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Is a new Carluccio-style Italian chain in the cards? Owned and run by Villandry maestro Jamie Barber, and designed by Michaelis Boyd (Pizza East), all-day cantina Kitchen Italia (the second after the original in Westfield) hits Covent Garden 8 December. The mid-range menu will fill a comfort niche, offering rib-sticking staples like macaroni cheese, pumpkin gnocchi with sage butter, and tiger prawn, chilli and garlic taglioni (41 Earlham Street, WC2; 020-7632-9500).
– Roger Clarke
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Following the template of its sibling, Mayfair’s celeb- and royal-courting Mahiki, City tiki bar Kanaloa serves very expensive tropical, rum-centric cocktails in coconuts, treasure chests and other novel vessels alongside Asian nibbles in a setting rife with Polynesian masks, bamboo and trees with hideaway seating below and atop; its locale on Goldman Sachs’ doorstep makes it a magnet for suits, but in an effort to woo the fairer sex, manicures and other beauty treatments are performed in the ladies’ loo.
8 Lime Office Ct., EC4A; 020-7842-0620
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- – By 2018, 43% of Americans are expected to be obese. [NYDN]
- – Gordon Ramsay has lost his right-hand man. [Bloomberg]
- – The Senate is considering requiring beef to be tested for E. coli. [NYT]
- – Top Chef contestants aren't being paid for the TV dinners that feature their faces (and recipes). [Time]
- – First canned pumpkins, now an Eggo shortage looms. [NYDN]
- – The art of complaining to a restaurant. [Guardian]
- – A modest proposal for fixing restaurant and bar smoking bans. [Eater]
- – Related: the science behind banning smoking outside. [Time]
- – Ever wonder what it would be like to cook dinner for Thomas Keller? [Esquire]
- – Talking cooking with Coolio. [Fork in the Road]
- – NBC's newest cooking show, United Plates of America, will give away a four-restaurant chain. [Reuters]
- – Hey, so, while you eat that sushi, this guy here is going to swallow a sword. [WSJ]
- – Starbucks continues to roll out its unbranded coffee shops. [Diner's Journal]
- – If New York loses its lawsuit, Tavern on the Green will become Tavern in the Park. [Crain's]
- – Restaurants embrace Twilight. [NRN]
- – Martha Stewart is not a fan of Rachael Ray. [ABC News, via EMD and GS]
- – The Rolling Stones, the wine. [Examiner]
- – Pork belly and other over-served dishes. [Between Meals]
- – Students arrested for not paying their tip. [Philly]
- – Plastic wishbones: what will the kids fight over? [SE]
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Douglas Santi, who worked for Alain Ducasse at Louis XV in Monaco, St. Regis in New York and MiX at Vegas, is now at a new Mayfair restaurant specialising in Tuscan cuisine. At Babbo (no relation to the Mario Batali Greenwich Village favourite), family recipes feature squarely on the menu – including the signature lasagne al ragout di chianina, prepared according to a secret 100-year-old recipe, passed to Douglas Santi by his grandmother. The ingredients and wine have all been sourced by Santi from his native Tuscany (open Monday–Saturday, lunch noon–3 PM, dinner 7–11 PM; set lunch £22 for two courses and £24 for three; 020-3205-1099).
– Roger Clarke
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Sketch pop-up cafe
Photo: courtesy of the restaurant
The holiday season tends to stir up surprises, which this year include two pop-up restaurants of note: Serpentine Bar and Kitchen's Christmas marquee in Hyde Park, and a bespoke eco-friendly Sketch pop-up cafe from Pierre Gagnaire at the Royal Academy of the Arts in Piccadilly.
From tomorrow, 19 November–23 December, you can feast on long wooden communal benches with up to 250 diners while listening to live jazz and festive music in the Serpentine cafe. A distinctively Christmassy – almost Dickensian – air is created by the menu, which includes mulled wine, ciders and Cornish cask ales along with hog roasts, cheese and cured meats. For pudding there's housemade ice cream, stewed fruits, plum pudding and mince pies, plus locally made brandy and flavoured schnapps (10 AM–8 PM daily; £35 per person; 020-7706-8114).
