London

Free Ice Cream From Gelato Mio

BuzzEditor — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:08:00 GMT

A few days of super-mild spring weather in Blighty and everybody’s already thinking about summer – and ice cream! In April, mini chain Gelato Mio is opening its fourth outpost in St. John's Wood and on Saturday, 10 April, they'll be giving away free scoops of their creamy Italian ices from 2–6 PM. Flavours include cookies-and-cream-style biscotti, sweet black-cherry amarena, real mint-leaf infusion with dark-chocolate chip and a low-fat yogurt ice (138 St. John's Wood High St., NW8; 020-7727-0194).

Dining News Elsewhere: Free Food Fills Coffers, Florida's Freeze Fallout

BuzzEditor — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:09:00 GMT

– Why all the food giveaways lately? They're good for business. [WSJ]
– New York restaurateurs are nonplussed that the city is really going to force them to display health-score letter grades. [Eater]
– Fallout from Florida's winter freeze won't stop until mid-April. [NRN]

– Praising the restaurant critic. [Time]
– Starbucks will soon offer the ability to completely customize their Frappuccinos. [WSJ]
– Related: the Times' exclusive deal with the coffee chain is over. [AdAge]
– The potato industry is ready for America's decreasing taste for french fries. [The Star]
– Calorie counts loom in Illinois. [S-T]
– Foodies on food stamps. [Salon]
– Restaurant trends that have to go. [Eater]
– What goes into your OJ might surprise you. [Culinate]
– Top Chef's Marcel Vigneron is getting a show on SyFy. [EMD]
– Not content with a menu in Toronto, Wilco gets a beer too. [The Stew]
– One woman's dream to weigh 1,000 lbs. [Gothamist]

Hix Hits Selfridges

BuzzEditor — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:05:00 GMT

Mark Hix

Perched on Selfridges’ mezzanine level overlooking Prada and Chanel, revered chef Mark Hix’s latest venture is Hix Restaurant & Champagne Bar, a split-space Modern European; there’s a low-ceilinged, wood-floored dining room on one side offering full-blooded, unpretentious fare (and sporting a crustacean counter), flanked on the other side by a small, blue-hued bar with comfy sofas and a hearty snack selection.

Selfridges, 400 Oxford St., W1A; 020-7499-5400

Making Hot Cross Buns at The Kitchen Parsons Green

BuzzEditor — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:20:00 GMT

The oh-so-British hot cross bun is usually served up the Friday before Easter Sunday. On Saturday, 3 April, learn how to make them yourself at The Kitchen Parsons Green, which will be hosting a one-off baking master class. The two-hour class will also cover white, wholemeal and seeded bread, an Easter bread ring and even focaccia. The culinary center is co-owned by the Alain Ducasse–trained chef Thierry Laborde, and the class will be lead by Vanessa Antoli, who previously worked at The Berkeley Hotel and was head pastry chef at the Charlotte Street Hotel, so be warned: standards might be high (2:30–4:30 PM; £89 per person; for more info, click here [PDF] and to book, e-mail hello@visitthekitchen.com or call 020-7736-8067; 275 New Kings Rd., SW6).

– Roger Clarke

Dining News Elsewhere: Gordo Owes, Chile's Wine Woes

BuzzEditor — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:38:00 GMT

– Gordon Ramsay, always in the news, is picking up the pieces of a bad year – and owing the taxman. [Guardian, DR]
– The Chilean wine industry continues to take stock. [WSJ]
– Oh, no! Gloucestershire's annual cheese rolling has been canceled due to health and safety fears. [Guardian, via EMD]

– The anti-HFCS campaign hits success with the return of sugar in products like ketchup and Gatorade. [Ad Age]
– It isn't just about making healthy foods cheaper – you have to make the junk more expensive. [NPR]
– NYC restaurants are turning their expansions toward DC. [WBJ]
– For love of shad roe. [WSJ]
– Bobby Flay heads to prime time. [Eater]
– Gross: 13,780 lbs. of spaghetti. [KTLA]
– How to annoy your server. [CNN]
– A McDonald's that doesn't serve food? [Jaunted]

Outtake of the Week

BuzzEditor — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:57:00 GMT

Horrible waitress, awesome nachos!

Zagat To Go, Now on Palm webOS

BuzzEditor — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:33:00 GMT

Zagat To Go for the Palm webOS

Zagat released its mobile application, Zagat To Go (ZTG), for the Palm webOS today. Similar to ZTG for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, the webOS application works with the Palm Pre, Pixi and Pre Plus and includes features like the ability to use GPS to find nearby restaurants; sort by food, decor, service and cost; make reservations instantly; and browse top-rated lists. Zagat To Go is available on the webOS app catalog for $9.99.

