"nose to tail": london's iconic dish?

The Roasted Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad at St. John.

Admittedly, there are plenty of iconic dishes in London. That is, those widely known and well-established dishes that scream "yeah, that's London."

I will submit that St. John Restaurant's Roasted Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad is one of London's top iconic dishes. After all, the dish was arguably popularized by a well-respected chef -- Fergus Henderson -- based on his well-known philosophy of cooking -- nose to tail. 


Indeed, the dish, which has been on the menu since the restaurant opened in 1994, looks quite simple to put together. It consists of the following:

• Roasted Bone Marrow (notice how the bone is cut horizontally and not vertically)
• Toast (from the St. John Bakery)
• Parsley Salad - made from parsley, capers, shallots, and a light dressing of olive oil and lemon juice
• Salt

The result is a rich spread (seasoned according to the diner's taste) over crunchy toast. The light but bright salad tempers the richness of the marrow.

How does one eat the Roasted Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad? However you want to do it. Just make sure you pick at all the marrow from the bone. You don't want to waste that way-better-than-butter goodness.

Taking out the bone marrow.

Every time I am in London, I try and visit St. John and order this dish. It's that good. 

Although to be fair, I enjoy other dishes at St. John, including the Eccles Cake and Lancashire Cheese, as well as St. John Bakery's Custard Doughnuts.

The Custard Doughnuts at St. John Bakery.

Eccles Cake and Lancashire Cheese.

Back in the US, I have eaten many iterations of the Roasted Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad dish with varying degrees of success. St. John's dish might seem simple but it is not. Indeed, to this day, a restaurant in New Orleans holds the unfortunate distinction of being "my worst meal ever" (on the semi-fine dining category) by serving a barely cooked bone marrow (cut vertically) served with stale naan bread and a nondescript salad. 

What dishes in your city do you consider iconic?