Toto’s makes a return to its west end home May 13, 2014 @steve_dinneen RESTAURANT TOTO’S Walton Street, SW3 2JH Tel: 0207 589 2062 FOOD Four Stars VALUE Three Stars ATMOSPHERE Three Stars Cost for two with wine: £170 Toto’s, the Italian between Sloane Square and South Ken, was one of those places that existed on the periphery of my brain. I knew it had been around for [...]
Mix it up: The English fizz giving French bubbles a run for their money May 13, 2014 @philip_salter Ideas can change the world. Back in 1776 the Scottish economist Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, and in the process upended the winner-takes-all, mercantilist vision of international relations. He replaced it with a model of the world in which nations cooperate and prosper through trade. From the ideas of Smith we grew [...]
Melting pot of the American South May 13, 2014 Dish of the day Christopher’s Blackened Salmon Here At Christopher’s, where I’m head chef, the blackened salmon is one of the most iconic dishes. It’s blackened by spices like cayenne, paprika, thyme and garlic powder, which caramelise when they hit a hot pan. Jambalaya is a spicy risotto with roots in the French and African [...]
Get your just dessert by investing in sweet wine from Bordeaux May 13, 2014 Bottle.opener@cityam.com IF THERE is one crumb of comfort to be taken from the miserable 2013 Bordeaux vintage – which, by the way, has also been remarkable for the carnival of desperate euphemisms employed by vignerons and wine merchants alike – it is that last autumn’s mists and incessant rain provided perfect conditions for the region’s [...]
Make it yourself: Blackened salmon with Jambalaya rice by head chef Francis Apyepong May 13, 2014 INGREDIENTS (SERVES TWO) Blackened spice ■ 2 tbsps paprika ■ 1 tbsp dried oregano ■ 1 tbsp dried thyme ■ 1 tbsp cayenne ■ 1 tbsp black pepper ■ 1 tbsp garlic powder Jambalaya risotto ■ 100g arborio rice ■ 200ml hot stock, vegetable or fish ■ 1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped ■ [...]
Why wait till Christmas? May 6, 2014 Visiting the US convinced Village East’s Toby Stuart of the value of turkey This turkey confit recipe was inspired by a trip to Chicago last summer. It’s a very vibrant city with some of the best chefs in the world working there. The top end of the market is phemomenal but you’ve also got places [...]
10-week fitness challenge | The get-fit diary of an out of shape office worker May 6, 2014 The end is in sight – I have four weeks to go in my fitness challenge (with a week added on to mitigate for missed sessions). Knowing it will soon be over is great for refocusing your mind – the last fortnight has been a slog but having had a few days off I feel [...]
Holborn Dining Room brings life to Midtown April 29, 2014 @steve_dinneen RESTAURANT HOLBORN DINING ROOM 252 High Holborn, WC1V 7EN Tel: 0203 747 8633 FOOD Four Stars VALUE Four Stars ATMOSPHERE Five Stars Cost for three with cocktails: £187 THERE’S NOT a lot going on in Holborn, or “Midtown” as nobody outside of an estate agent’s office has ever called it. In actual Midtown, exactly [...]
Mix it up: Call forth the summer with the basil and lemon daiquiri April 29, 2014 @philip_salter PEOPLE in all societies find meaning in rituals, and all rituals exist for a reason – even if that reason isn’t instantly obvious. The Native American practice of dancing about in feathers to try to convince the rain gods to let is almost certainly a waste of time, but at least it looks like [...]
Club Class: how to turn a Bordeaux backwater into wine April 29, 2014 Bottle.opener@cityam.com WE ALL know that most “wine clubs” are nothing of the kind – just a bloke in a call centre with a sales target and a script. But not all of them… I’ve written about one or two in previous columns and the other night I came across another that piqued my interest. About [...]