July 12, 2012
Ah London! Back to the Big Smoke after nearly a year away and so much has changed. Everywhere I walk I look at life around me and have to re-orientate myself with all the changes. The most striking one being the Shard – Europe’s tallest building, at London Bridge. To me it looks like the towers of Isengard where the Eye of Sauron sat in the middle, looking over Middle Earth. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable piece of architecture and if they do decide to have a restaurant right up the top, well, it’ll be quite a sight! Not to far a walk from the Shard is quiet Bermondsey Street, lined with cafes, pubs and restaurants. Anyone having been to Borough Market would have seen or dined at Brindisa, the Spanish restaurant and, for chefs, food supplier. Jose Pizarro, of Brindisa, then decided to venture out and open two more restaurants, aptly named, Jose and Pizarro! Both of them situated a few doors down from each other as well. Being a Sunday evening, only Pizarro was open for us to dine at, so we had to forego the thought of tapas at Jose for an a la carte menu at Pizarro.
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June 13, 2012
On my recent travels across the Americas, I have twice encountered the combination of Phillipe Starck and an Adria protege. Not quite sure what that little statistic means, but when there’s good and funky food in equally funky surroundings, there’s never a lack of discussion topics that are centred around the space you’re in and the experience is breathes upon you! The SLS hotel in Los Angeles is hom e to Bazaar, where El Bulli graduate Jose Andres flaunts his wares in a Starck designed dining room that plays on the name Bazaar and its permutation of bizarre, a space where the dining room is split into the actual dining space and a bar, patisserie and walk through market space displaying luxuriously priced knick-knacks, a sort of uber souk. Given the nature of the menu and it’s design for sharing, I have to say that with the help of Mr. W and Ms. B, there was fair justice done!
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June 10, 2012
After a morning of racing through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ending the tour with a very poignant and intense exhibition, “Naked behind the Lens”, Mrs. E and I realised that our stomachs were demanding to be audience to an exhibition of their own, a culinary exhibition! Luckily her foresight had grabbed us a table at her local tapaseria, Casa Mono, in vibrant Union Square. Hurrah! Designed to bring the peace and calm to the diner reminiscing about Barcelona and Catalonian nibbles, and more specifically, that of the Boqueria market on La Rambla in Barcelona, one of my favourite hang outs in one of my favourite cities! So, off we went, skipping down the busy streets of Union Square, basking in the sunshine, and finding ourselves being seated right at the front row. Luckily for us, one is meant to order plenty of dishes, which we had no problem in choosing….
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Posted in Europe, Food, Michelin, Travel, U.S.A |
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February 28, 2012
The science of turning ordinary metals into gold has been a long and fabled tradition, the various permutations of which stretch through the furthest reaches of philosophy, folklore, medicine and desire. Whilst humankind may kept the art of turning metal into gold solely in its philosophical premise, the art of creating magic, transforming ordinary elements into something infinitely valuable has permeated into every aspect of life. Food has always been child of alchemy, the creating fine dishes out of the most basic and simple ingredients, nourishing, desirable, addictive to a cult status; indeed, cuisine upholds the very philosophies of alchemy and fascinates us every single day, urging us to seek out more and more alchemists and revel in their success. It is, then, no surprise that a restaurant be named Alkimia, paying homage to the fine science of creation and pleasure.
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Posted in Europe, Exerimental, Food, Michelin, Spanish |
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