Mix it up: The best places in the city to sip on a cocktail in the sun June 16, 2015 @philip_salter In the summertime when the weather is fine, you can stretch right up and touch the sky. When the weather’s fine. You got cocktails, you got cocktails on your mind. That’s how the song goes in my head at least, so here’s a smattering of London’s many outdoor watering holes in which to soak [...]
Restaurant review: Can the cooking match the hype at Berber & Q? June 9, 2015 This review almost never was. I tried and failed twice to get into Berber & Q, the hippest Moroccan (ish) restaurant in town. The first attempt was on a Sunday evening when I happened to be drinking down the nearby Regent’s canal and thought I’d try my luck. You can hear Berber & Q before [...]
Wine is the perfect liquid asset: You can always drink your portfolio June 9, 2015 Building a wine collection, whether for investment or consumption – or a blend of both – can seem a daunting task to those just beginning to appreciate and drink fine wines. However, if approached the same way one would structure a portfolio of assets, it becomes a very familiar exercise to those in the financial [...]
Mix it up: Breathe new life into your G&T with these artisan gins June 9, 2015 Familiarity can breed contempt. Prior to the recent resurgence, such was the state of Britain’s relationship with the gin and tonic. The fire had gone out: it had become a cocktail of convenience. It wasn’t always thus. Like all good love stories, British affection for the G&T was born in battle. It was a [...]
Working lunch in the City: Darwin Brasserie, Walkie-Talkie Sky Garden June 9, 2015 Our guide to the best places to eat during office hours in the City. WHAT? In the Sky Garden at the top of the Walkie-Talkie there’s a café, a fine-dining restaurant and this: a mid-to-high end eatery selling all the things we’ve come to expect from places with the word “brasserie” in the name: [...]
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 [...]