Salt-Beef rant 2

The salt beef beigel store at the end of Brick land (Brick Lane Beigel Bakery) as we all know is revered, sworn by and ardently frequented by all that know of its admired and appreciated 24 hour existence and rightly so, their salt beef, gherkin and mustard doused beigels fail not to hit the spot anytime of the day or unearthly hour of the night, it is truly a gem. But, I must confess that whilst cycling through Hoxton last Wednesday, eyes prying for a morsel or two, I may have found its contender.

Halting in my tracks as a swarm of people crammed into a tiny cafes gangway, instantly compelled I breathed in and entered Franca's I believe it was called. Tiny, and with a menu so crammed I could make out one laminated sign 'New York Special', I saw 'salt beef £3.50' under the description and thought god yes. I stood for five minutes in the midst of 6 seemingly volatile yet confusingly coordinated Italian staff whilst golden omelets oozed on the back griddle, spaghetti flung into fresh, creamy sauces then promptly slapped into polystyrene containers. Coffee flying, steam rising whilst I stood, mouth watering profusely, observing my magnificent sandwich undergo construction. A large brown roll sliced, a fat wedge of firm, juicy pink salt beef undergo the knife, piled unashamedly thickly, gherkins, tomatoes and emmental cheese immediately followed by a brief grilling rendering distractingly golden. Now when I say this sandwich permeated my days remaining thoughts, I mean I thought of nothing else. It kept appearing before my eyes like little sun spots, little salt beef sandwiches flashing before my eyes. It was particularly good, different to Brick Lane, but worth the detour.