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Long tainted by the 1985 and 2011 riots, Tottenham is an underrated part of London, boasting the UK's most ethnically diverse postcode. So what can you expect when you live here, other than not having to Pot Noodle binge the week before your rent payment's due? You know you live in Tottenham when...
...you grow used to people wincing when you mention where you live
I like to play a game with people. How long will it take them to bring up the riots when I tell them I live in Tottenham? The High Road isn't a war-torn Chechen commune unless you brave the North London Derby in an Arsenal shirt.
...you've become a craft beer snob
You’ll recognise the zany Beavertown branding served in trendy London burger joints. Make the pilgrimage to taproom Saturdays to quaff two-third pints of keg-fresh Gamma Ray, tour the premises and splash out on a beanie, if you’re so inclined. Don't forget the ever-expanding Redemption Brewery using local ingredients to deliver its seven cask ales.
...you always know where to eat after hours
North Londoners rightfully have an ingrained scepticism about kebab joints outside of an N postcode. Green Lanes, the Champs-Elysées of London’s kebab scene, is a stone’s throw away, yet T-Town competes with Umut Ocakbasi, Koyum and the brashly-named Best Kebab in Town. On the chicken front, there's the Chick King institution and the UK’s healthiest chicken shop, not-for-profit Chicken Town, leaving you with a clearer conscience and no waking up spooning a sordid polystyrene box.
...you feel a strong sense of community
We’re not in central London where years pass without acknowledging your neighbours. You can treat yourself to the heavenly cakes at Downhills Park Café that raise money for local residents with learning difficulties. Or you can learn how to make compost, a twentieth-century urban hipster prerequisite, through the horticultural club at Lordship Rec. Just don't take it along with you when you sample the locally produced biltong jerky at Tottenham Green Market and sip an ethically sourced brew at Craving Coffee, previously a market stall.
...you simply refuse to believe that Hometown Glory was written about Croydon (of all places)
Adele has added fuel to the ferocious north-south rivalry by deciding to divide her childhood between Tottenham and Croydon. Cue a bitter custody scrap that would make Charlie Sheen blush. That said, there's no shortage of musical talent around these parts, with Skepta, JME, Chip (Diddy Chip), Wretch 32 and, going back a few decades, the Dave Clarke Five, all being Tottenhamites.