The ultimate foodie break to Jersey: The largest Channel Island has more than tax breaks and sunshine to offer June 2, 2015 Have you been to Jersey lately? Why not? It’s the sunniest place in the British Isles. You can leave your City office at 6pm and make an 8pm dinner reservation (I flew from London City with Blue Islands, which provides you with free drinks and won’t shout at you about the size of your carry-on [...]
Working lunch in Fitzrovia: Pied-a-Terre still serves the best meal in town June 2, 2015 Our guide to the best places to eat during office hours. WHAT? A Fitzrovia fixture since 1991, Michelin-starred Pied-a-Terre specialises in classic French cooking with the obligatory modern twist. It’s quiet but fun, a nostalgic throwback to a pre-street food, pre-pop up culinary scene, when great dining still meant baskets of artisan bread and linen [...]
Get better acquainted with France’s favourite C-word June 2, 2015 Over the last 100 years the French have successfully petitioned for strict controls on the use of the C-word. Champagne isn’t just a fizzy wine, it’s a brand. The word can only be used on a bottle when the contents were made using the Méthode Champenoise (traditional method) with grapes grown and vinified in Champagne. [...]
Why there’s some rot you don’t want to stop May 26, 2015 Rarely is the term “rot” a good thing when it comes to food. Cheese is the obvious exception, while dry-aged beef and fermented foods such as miso and sauerkraut also prove that mould can be tasty. Similarly, rotten grapes are typically discarded in the vineyard or removed on a sorting table rather than given the [...]
Mix it up: Forget the old wives’ tales and mix the grape and grain May 26, 2015 @philip_salter Spirits and cocktails get a bad rap. After you’ve knocked back half a dozen pints and a bottle of wine, it’s that final shot of tequila that gets all the blame for your stinking hangover the next morning. I’ve even heard claims that the mixed spirits used in cocktails cause hangovers – that’s nonsense [...]
Restaurant review: The Barge House May 19, 2015 The Barge House is adorable. To get to it, you have to walk down the Regent’s Canal tow-path between Hoxton and Haggerston, where old Victorian warehouses rise indomitably out of the water, all of them now home to design studios and craft breweries. It’s been open since November but nobody noticed because the only reason [...]
Roux Sr and Jr bring their Michelin-starred food to the Investec Derby at Chez Roux at Blue Riband May 19, 2015 Last year, the World’s Greatest Flat Race joined forces with two of the world’s greatest chefs – Albert Roux and Michel Roux Jr – for Chez Roux on the Prince’s Lawn, a partnership that brought Michelin-starred gastronomy to the Investec Derby. The father and son duo are set for a return, this time taking over [...]
Working lunch in the City: Jose Pizarro, Broadgate Circle May 19, 2015 Our guide to the best places to eat during office hours in the City. WHAT? A busy, buzzy new tapas restaurant specialising in sea-food and first-class charcuterie. From the highly rated Spanish chef Jose Pizarro. WHERE? The restaurant is one of 11 new openings at Broadgate Circle, the pedestrianised bit of concrete [...]
Competition: Win a case of Sauternes from a top chateaux May 19, 2015 To make joining the CityAM wine club even sweeter, we are offering two lucky entrants the opportunity to win a full case of Sauternes from one of Bordeaux’s top chateaux. Chateau Rieussec is one of nine estates originally classified by Napoleon in 1855 as a Sauternes Premier Cru. Located directly next to Chateau d’Yquem, Rieussec [...]
Picking the best wine in a restaurant should be easy if you bear in mind these timeless tips May 12, 2015 How do you make sure you pick the right wine when the list looks like an encyclopaedia? Here are some easy tips to bear in mind for those of us who don’t have a PhD in oenology. DON’T DRINK THE HOUSE PLONK Restaurateurs apply the highest mark-ups to house wines, which tend to be [...]