Stagolee's - authentic Southern US food, liquor & hospitality #review

They had me at "fried chicken." I scanned the rest of the email inviting me to visit Stagolee's Hot Chicken and Liquor Joint in Fulham, London this week but to be honest, I was never gonna say no to someone offering me authentic Southern fried chicken.

It turns out that this delightful restaurant on North End Road, decorated with old family photos which make you wish you were a family member, is not just another fried chicken joint selling pale and greasy portions.

This is groan out loud, better than sex fried chicken which makes you not only lick your own fingers but possibly those of the diner next to you as well. No grease but moist meat with a massively moreish coating leaving you wishing you had worn even stretchier trousers so you could cram just one more piece in your mouth.

 Brined for 24 hours, dipped in buttermilk, dipped in a family-created blend of flavourings and spices and skillet fried, with or without heat and HEAT. Are you brave enough to tackle the very hot Tom Devil chicken? I was not!

Oh but there's more. Under the expert care of the very smiley and food-passionate Chef Ashley using age-old family recipes and not a little of her own flair, Stagolee's offers home-sick Americans a true  and comprehensive taste of Southern hospitality.

Top Tips for visiting Table Mountain, Cape Town

You cannot visit Cape Town in South Africa without visiting Table Mountain. This enormous brooding hulk dominates the landscape across the peninsula, changing moods with the weather.

As we flew into the city we had an amazing birds eye view seeing it postcard style out of the window with the classic table shape clearly defined.

Everyone had told us we had to take the cable car to the top - I'll admit I was not that keen as despite my hot air ballooning history I am slightly  completely terrified of heights, and after a knuckle whitening ride on a swaying, swinging German mountain cable car some years ago had vowed to avoid them until the end of time.

But there was no avoiding this. Even I knew that I could not come to Cape Town and not visit the mountain.

Oh and I am so glad I did!

The ride was actually quite enjoyable. Although the mountain is high you drive most of it so the actual cable car ride, although from a distance looks long actually isn't - literally a couple of minutes.

The cable cars are round, partly glazed and rotate as they climb which sounds terrifying but actually I found made it easier and is very fair as everyone gets a great all round view.