Mix it up: Stir in a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down November 12, 2013 @philip_salter Flourishing species ultimately perish, rising civilisations fall in the end, and conquering nations are eventually defeated; but human beings – at least as long as we walk this planet – will always want to get drunk. Though getting inebriated is a constant, the way we imbibe changes over space and time. And, like everything [...]
Comfort curry for cold nights November 12, 2013 Alfred Prasad of Michelin-starred Tamarind, remembers his favourite dish growing up AT 29, Alfred Prasad was the youngest Indian chef to receive a Michelin star. Alfred was born in the central Indian city of Wardha and lived all over the sub-continent during his youth, an experience which expanded his mind to the immense variety and [...]
Dish of the day November 12, 2013 Alfred Prasad’s Methi & Potato Curry Ingredients ■ 4 tbsp vegetable oil ■ 6 cloves ■ 6 cardamoms ■ 2 cinnamon stick ■ 2 large red onions, sliced ■ 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste ■ ½ tsp turmeric powder ■ 1 tsp red chilli powder ■ 500g lamb shoulder, boneless, diced ■ 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped [...]
Wine with oysters? Here are five of the best November 12, 2013 Ranald Macdonald, owner of Boisdale at Canary Wharf, chooses the perfect pairings for his Rock and Native Oysters Bouzeron Aligote 2009 Racy and lemony with plenty of depth and structure, this wine goes down well with the soft texture and gentle flavour of native oysters. Price: £15.40 justerinis.com Blanc de Blancs, Diebolt Vallois This light, [...]
Is Trader Vic’s the worst restaurant in the world? November 5, 2013 TRADER VIC’S Hilton Park Lane, 22 Park Lane, W1K 1BETel: 020 7208 4113 FOOD ★☆☆☆☆ VALUE ★☆☆☆☆ ATMOSPHERE ★☆☆☆☆ Cost for two with booze (but no dessert): £126.50 OK, let’s get this out of the way: Trader Vic’s is awful. Terrible food served in a rudderless, soulless venue for prices that should make you weep bitter tears [...]
Mix it up: Think coffee and beer don’t mix? Well… think again November 5, 2013 @philip_salter AS A general rule, simple solutions trump complex ones. The more variables you bring to bear on a problem, the higher chance you’ll make a mess of things. Take the martini, a perfect solution to near enough any problem. It’s simply gin or vodka and dry vermouth stirred over ice with the addition of an [...]
A hipster’s paradise at 100 Hoxton October 29, 2013 RESTAURANT 100 HOXTON 100-102 Hoxton Street, N1 6SG Tel: 020 7729 1444 FOOD Three stars VALUE Four stars ATMOSPHERE Two stars Cost for two with drinks: £70 OUTSIDE, a young woman draws on a cigarette, her waistline not much thicker than the rim of the spectacles worn by boys who glance at her as they [...]
Aussie wine isn’t all big and loud – there are fine bottles to be found October 29, 2013 Bottle.opener@cityam.com THOSE of us of a certain age will always remember our first Australian wine. They burst onto a fairly turgid scene in the 1980s and turned everything on its head. They were brash, fruity, powerful and, let’s face it, astonishingly cheap compared to the snooty French competition. OK, they were also brutally one-dimensional but [...]
Restaurant review: Urban Meadow October 15, 2013 RESTAURANT Urban Meadow, 150 Bayswater, W2 4RT Tel: 020 7792 7066 FOOD Three Stars VALUE Five Stars ATMOSPHERE Four Stars Cost for two with drinks: £50 THIS is one of those columns restaurant critics write after they’ve been on holiday, where they bang on about the nice places they’ve been eating while you’ve been stuck [...]
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 [...]