly special.

The final touches were added with a trip to Rita's, where everyone seemed to enjoy being a bit of a hipster chef, sporting questionable tattoos and embracing their inner wild child. As the night drew to a close, everyone was left feeling grateful for the unpredictability of it all, and the memories that would be forged in the kitchen, on the van, and around the dive bar.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enFucking hell, I feel likean absolute pile of shit.My name is Gabriel Pryce.I'm the head chef andco-owner of Rita's inHackney, on Mare Street.My name is Missy Flynn,I am co-owner of Rita's.I run the restaurantday to day andI also run the drinkside of things.I didn't have anykind of formaltraining, as it were.I lived in America forfive years,I went to film school, soI was living therewith a student visa,which obviouslydidn't allow me toget a proper job.I didn't do anythingillegal or anything, butI just hung out in somekitchens with some guys.It's fine.But the food that I dois completely influencedby my time in the States.We call it modernAmerican comfort food,cuz everyone needsa tagline, butit's a bit American,bit European, allgreat British produce.Really good suppliers andwe do fried chicken.It's everyone talksabout all the time.It's really good.I work mostly ina Mexican bars andrestaurants.What I wanted to bringtoday is that really fun.Accessible cocktail menu.It kind of mirrors whatthe kitchen does in termsof seasonality.Muslim Agave spirits arelike tequilas and mescalsand I think that is thevibe of Reuters is like,fun, interesting,party drinks.Missing from thistrio is Deano,who is head honchoof big boss man.Poppa.Poppa.It was kind ofDeano's idea.He was involvedin birthdays,the bar in Dalston.We turned the oldtoilets behind the barinto a kitchen for twogrand, which was insane.Originally it wassupposed to just be fora month to just lookafter the kitchen,it was a pop up.And then we left fora year.It's just standingbehind a bar in Bostonthrowing fried chicken atdrunk kids, which was-It was really fun.Loads of fun.When we first opened,it was really rough.It was like all outat the counter.You'd just get likecutlery in the middle ofthe table, andthen I think people likewanted it to be moreof a restaurant, soone day we just startedsetting the table.The next day you'vegot water glasses onthe table now andnow it's table service.And it just kindof evolved.And I think people wantedit to be like that.And it just made senseto take out there anddo it completely.We wantedsomeone's name soit feels likesomeone's place.You're going over thereto thing's house.Somebody suggestedcalling it Maggie's.I said,I'm not calling Maggie's.And then Missysaid Rita's.I'm, like, Yeah, Rita's.And she just soundslike a nice broad.Yes.I haven't been out toeat anywhere for awhile.So three orfour in one night isgoing to be pretty good.I'm just going to prep upwhat we're going to eatwhen we come back sothat I don't haveto do too much.I'm gonna prep somelamb shoulders.They're gonna getbraised all day andall eveningwhile we're out.Then when we come back tothem later all the meat'sjust gonna comestraight off the bone.So that's that.What's up, dude?What's going on.How are you?I'm good, I'm good,it's Deano.What we have in there?A with spice,it's based on lime andspices andeveryone's favoritehot sauce.She looks like she's beenmaking Cholula fora while.Actually she'squite cute,I'm coming foryou Cholula.Here you go, it's nota particularly attractivedrink is it?I think itlooks gorgeous.This is our favoritedrink it's called a poopin the.Cheers.Cheers.All right I'm done,you done?Laura. Sick! Delux!Some as well.German whip.Or with the blue leather.I like this look.Best school trip ever.We got on the bus,headed over to Mangal.It's been there about25 years I think.There's a lot offantastic Turkish foodaround here but, as faras we're concerned,that's where it's at.Fish mangoFirst Ocakbasi Restaurantin London,where you sit anddine next to the grilland a open fire.The guys yesterdaywere amazing.Yes.The way theylook after you isthe best here.It's not transactional,it's like you'rein their space.We don't see asa restaurant,we see as our home,and you are my guests.This guy, basically,is my dad.He's here nearly24 years.But his English is notthat good because he hadno time to go to schoolinstead of cooking,basically.He was cooking too much.So I think now, we'regoing to keep him fornext 10,15 years ultimately.So another one ofthese effers, classic,nice Turkishdeliciousness.I'm so stoked for this.I mean it's an honor tobe taken care of thatwell at Mango One, butto be given a Mango Onet-shirt is nextlevel hospitality.Simply the best.Simply the best.We cook everythingon the grill.Red peppers andtomatoes, a little bit ofsalt, red pepper powder.Chop it in very fine.A bit of yogurt.Melt butter.Let's see whatchef's got to say.The that he did forus at the start.That super smokey grilledaubergine with yogurt andthat fresh tomato salad.Yeah.It's so good.I had a feelingwhen we got that,was gonna do a lot forus.But I didn't think itwas gonna be that much.I mean, I've seen a mixedgrill before, butthis makes the mixedgrill that I wantis a pretty intensetower of meat.Fucking hell.Amazing taste ofcooked over charcoal.Anything cookedover charcoal,it’s just delicious.All the bread thatsoaks up all that nice.It’s probablythe best bit.Better than the steak,better than