The great Clerkenwell coffee shop St Ali has given over the prime position on breakfast and brunch menus traditionally occupied by Hollandaise sauce to truffle mascarpone. I repeat, truffle mascarpone. It is served atop toast alongside two poached eggs with smoked salmon and grilled aspargus. [Read more...]
Say Goodbye to Hollandaise
19 July 2011 By 4 Comments
V1.0 of the Bistro du Vin Burger Will Get You Excited About V2.0
With great burgers as with great buildings, the blueprint comes first and the construction comes second. The reverse seems to be true at the new Bistro du Vin on St John Street in Clerkenwell. [Read more...]
7 May 2011 By 2 Comments
2 Hip Haunts for 2-Wheeled Cafenatics
The London cafenatic’s Tour de France is a kilometre long, with no hills or turns from start to finish. It departs from look mum no hands, a garagehouse coffee shop at 49 Old St, and arrives at Rapha Cycle Club, a pop-up gallery, boutique and coffee bar at 146-148 Clerkenwell Rd. [Read more...]
8 July 2010 By 3 Comments
#PizzaTuesday celebrates a taste of Trianon at Santoré
The connection between the London restaurant/pizzeria Santoré and the legendary Naples pizzeria Trianon da Ciro is unsubstantiated and at best tenuous. The quality of the pizza, however, does not lie. [Read more...]
12 March 2010 By 1 Comment
Letter to the critic who hated the bread at Moro
Dear Andy Hayler,
I stumbled upon your review of Moro (34-36 Exmouth Market, London EC1), which was reprinted at myvillage.com, and had great difficulty digesting your description of its bread as “poor, too airy, floury and lacking salt”. The hardest part for me to chew was the too-airy bit. My recurring complaint about the breads at London bakeries and restaurants is that they’re not airy enough. Neither are they chewy, coarse or crusty, the way I expect artisanal, rustic, hand-kneaded breads to be, the way Moro’s exceptional sourdough is. I accept that the English, like most Americans, are accustomed to soft, squishy, fine-textured breads, but I’d hoped that well-travelled food writers like yourself would stand up for air pockets, educate readers and influence taste. [Read more...]
24 January 2009 By 2 Comments
The Modern Pantry is not ready for Jasper Gerard, but Jasper Gerard is ready for The Modern Pantry
CORRECTION: The famous agent, familiar actor and Premiership footballer mentioned by Jasper Gerard in his review of The Modern Pantry were not spotted there. They were dining at Quo Vadis, which Gerard made clear in his review. I regret the error and thank Gerard for bringing it to my attention in his comment beneath this post.
The Telegraph’s Jasper Gerard must be the only major newspaper critic in London able to competently and completely review the food at a restaurant without even trying out its menu. [Read more...]
19 September 2008 By 5 Comments
