The bottle opener October 15, 2013 bottle.opener@cityam.com I HAVE travelled a fair amount in the Middle East and Israel in recent months and one of the things that has struck me is the quality of wine. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Europe lost its monopoly over fine wines decades ago and besides, Jesus Christ himself won considerable praise for his wine-making [...]
Gino D’Acampo polpette recipe: Meatballs like mamma made them October 15, 2013 This is my mum’s recipe. She used to cook this for me once a week. It was a special occasion when she made it because it requires expensive ingredients (meat and parmesan) and mine was not the wealthiest of families. Mum began using smaller meatballs because we used to complain when we only got one [...]
Mix it up: Absinthe cocktail is cultural gem in heart of Mayfair October 15, 2013 @philip_salter OLD HABITS die hard. But after more than a decade in London, I’ve finally managed to offload most of the dingy pubs, sleazy bars and uninspiring restaurants that I frequented when I first landed in the capital. It’s time you did the same. Let those dodgy establishments serving stale beer and saccharine cocktails slip [...]
Foodie heaven in Moroccan town October 9, 2013 Philippe Agnello, head chef at Momo, explains how to make an authentic pigeon pastille I was in Morocco visiting a very good friend of mine, Omar, who returns to his hometown every summer. His family lives in Kebdani, a small remote village near Nador in northern Morocco where few tourists stray and it is rich [...]
Cheers, it’s Cocktail week — here’s five of the best October 9, 2013 London Cocktail Week is taking place in Seven Dials between 7th-13th October. For more information visit Sevendials.co.uk/events Champagne style: Bellini 2 shots peach puree 1/2 shot creme de peche de vigne liqueur 1/4 shot freshly squeezed lemon juice Top up with Prosecco sparkiing wine Shake first three ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled [...]
Meander through London on the trail of great Italian food October 8, 2013 London Restaurant Festival’s Ciccheti Trail is a foodie’s dream THE PUB crawl, once a concept that filled my youthful soul with an inordinate degree of excitement, nowadays seems somewhat antiquated. Is this my fault – is it simply that I have grown into a dour 30-something severely lacking any kind of alacrity? Or is the [...]
Mix it up October 8, 2013 @philip_salter I’VE just found out it’s National Inclusion Week. Nobody told me so I’m feeling rather left out. It’s also National Curry Week, and no doubt a dozen other “Weeks” that are busy passing us all by. One worth taking note of though is hosted in this great city of ours; in fact, in my [...]
Restaurant review: Berners Tavern October 1, 2013 BERNERS TAVERN The London Edition Hotel, 10 Berners St Tel: 020 7908 7979 FOOD Two Stars VALUE Two Stars ATMOSPHERE Two Stars Cost for two with drinks: £110 Berners Tavern sounds like a nice little place, doesn’t it? Like a Somerset country inn that’s been converted to a gastropub by an ex-Londoner with a moustache [...]
Mix it up: You don’t have to be a supertaster to enjoy a cognac cocktail October 1, 2013 MAN is a social animal; so is woman for that matter. And it is through our interactions with others that we acquire our tastes, values and prejudices. Even the way we perceive the world is influenced by when and where we live. Take our perception of colour: seeing my five-year-old niece dressed – of her [...]
Restaurant review: Boulestin September 24, 2013 RESTAURANT 5 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EF Tel: 020 7930 2030 FOOD Three Stars VALUE Three Stars ATMOSPHERE One Star Cost for two with drinks: £140 An occupational hazard of being a restaurant critic is that people often ask you where they should go for dinner, or for recommendations of who does the best ostrich [...]