Nobu Matsuhisa Visits London

BuzzEditor — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:57:00 GMT

Nobu Matsuhisa

Photo: Steven Freeman

On Monday and Tuesday, 12–13 April, the legendary Nobu Matsuhisa is coming to town. Appearing at Nobu London, he'll be hosting up to 50 guests each night in the private dining room for a seven-course special tasting. The dinner will focus on umami – the fifth taste known for its savory qualities – with menu items including yellowtail tartar with wasabi soy and caviar; king crab with buckwheat risotto and truffles; and Wagyu beef with cèpes and balsamic teriyaki. Each dish will be presented with an accompanying sake, with Nobu-san himself discussing the pairings and creation of his dishes (7:30 PM arrival, dinner starts at 8 PM; £200 per person; call Amir Jati at 020-7447-4777 or e-mail amirj@noburestaurants.com for bookings).

– Roger Clarke

Dining News Elsewhere: Making a Food Celebrity, Whale Tasting

BuzzEditor — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:14:00 GMT

– Another week, another story on how to make a food celebrity. In this case, Katie Lee. [NYT]
– It isn't just tomatoes suffering – the cold in Florida means OJ prices are about to rise. [Reuters]
– The LA restaurant accused of serving whale meat admits to the charge. [LAT]

– Related: ever wonder what whale tastes like? [Slate]
– The next season of Top Chef will shoot in Washington, DC. [WP]
– Related: Bravo has another cooking show up its sleeve, Around the World in 80 Plates. [Bravo]
– Just like New York, Paris has fancy restaurants popping into its museums. [NYT]
– A Boston bar is selling the right to sit during Red Sox games. [Deadspin]
– Is the butcher backlash on? [Salon]
– Make a sandwich with Lady Gaga in her latest video. [GS: B]
– Breathable chocolate. Want a hit? [BH]
– Top Chef gets the porn treatment. [Eater]

Mon Plaisir Adds Saturday Lunch

BuzzEditor — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:45:00 GMT

Mon Plaisir

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

It's taken Mon Plaisir, one of London's oldest French restaurants, nearly 70 years to get to it, but the Covent Garden classic now serves lunch on Saturdays. The rotating set menu includes options such as cappuccino of mushrooms; roast rump of lamb with Provençal vegetables and black olive jus; and pancake with salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream (£14.95 for two courses, £16.95 for three courses). From the à la carte menu, there's parfait of foie gras with passion fruit jelly and toasted brioche (£9.95), fillet of sea bass with red and yellow cherry tomatoes (£18.95) and a £17.95 duck breast with marmalade of chorizo and applesauce (both options available in the main room from noon–2:15 PM and in the brasserie from 2:15–3 PM; 020-7836-7243).

– Roger Clarke

Gerard Butler Inspires OMG Press Release of the Week

BuzzEditor — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:30:00 GMT

Like most journalists, we get a lot of press releases here at Zagat Buzz. Every once in a while we get one that just, well, needs to be shared:

What do Gerard Butler and the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City have in common? Big packages! And an undying love for one another. In fact, Butler and leading lady Jennifer Aniston filmed several scenes of their new comedy, The Bounty Hunter, at the Borgata and “got to know each other” off-camera while frequenting the hotel’s restaurants and hot spots.

Really, that's how the release started. Want more? The whole thing is after the jump.

What do Gerard Butler and the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City have in common? Big packages! And an undying love for one another. In fact, Butler and leading lady Jennifer Aniston filmed several scenes of their new comedy, The Bounty Hunter, at the Borgata and “got to know each other” off-camera while frequenting the hotel’s restaurants and hot spots.

In celebration of the film’s release and the couple’s budding romance, The Borgata incorporates Butler and Aniston’s favorite accommodations, spa treatments and dining experiences into one bang-up package so guests can experience the hotel just as these A-listers did (paparazzi free!).

The ‘Follow the Bounty to Borgata’ Package is available from March 12 through April 10 and includes:

Accommodations in a spectacular Hideaway Suite at The Water Club at Borgata

Spa treatment from Immersion Spa’s Bounty-Inspired menu, including the Ultimate Oxygenating Facial by Intraceuticals (Jennifer Aniston is reportedly a fan) or a Men’s Deluxe Facial
$200 Food & Beverage Credit redeemable at any of Borgata’s fine restaurants, including Bobby Flay Steak or Seablue by Michael Mina where Jennifer Aniston and crew dined while filming
$100 Retail Credit for any Borgata boutique - perhaps to buy sunglasses for those staying incognito to escape their own bounty hunters?
VIP Entry and Complimentary Admission to MIXX and mur.mur nightclubs to glide pass the velvet rope like any A-lister
Complimentary use of the Fitness Center during stay to keep guests buff and toned Hollywood-style

Package price is $1,499/night and is available weekends only (Friday through Sunday) at The Water Club. For more information about packages at Borgata, visit www.theborgata.com or call 609.317.7555.

London Restaurant Week 2010

BuzzEditor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:43:00 GMT

Skylon

Photo: Cindy Chen

Lastminute.com's London Restaurant Week actually lasts till the end of the month, but you’ll still have to be quick if you want a cheap meal. The window to make reservations for the 100 or so restaurants offering two-course lunches for £15 and/or three-course dinners for £25 ends this Sunday, 14 March. Participants that still have space left include Indian grill Amaya in Knightsbridge, L’Autre Pied in Marylebone, Gordon Ramsay’s waterside gastropub The Narrow in Limehouse, David Thompson’s Thai restaurant Nahm in Belgravia and Skylon on the South Bank. To book, and for more info, including menus, go here.

