I made my first trip to London nearly ten years ago. The must see and do recommendations I received from my well-traveled colleagues and friends were wildly diverse, but overlapped on one point - the food is disappointing.

Fortunately, they were all wrong.

It's true that if you limit yourself to pub fare or anyplace with the words 'lion' or 'duke' in their name, you're bound to be overwhelmed by countless tired and bland iterations of meat and potatoes. But with a little planning and a sense of adventure you can find meals worthy of even the snootiest gourmet's "Best Ever" list.

Last week I returned to London with Bird (business trip for him, boondoggle for me) and a new culinary challenge - delicious London fare on a budget. I knew from my previous trips that it was easy to find great food with a business expense account, but those days were over. So with a map and a copy of Savoir Fare London in my carry on bag, I charted my course and my courses.

Day 1

We arrived at our hotel an hour before lunch. I'd managed only an hour of sleep on the plane, but a nap was out of the question. I already had a time management problem on my hands with more must-try places on my list than available meal slots in our brief trip. Besides, as the saying goes, you can sleep when you're dead, but I'm certain you can't eat. So Bird went off to visit with architects, and I went to lunch.

First stop, La Fromagerie in Marylebone.

 Browsing the jams on a belly full of cheese.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon window shopping and fighting off jetlag. I consider sightseeing in any city with good food to simply be a means of passing time between meals and working up an appetite.

Fast forward to dinner with Bird and his British colleagues. I had the honor of picking the restaurant. The Tapa Room (A tapa is a large bark cloth used in the Pacific for celebratory feasts.) is the casual, yet sophisticated downstairs sibling of the fancy and expensive The Providores. A meal of sweet potato and ginger soup, sautéed wild mushrooms with rosemary polenta, and spring rolls of duck confit with chilies and feta was only $35.00. The plates can be shared if you are the sharing type, which I'm not when I'm hungry and the food is good.

The Brits we dined with gave the Tapa Room a thumbs up:

"Oh yes, the food was quite nice."

"That was a lovely spot."

Playing the role of the bombastic American, I described the eats as delicious and finger-licking good. In the end, I think we said the same thing.

Beating the dinner rush at The Tapa Room

Day 2

Finding a non-Starbucks coffee shop was an early morning challenge. A short survey of locals led me to Henry's, a 'lovely' cafe with fresh croissants baked on site.

Bird agreed to join me for lunch before he knew what he was in for. We ventured through a dense Bengal Indian neighborhood in search of...pizza.

Yes, pizza in London.

Welcome to the Story Deli.

Roasted vegetable with Buffalo mozzarella ($18.00) and Wild mushroom with mascarpone and porcini pesto ($18.00)

No trip to London would be complete without a delicious Indian meal. We found ours in the heart of London's West End at Imli.  For only $25 I dined on uncommon Indian dishes like stuffed paneer (cheese stuffed with mushrooms and spiced potatoes), a Malabar seafood stew, and two beans and aloo (fresh green and kidney beans with cumin and chilies). It was delicious nice!

Exhausted from the day's hunt for fabulous food, we took a pedicab back to our hotel. We had only two meals left to enjoy on our trip, and I still had six places on my must-try list.

 

Day 3

I broke one of my own rules - I dined at the same restaurant twice. We started our last day in London with another croissant and espresso from Henry's. Flaky, buttery croissants are hard to find in Chicago; I just couldn't help myself.

Then it was off to Notting Hill in search of Books for Cooks, a book store devoted entirely to cook books. It was too good to be true and then it got even better; each day they prepare a different lunch menu comprised of dishes made from recipes in the books they sell. Resident chefs serve up a starter, a main, and a dessert for just $13. It was heaven lovely!

Welcome to Books for Cooks

Just look at all those cook books.

Our trip was quickly coming to an end, but we had time for one last stop.

Paxton and Whitfield on Jermyn Street:  Cheesemongers

More cheese!

The thick smell of stinky cheese was intoxicating. I couldn't find the words to describe it, but nice and lovely wouldn't do it justice. Bird and I stuffed giant pie-shaped wedges of organic Stilton, Pennard Ridge, and St. Wulfstan into our suitcases. The promise of a taste of London enjoyed from the comfort of our living room took the sting out of leaving.

Delicious Nice  Amazing London food on a budget was indeed possible and even rivaled many of the meals I indulged in on previous trips. With my tattered must-try list and map stowed for a future gastro-adventure, I settled into my seat on the plane, body and spirit well-nourished.