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It was good, but not nearly as good as the employees kept telling me.
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A bit of Sicily comes to Fitzrovia starting Monday, 9 November, when chef Santino Busciglio opens the doors to his new restaurant Mennula, located on the former site of Gennaro Contaldo. Busciglio was formerly head chef at Number Twelve in Bloomsbury, while his restaurant manager, Angelo Todaro, was most recently at Zafferano. The 44-seat contemporary Italian will have a strong Sicilian influence, with dishes including sea bass ravioli with pumpkin, chilli and razor clams, and traditional cannoli with sweet ewes ricotta. Expect starters to range from £7.50–16, and mains to be £16.50–20. A set lunch menu of three courses will be offered for £19.50 (open Monday–Friday for lunch, noon–3 PM, and Monday–Saturday for dinner 6–11 PM; call 020-7363-2833 for reservations; 10 Charlotte St., W1T; online reservations and menu here).
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- – A baguette dropped by a bird stopped the Large Hadron Collider. [Times]
- – Linking obesity and cancer. [MSNBC]
- – Scripps (which owns the Food Network) sets its sights on the Travel Channel. [EMD]
- – Jamie Oliver, upholder of justice. [Telegraph]
- – How wine became a "fast food." [Daily Beast]
- – Daniel Boulud sets his sights on London. [Bloomberg]
- – LA's Orso prepares for a final bow. [NYT]
- – A long chat with Gordon Ramsay. [Telegraph]
- – Not kosher: Ilan Hall's bacon-wrapped matzoh balls. [Jewish Journal]
- – 7-Eleven gets ready to roll out its own wine. [MSNBC]
- – Why Guinness can taste different in Ireland (and elsewhere). [Accidental Hedonist]
- – Will laser etchings replace fruit and vegetable stickers? [Gizmodo]
- – Portion sizes, then and now. [DivineCaroline]
- – How exactly does Jell-O work? [BG]
- – Meat, the fabric. [EMD]
- – Cookie monster cupcakes love cookies. [Leila Cohan]
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Polpo
Photo: courtesy of the restaurant
Soho is one of the few areas of London where restaurants can survive by relying on passing trade, so perhaps it's not surprising that hot new Polpo has ditched its reservation policy, following the likes of Barrafina, Busaba Eathai and Randall & Aubin. The man behind the bacaro eatery, Russell Norman (former operations director of Caprice Holdings Group and general manager at Ivy), made the change after deciding that Soho locals should be able to pop in casually without having to book in advance (020-7734-4479).
– Roger Clarke
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It's as if the recession was already a distant memory: from now until December 19, Apsleys will offer a wallet-busting, nine-course tasting menu during which each course will be paired with a Dom Pérignon champagne. Dishes include scallops, amaranth and black corns teamed with a rare vintage OEnothèque 1995 and lamb crépinette with OEnothèque 1969. Reservations must be made 48 hours in advance, with party sizes ranging from four to eight people. To see the full menu, click here [PDF] (£950 plus 12.5% service; to book call 020-7333-7254).
– Roger Clarke
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- – Illy is making inroads into U.S. coffee shops. [WSJ]
- – Gordon Ramsay is planning to bring the popular MasterChef to the U.S. [THR]
- – Sam Kass: assistant White House chef, policy wonk. [NYT]
- – Related: Iron Chef America heads to the White House. [NYT]
- – After 17 years, Jean-Georges is shutting down Vong. Though maybe not for long? [Eater]
- – Learning to compost in Chicago's public schools. [Chicago Tribune]
- – More on the affect of calorie counts on menus. [NYT]
- – The Kogi Truck folks in LA have their own custom car now. [Mouthing Off]
- – Kids menus should grow up. [BG]
- – What does your beer choice say about you? [AdAge]
- – Yellow Tail isn't the only Aussie wine, y'know. [WSJ]
- – One 225,000-ton ship, more than 24 dining options. [EMD]
- – Grant Achatz stands sternly in front of an airplane. [GS:C]
- – Is it a steak house or a gay bar? [SteakHouseorGayBar]
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Gordon Ramsay's The Narrow
Photo by Cindy Chen
Though fine dining may have cooled off a little as a result of the past year’s economic turmoil, celeb chefs remain as popular as ever. And, fortunately, many of them have opened more casual concepts, allowing diners with tighter budgets to get a taste of their culinary vision. But how do these budget-minded sibs stack up against their high-end counterparts? Read up, and then add your own votes and opinions.
Gordon Ramsay
Say what you will about the man, but you've got to give Gordo credit for making sure he's got both ends of the dining spectrum covered.