the meat.The juices.I think I'm gonna be morehungover with meat thanI am with booze tonight.PrettySizable dent in itthough.Thank you.Have a good night.Thank you.Come see us onStreet yeah?Thanks very much.Take care.Ladies first.We got back onthe wagon andheaded over toHill & Szrok.It looks like a museum.A museum of meat.It's a reallybeautiful spot.They do something thatother people don't do,to have a dedicated,really high qualitybutcher shop.Do a really high endproduct really well, andthen at the end ofthe day of working ata butcher shop they turnaround and they say,this is how proud weare of our product.We cook it andwe sell it.You can eat it here.Come and have it.Such a nice dinnersetup as well.Yes.Like,so cute andYeah,it smells like wine.I'll have a bottle,thanks.We sat down to have thebiggest steak I've everhad in my life, ever.100% ever.It's the biggestthing I've ever seen.All my days.So that's it raw.It's a little bitrare for me, though.That's huge.How do you likeyour steak?Rare?Rare.Rare?Rare is good for me.Rare, rare.Perfect.All aboard,salt and pepper.Butchers in the day, butour passion dothe whole carcasses, sowe have the whole animal,all the awful skin andeverything sowe real roots level,make called scratchingbetween pate forms,no wastage, everything isfree range, grass fed.It's a lovelyquality stock,very happy animals.As many of theingredients as possibleveg wise are English.Some quality inhouse rules to keepthe menu nice andsimple andjust try to adjustin the kitchen.What the fuck?It's a little midevening snack.Fucking A.It tasted likebutter made of meat.So good.I thought the wholething was banging.Like butter.This is insane, Luka,this is unbelievableThank you so much.This is just too much.My old flat mates turnedup there to try andhave a quiet dinnerby themselves butwe decided to hijack it.Take him with us.Linda.Linda, put it together.We're going toSober.What we're doingnow is pullingourselves together.Handling our shit.I'm not puttingcigarettesbackward in my mouth.I can't wait to gosomewhere where you candrink alcohol andeat some food.Are you ready?Am I right?Am I right iswhat I meant.Right?Are you right?You are right.Are you right?We are all right.We are all right.We've had nothingto drink or eat,I assure you.Well, come in.Emma's my girl.Emma is somebody I've gotto know just bybeing like hey, wejust opened a restaurantin East London.I wanna meet you,I need some help.Hang out with me please.She's somebody Ilean on a lot forlike, just advice.And she's superfun as well.Tonkoysu's a ramen bar,specializing in Tonkoysuis a pork based ramenwith amazing housemade noodles.I don't know if you sawthe noodle machine inthe back.But after all thatmeat last night.We thought we'djust go ahead andget some snacks.We have somecroquettes and.They're amazing,so they're likea traditional croquettes,I guess.But we like loadsof crabmeat sowe have brown meat andwhite meat and reallycrispy on the outside andserve it a lovely sauce.And then we addsome drinks,Japanese Bloody Mary.And put duck sauce in,some soy sauce,little bit of the pepper,I felt slightly drunkwhen I left here,pretty drunk when we leftwarmed up when we gotto bloody Mary helped.The next oneDid not help.Yeah, maybe feelsome type of way.This is the sake bomb.The idea is now that andthen you wanna havea little tapon the table.The marksmanwho turned up,so somehow it'sdone well with him.We've got just peoplethat we really respectand admire to watch ussmash a bunch of glasses.And sowe grabbed everyone else,brought them on the giantwhite spaceship van withblue strip lighting.I feel like I'm in quasarHeaded over to the otherway and our favoriteperfect dive bar.Went in andwatched the Riddles playThe Riddles are a bandfronted by Jimmy.I don't know his lastname because his lastname is always whateverthe band he's in.So he's currentlycalled Jimmy Riddle.I stood around doingthat for a bit.But I felt a bit sick.I didn't have as muchhair as everyone else.So, I can'treally head bang.Yeah!To Rita's.Hair out.Who's trying to bea hipster chef now?Where's your tattoos bro?Where's your tattoos bro?Pick them up.Threw them onthe super bus andheaded over here forme to cook some food.I was feeling a littlebit ropy, butI have a littlebit of a thing,when I walk intothe kitchen,I just kind of soberup a little bit.This is all delicious, doyou know about delicious?This is delicious.So this is the lambthat we put in today.Early in the with allthis delicious oregano,nice Chipotle chilis.Lamb's on.There's a lot ofsugars in there.We've got the agave,we've got a littlesweet from the raisinsand everything.Just wanna caramelizesome of thosesugars I've been braisingwith pineapple juice andeverything.I feel like right now.She never did this.She never did this!And then this,this is the beauty.This is the wild guy soit's an emulsion madewith a housemade mayonnaise,also black pepper, wildgarlic, and a finishing.Fuck it smells so good.Alright, thisis delicious.Who's hungry?Come and get something.Let me put these on theplate for the big dog.Big dog'sgetting a plate.Big dog.The ethos behind what wedo is to put ourselves ona plate, and in a glass,and in a fun place, andnot be too fancy orover the top,and just be a niceneighborhood restaurant,somewhere where people inthe neighborhood wannacome and hang out.That's it.That's great.I'm going toget some chips.Are you actuallygetting chips?Yes.Do you want some?No.\n"