Bread as a matter of course January 21, 2013 RESTAURANT GAIL’S KITCHEN 11-13 Bayley Street, Bedford Square, WC1B 3HD Tel: 020 7323 9694 FOOD *** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost for two with wine: £65 GAIL’S Bakery, the well-known artisan chain, is the brainchild of Tom Molnar and Ran Avidan. Their focus has always been on producing traditional handmade-quality bread and this mantra has [...]
Catch game birds before they fly January 21, 2013 Head chef, Paternoster Chop House Blame IT on TV schedules stuffed with period dramas like Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey, but every winter, I always end up feeling nostalgic about everything that is quintessentially British. Watching the upper crust engaged in their traditional pastime of shooting game birds reminds me that there’s only a few [...]
The split personality grape that will get you through the winter January 21, 2013 bottle.opener@cityam.com It is January. It is bitterly cold, Christmas has cost a fortune, the chap next to you on the train is hacking viruses all over you, it’s dark outside and you know it is going to get dark again at 4pm. Happy times. In these circumstances there is only one wine I turn to, [...]
Three to follow January 21, 2013 One for the weekend BVS Shiraz Peter Lehmann, Barossa Valley (£9.99 on offer, Majestic). Everything a Shiraz is supposed to be when there’s snow on the ground One to impress the neighbours Crozes Hermitage Les Trois Chênes, 2010, Emmanuel Darnaud (£19.95, Berry Bros). This is a regular in the Bennett cellar and, when deployed, never [...]
Action, culture, and food on the Cornish coastline January 20, 2013 THERE ARE some things that, on visiting Cornwall, just have to be done. Eat a Cornish pasty? It would be rude not to. Wolf down a calorie-laden afternoon tea of scones with jam and clotted cream? Why, yes. Stand gazing at the sky from a golden beach and say: “The light is so amazing here?” [...]
The London Art Fair returns – and it’s bigger than ever before January 17, 2013 WHETHER YOU’RE a serious art connoisseur or have a more general interest, make sure to head down to the London Art Fair this weekend. In recent years it has struggled to compete with the likes of Frieze but if there was ever a time to visit, it’s now. This year’s event sees 100 leading British [...]
Now is a great time to fall off the wagon January 17, 2013 If you aren’t firmly situated on the wagon, January can be a fantastic time to discover London’s new venues. After 11pm, Hakkasan Hanway Place’s dark and provocative dining room transforms into a late lounge named Ling Ling, which kicks off from Thursday to Saturday. It’s already played host to guest DJ Daisy Lowe, as well [...]
Tarantino slavery epic is uncomfortable but brilliant January 17, 2013 FILM DJANGO UNCHAINED Cert 18 **** TARANTINO HAS already made a film about a motley band of Jewish soldiers taking bloody revenge against the Nazis – now he’s turned his attentions to that great American atrocity: slavery. Maybe next he’ll direct a caper movie set on the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge. Django Unchained [...]
A funny, touching take on disability and sex that deserved an Oscars nod January 17, 2013 FILM THE SESSIONS Cert 15 **** THE SESSIONS, based on the touchingly optimistic autobiography of Mark O’Brien, is about the quest of a paralysed journalist and poet to lose his virginity aged 38 (if you’re expecting the 40 Year Old Virgin 2, think again). It is set in Berkeley in 1988, and O’Brien (played by [...]
Is the M-Class the perfect city car? January 15, 2013 IT’S A given that the latest version of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class will be effortless to drive. Mercedes customers have always demanded comfort and luxury, but the company’s recent models have also been getting sportier in an attempt to attract younger buyers. As a result, the ML350 is sports-car quick. And it doesn’t stop there: Mercedes [...]