68 Royal Hospital Rd.
London SW3
020-7352-4441
| Food |
Decor |
Service |
Cost |
| 28 |
25 |
28 |
£108 |
“From amuse-bouches to petit fours”, the “transcendent, whimsically elegant” New French fare “dazzles” at “star chef” Gordon Ramsay’s “Chelsea flagship”, once again London’s No. 1 for Food; perhaps the “peripatetic” toque is rarely in the “clean-lined”, cream-and-ivory house these days, “but he can train staff” to deliver “impeccable” “not-at-all-sycophantic service” (“headed by suave manager Jean-Claude Breton” and executive chef Mark Askew); yes, “the reservation dance is maddening” and “prices aren’t for the fainthearted”, but “in short, it’s a must-visit.”
| Food |
Decor |
Service |
Cost |
| 21 |
20 |
19 |
£33 |
“The remote location only adds to the charm” of this “homely” Limehouse gastropub where “calm” servers proffer “simple, comforting” Traditional Brit fare; “if the menu is a bit ‘laddish’” and “a little narrow”, at least the place is “not that pricey, given it’s on the river – and a Gordon Ramsay” venue to boot.
Heston Blumenthal
Those willing to make the journey to Bray to try Heston Blumenthal's beloved cooking likely won't be disappointed – whether they go to his flagship or next door where the chefs fingerprints are all over the menu.
High St.
Bray SL6
0162-8580-333
| Food |
Decor |
Service |
Cost |
| 27 |
23 |
27 |
£133 |
Heston Blumenthal’s “shrine” to “experimental eaters with refined palates” creates “multisensory experiences” via an “astonishing” tasting menu of “haute” Modern European cuisine with a “molecular gastronomic twist” (think nitro-scrambled egg and bacon ice cream); “engaging, entertaining service” and an “unusual wine list” help soften the “extreme prices”, and though this “simple” Bray cottage is “a long drive from London proper” (about an hour),“it does not get better than this.”
High St.
Bray SL6
016-2862-6151
| Food |
Decor |
Service |
Cost |
| 24 |
21 |
22 |
£43 |
A “neighbour to the Fat Duck and from the same stable”, this “quaint” Bray boozer dating back to the 1600s shows what British “country cooking should be like” when “world-famous” consulting chef/co-patron Heston Blumenthal applies his “magic to traditional pub fare”; all-in-all, it makes “a great place to while away a whole afternoon – and a fair amount of cash too.”
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Kitchen W8
Photo: Cindy Chen
Rebecca Mascarenhas and her new business partner, lauded toque Philip Howard, have given Kensington's former Bistro Eleven a genteel makeover as Kitchen W8, which offers a refined Modern European menu from The Square’s Mark Kempson (who joins as head chef); the somewhat anodyne setting features big windows, multiple levels, banquettes and a bar area.
11 Abingdon Rd., W8; 020-7937-0120
Kitchen W8
Photo: Cindy Chen
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InterContinental Hotels Group is opening its third restaurant at Crowne Plaza in the City, the eccentrically named Chinese Cricket Club, which joins the hotel's in-house Italian, Refettorio. From 17 November you can dine on crispy orange beef (punters may remember this from the now defunct Chinese Experience in Soho), fried perch with garlic chives, orange rib of beef and silken tofu with broad bean paste. Dim sum is also served, despite a Sichuan tag to the main menu. This isn't cutting-edge Chinese food, but it's sure to find a market (Crowne Plaza London, 19 New Bridge St., EC4V; for more information go here).
– Roger Clarke
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- – Talking with the troubled Ciprianis. [Vanity Fair]
- – The brewery behind PBR and Schlitz is for sale. [NYP]
- – Restaurants seek to better manage tip pools. [NRN]
- – Western foods are gaining in China. [ABC]
- – Where have all the Angostura bitters gone? [Bostonist]
- – Who gets all of those 7 PM reservations, anyway? [Between Meals]
- – The last days of Gourmet. [Last Days of Gourmet]
- – Nation's Restaurant News to go biweekly. [Food Writer's Diary]
- – Who needs to tip when you can buy the chef a beer? [GS:C]
- – 222.5 pounds? Now that's a big meatball. [MSNBC]
- – Could you eat 78 pieces of cutlery? Would you? [Daily Mail, via EMD]
- – The manually operated hamburger vending machine. [JapanProbe]
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David Chang's pork neck with succotash
Photo and recipe: courtesy of Phaidon Press
For its latest cookbook, Coco, Phaidon Press turned to 10 world-leading chefs – Ferran Adrià, Mario Batali, Shannon Bennett, Alain Ducasse, Fergus Henderson, Yoshihiro Murata, Gordon Ramsay, René Redzepi, Alice Waters and Jacky Yu – to each pick 10 contemporary chefs from around the world. In turn, each of those chefs then wrote a menu and recipes for the book. The final product is more than 400 pages of gorgeous photographs, mouthwatering recipes and interesting tidbits from kitchens around the world. Want a taste? After the jump, get the recipe for pork neck with succotash from New York chef David Chang (of the Momofuku empire).