Fancy something a little more refined? Sketch is hosting a pop-up cafe at 6 Burlington Gardens to coincide with an art show at the Royal Academy. The emphasis is very much on sustainability, with an oyster bar featuring local native varieties, plus an array of tartlets, lunettes, salted caramels, quiches and treats you can have boxed up to go. The cafe runs 3 December–31 January, 10 AM–6 PM daily, with late opening on Fridays (for more information click here or call 020-7659-4500).
– Roger Clarke
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- – Marcus Samuelsson will be working the kitchen at Obama's first state dinner. [Obama Foodorama]
- – The fight for Cadbury intensifies. [WSJ]
- – Chipotle sets its sights on London, Europe. [NRN]
- – Costco drops Coke. [AP]
- – Related: Coke bottles, 1899–1986. [Pixdaus]
- – Milk producers wish they could sell their product "raw." [NYT]
- – Hooters is having trouble in Vegas. [Eater]
- – A canned pumpkin shortage looms. [Diner's Journal]
- – Putting things in perspective with the Fat Map. [HP]
- – Jamie Oliver wants to help you find a date. [Marketing]
- – A Shake Shack in Boston looks increasingly possible. [GS:B]
- – What a $20 Thanksgiving feast from Walmart gets you. [The Awl]
- – A word we'd like to quickly forget? "Koodie." [SE]
- – Foods named after people. [Mental Floss and Cakespy, via SE]
- – They found water on the moon...can you drink it? [Slate]
- – Making mushrooms with coffee grinds. [Chronicle, via Coldmud]
- – Making art with meat, some wires, a videocamera and a stove. [EMD]
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Tike
Photo: Cindy Chen
Nestled next to Fenchurch Street Station in a new Richard Rogers–designed building, Med brasserie Tike serves a midpriced menu, including Turkish meze and sharing plates, in bright, bi-level environs with floor-to-ceiling windows, purple-hued decor, communal tables and alfresco tables; N.B. it’s open weekdays only.
5 Fenchurch Pl., EC3M; 020-7702 9965
Tike
Photo: Cindy Chen
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The gastropub brand Geronimo Inns is slowly introducing a whole cow concept to a select number of its eateries across London, including The Builders Arms, The Crown, The Eagle, The Northcote and The Prince Albert. Starting in January, chefs from each gastropub will regularly take delivery of an entire Dexter cow carcass, sourced directly from a single Yorkshire farmer, which will be butchered on-site and aged for five weeks instead of the usual two. Diners can expect a host of less common cuts with archaic and slightly startling names (including flank, clod, sticket, Jewish fillet, blade and knuckle). Prices will range from £5–£20 (currently in a trial run, call locations for specific dates).
– Roger Clarke
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- – The FDA is targeting caffeinated booze. [WSJ]
- – Meanwhile, its efforts to ban eating raw oysters didn't work out so well. [NYT]
- – Burger King franchisees lose 10¢ for every $1 double cheeseburger sold. [NRN]
- – A special Subway franchise is set to rise up with the Freedom Tower in New York. [NYP]
- – U.S. chicken production is set to fall for the first time in 36 years. [Reuters]
- – Champagne sales are a bit flat these days. [NYT]
- – Musicians do covers of other bands' hits, why shouldn't chefs cover other toques' recipes? [Guardian]
- – Pinkberry's further expansion plans include Boston, DC, New Orleans and Mexico. [Eater]
- – Why we read cookbooks. [The New Yorker]
- – Want a new drug? Synthetic alcohol isn't out of the question. [Scotsman, via ColdMud]
- – Just when we've gotten used to twist-off tops, get ready for wine in a plastic bottle. [Stuff]
- – Things a restaurant patron should never do. [Applesauce]
- – Related, 10 dirty restaurant tricks. [Slashfood]
- – Peace through hummus. [Economist]
- – Hard to turn down a "love dessert" made with passion fruit and...Viagra. [NYDN]
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Authenticity has never been more perfectly faked.
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Rum Old Fashioned with seared scallop and smoked bacon tian with bitter orange pan juices
Photo: courtesy of Tiffing
Word has reached the Buzz of Tiffing, an exclusive new monthly dining club that allows members of the public to mix with restaurateurs and food writers – as well as enjoy a meal cooked by top chefs like Nahm's David Thompson (January 2010) and Mark Hix of the eponymous Hix (February 2010). At the time of writing there are still about 20 tickets left for a six-course, eight-cocktail dinner cooked by John Campbell (Dorchester Collections Coworth Park, opening 2010) to be held on Monday, 30 November, at Il Bottaccio in Belgravia (£150 per person; 9 Grosvenor Place).