– Roger Clarke

Dining News Elsewhere: Fat Kids, Whale Meat

BuzzEditor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:32:00 GMT

– Anti-obesity efforts are now all about the kids. [Slate]
– From the department of terrible ideas: a New York lawmaker wants to ban salt from all restaurant cooking preparation. [NRN]
– Not content with their Oscar, the team behind The Cove managed to help bust an LA eatery for serving whale meat. [NYT]

– Evaluating Chile's wine industry after the quake. [Bloomberg]
– Restaurants are embracing professional foragers when seeking hard-to-find ingredients. [NRN]
– Is decaf coffee cool now? [NYT]
– Related: we are now in coffee's "third-wave." [Time]
– Tap water is so hot right now...enter the fancy filters! [WSJ]
– Florescent lights are good for plants like spinach. [Mail]
– Meet a mushroom farmer. [SE]
– Lox, not kosher? [NYP]
– P&G has recalled Pringles flavors "Taco Night" and "Cheeseburger" due to salmonella concerns. [Salon]
– A New York chef is serving (but not selling) cheese made from his wife's breast milk, and the New York Post can't get enough of it. [NYP]
– Listing restaurant design flaws. [The Stew]
– With a bacon rocket, pigs really do fly. [SE]

Guerilla Burgers Flips Into Marylebone

BuzzEditor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:31:00 GMT

Guerilla Burgers

Photo: courtesy of the restaurant

The old Tootsies on James Street in Marylebone has become Guerilla Burgers, a boisterous burger bar with a gently priced American-style menu that includes options like fish tacos and aubergine and goat-cheese patties; the simple tables and tiled flooring are set against an anarchic backdrop of mock graffiti – ‘buns not guns’, ‘rise up relish’ – and a loud, upbeat '60s soundtrack.

35 James Street, W1U; 020-7486-1511

London St. Patrick's Day 2010

BuzzEditor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:26:00 GMT

Aubrey Restaurant

Photo: Cindy Chen

St. Patrick’s Day arrives Wednesday, 17 March, and considering our large Irish population, it's no wonder there are plenty of spots to celebrate. You can't go wrong with the following Emerald Isle eateries (and don't worry, we've got places for you to drink after the jump too):

Aubrey Restaurant: This Irish-owned spot in the Kensington Hotel is offering a £35 St. Patrick’s Day menu that includes a baby spinach, bacon and Cashel blue-cheese salad served with a walnut dressing; a traditional Irish stew with creamed potato, buttered cabbage and homemade soda bread; and Irish coffee chocolate mousse with oatmeal tuiles to finish it up. All diners on the day will also get a voucher entitling them to 50% off their next meal (020-7589-6300).

Mulligan’s of Mayfair: Sit at the oyster bar of this Balls Brothers boozer or relax with a meal; starters include Guinness rarebit (£6.50), lamb kidneys on soda bread and Irish salmon (£7.50), while main courses run from Kildare rib-eye steak for £19.50 to mulligan stew for £12.95 (020-7409-1370).

Sauterelle: Sure it's French, but the chef at this City restaurant has produced a special dish for St. Patty's consisting of poached organic salmon, Irish oysters and housemade seaweed brioche, priced at £9 and available for the rest of March (020-7618-2483).

Rotunda: At this King's Cross spot, there's a St. Patrick's Day menu running 16–17 March put together by its Irish-born and-bred chef. Highlights include boxty pancakes with black pudding purée and a bacon and mustard cream at £5.95 and Irish stew at £13.95. You can see the full menu here (020-7014-2840).

Last but not least, The Irish Centre in Camden is hosting a number of events as well as a bacon-and-cabbage lunch with a bunch of shamrocks thrown in (not to eat, you understand); plus there's a "Country & Irish Night" in the centre's McNamara Hall with dinner included in the £10 ticket price. Go here for details (020-7916-7272).

If you're merely looking to raise a pint or three, try one of these pubs.

The Auld Shillelagh: This pub in Stoke Newington is known for its exceptional Guinness. For the big day, it will offer Irish dancers, live music and free stew (020-7254-0959; 132 Stoke Newington Church St., N16).

Coach & Horses: It's not Irish-themed but a popular reveller destination on St. Patrick’s Day nonetheless, thanks to its 80 Irish whiskeys and good Guinness – and hot Limerick ham sandwiches (020-7437-5920).

The Tipperary: Founded in 1700, London’s oldest Irish pub boasts an atmospheric (if tiny) space hung with mirrors and fading prints of Cork (020-7583-6470; 66 Fleet St., EC4Y).

Toucan: A pretty tiny space destined to be heaving with green-hatted Irishmen, this pub's very central Soho location and good draft Guinness and Magners cider makes it a popular spot (020-7437-4123).