Pork Neck with Succotash
Serves 4
Recipe by David Chang
For the pork neck
300 g kosher salt
270 g sugar
6 liters hot water
2 bay leaves
25 g black peppercorns
6 liters cold water
10 g pink salt
1 pork neck
- Mix the salt, sugar, hot water, bay leaves, and black peppercorns.
- Mix the cold water with the pink salt.
- Add the pork neck and confit 5 hours at 300°F (150°C) covered.
- When tender, press between 2 sheet trays. Portion into serving size pieces.
- Crisp on a griddle or pan to heat through.
For the succotash
100 g ground (minced) smoked, think-cut pork belly
12 g chanterelle mushrooms
250 g lima (butter) beans
175 g corn (sweetcorn) kernels
Butter for sautéing
1 tbsp tarragon, chopped
4 ml buttermilk
120 g butter
130 g arugula (rocket)
- Sauté the pork belly, chanterelles, lima beans, and corn in a pan.
- Finish with a pinch of salt and pepper, chopped tarragon, buttermilk, butter, and arugula.
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A bit out of the way and not worth finding.
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The Brits don't have a long Halloween tradition – historically it was celebrated in Ireland, but every year that tide of pumpkins seems to grow and grow. In the darkening daylight hours, how about the Halloween party at Newburgh St. (6–9 PM), with its pronounced NYC influence, bagels, salt-beef, jack-o-lanterns and prizes for best costume. It's only yards from the London residence of Legend of Sleepy Hollow author Washington Irving at 8 Argyll St. Worth trying too is the more sedate Halloween slow-food market on Southbank. Buzz isn't much given to ghost tours (the dead don't eat, after all), but how about a three-course meal and a screening of The Exorcist (pea soup not included) at Axis at One Aldwych (two showings, dinner at 6 PM, film at 8:30 PM or dinner at 9 PM, film at 11 PM; £38.50 including VAT and service; additionally, Moët & Chandon Imperial is only £25 a bottle; book by calling 020-7300-0300 or e-mail on axis@onealdwych.com; more here). Also, themed cocktails are everywhere, but the Long Bar at Sanderson caught our eye with its Great Pumpkin chilled martini (El Dorado, amaretto, cinnamon syrup, butternut squash puree for £13).
– Roger Clarke
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- – Menu labeling hops onto health-care reform. [NRN]
- – 2009 had the worst honey crop on record. [Daily Green, via GS:C]
- – Not with a bang, but a whimper. Ramsay kills Kitchen Nightmares. [The Sun]
- – The return of the milkman. [WSJ]
- – Restaurants look to Halloween for a boost. [NRN]
- – The White House garden, by the numbers. [Obama Foodorama]
- – Europe's eel population is slipping away. [WSJ]
- – Costco is getting ready to accept food stamps. [CityRoom]
- – Hooters is facing a lawsuit for making its waitresses buy their uniforms. [NYP]
- – Just try and top this Halloween dish. [Not Martha]
- – 100-year-old whiskey, anyone? [GlobalPost]
- – In Illinois, 100 hours of community service or...a tray of jerk chicken? [Chicago Tribune]
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Cassoulet of foie gras, cèpes, butternut squash and spinach at Le Bouchon Breton
Photo: courtesy of the restaurant
The season of gastronomic blowouts begins. East it's foie gras, West it's turducken. Kilburn gastropub Paradise by Way of Kensal Green has introduced its version of the formidable turducken – a distinctly medieval-sounding dish in which a duck is stuffed with a pheasant that's been stuffed with a partridge – to its "Host Your Own Roast" menu. It's served with duck-fat roasted potatoes and all the trimmings, and is carved at your table by chef Tim Payne (£75 total to share between five people; available through Christmas, though allow 48 hours notice; more details here or call 020-8969-0098).
Richer yet are the seasonal foie gras specials at Shoreditch's Le Bouchon Breton starting November 1. Matched with optional wines, dishes include a cassoulet of foie gras, cèpes, butternut squash and spinach, teamed with Qupe Viognier/Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Cuvee 2007, coming in at £29 total for both. Entrees average about £15. Book here or call 020-7377-1839.
– Roger Clarke
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