Conceived by the creative cocktail folks at Bamboo Test Kitchen, spirits are very much part of the deal, and bartenders and mixologists will work closely with the resident chef. Over the months the format and location will move, and prices will range from £75 for an open kitchen event to £150 for the more pricey sit-down dinners. See here for more information, to buy tickets and to get yourself on the mailing list. Or e-mail eatmedrinkme@tiffing.co.uk.
– Roger Clarke
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- – A whole lot of info on what diners like to drink. [R&I]
- – Should the FDA try to prevent you from eating raw oysters? [NYT, Slate]
- – Burger King franchisees are suing over $1 double cheeseburgers. [Miami Herald]
- – Meanwhile, McDonald's plans for the future. [CNN]
- – The backlash to the list of waiter no-nos is on. [XX, Server not Servant]
- – How to act around a celebrity chef. [Atlantic]
- – The U.K. now has its own version of the Food Network. [Eater]
- – Related: Emeril Lagasse is planning a prime-time variety show not on the Food Network. [ABC]
- – Mario Batali makes his film debut in The Fantastic Mr. Fox. [WSJ]
- – Heston Blumenthal plans a wildly expensive Christmas dinner for a TV special featuring ambergris, aka whale vomit. [Sun]
- – Jamie Oliver has seen a backlash for the salt content of his pasta sauces. [Guardian]
- – Cooking With Coolio, the cookbook, is now on sale. [EMD]
- – Remembering New York City's 1935 ban on baby artichokes. [Diner's Journal]
- – Don't be embarrassed to dine out alone. [Between Meals]
- – Raising a vegetarian child without the conflict. [LAT]
- – Can drunken fruit flies help cure alcoholism? [Wired]
- – Looking to find free grub for the rug rats? Try here. [Kids Eat For, via SE]
- – Deep-fried turkey disasters. On video. [EMD]
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Each time we perform a survey here at Zagat, we inevitably find a ourselves with a slew of amusing outtakes that aren't quite fit for print. Which doesn't mean they aren't entertaining. Here are a few favorites from our just-released Cruise Lines survey:
A conga line is not conducive to good digestion.
No activities for anyone who isn't an alcoholic seeking random sex.
They cater to the newly wed and nearly dead.
Great if you like hairy chest contests.
A rust bucket filled with rowdy people.
The more you booze, the better you cruise.
Bathrooms so small you have to sit on the toilet sideways.
It does attract a crowd – it's called ‘God's floating waiting room.
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Prism
Photo: courtesy of the restaurant
Prism at Harvey Nichols in the City has reworked its menu to have more of a brasserie feel, offering simple British and Modern European dishes laid out in three sections. "Little picks" includes dishes like freshwater prawns marinated in lemon and chilli; mini chorizo with aïoli; and spicy peppadew peppers with goat cheese and lemon. The "something potted" section features traditionally potted sea trout, salt beef, ham hock, brown shrimp and mushrooms. Finally, a "grill" menu sourced from The Ginger Pig has a 170g Longhorn beef burger, Gloucestershire Old Spot chop, spatchcock poussin, calf's liver and speck, and 50-day-dry-aged rib-eye and sirloin (147 Leadenhall St., EC3V; lunch Monday–Friday 11:30 AM–3 PM, dinner Monday–Friday 6–10 PM; starters £5–£13.50, mains £18–£22.50, sides £1.95, desserts £6.50; for reservations, call 020-7256-3875 or visit here).
– Roger Clarke
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maze
Photo: courtesy of the restaurant
After raising a cool £435,000 last year, Streetsmart’s little cards are back on the table of many restaurants, with high-profile support from the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Fergus Henderson and John Torode. By adding £1 to your check November–December, Streetsmart gathers contributions for 95 charities across 18 U.K. cities helping to feed and shelter the homeless during the cold winter months. The 15 London restaurants that raised the most last year? They include Arbutus, Al Duca, Joe Allen, Le Café Anglais, maze and Nobu London. For more info on contributing restaurants, click here.
– Roger Clarke
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