Category: Restaurants, Bars, Pubs
‘My baby don’t care for high-tone prices’
July 5, 2019
Or, as Nina Simone actually sang, ‘he don’t care for high-tone places’ I’m increasingly less interested in ‘fine dining’ establishments, and attracted by places that offer simpler food in a less formal setting. Well chosen ingredients, prepared with intelligence in the kitchen. Well judged combinations of flavour, and no more than five main components on […]
Dinners in Paris, and a long day for the fishmongers
June 27, 2019
First night nerves We like to mark our evening of arrival in Paris with dinner at La Fontaine de Mars. You know you’re in Paris from the moment you step through the door. This time I’d left it too late to make a reservation, so we gave Le Bistrot d’Eléonore et Maxence a call. […]
Just a quiet Monday night in Amsterdam
April 23, 2019
Caffè Toscanini, Amsterdam Arriving early for our reservation, we asked if we could have an aperitif at the bar. I could see we were in safe hands, they stocked all the right brands. I ordered an Americano from the drinks list; equal parts Bèrto Bitter and white vermouth, with a (mere) splash of Fevertree […]
Swedish Food, Part Two: my quest for a meatball
January 24, 2019
First, a waterborne Smörgåsbord on the Steamship Stockholm. Invited to the city of Stockholm for a birthday celebration, we were instructed by our generous hosts to be ready to board ship at 11.30 on Sunday for a prompt departure at midday. The captain, they told us, would not wait for latecomers. The […]
Swedish food, Part One: “what have the Swedes ever done for us?”
January 24, 2019
In her Reith Lecture in 2018, Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan said this about the Swedish people: “Think of the Swedes” “I mean we think of the Swedes now today as making expeditions to Ikea, assembling furniture quietly, not getting cross at it. We think of them going to the woods and picking berries. I mean […]
My round-up of 2018
December 28, 2018
2018 has been a year that required urgent distractions from the shambles that passed for political debate in Westminster. Fortunately it’s been a good year for adventures: exhibitions, travel, theatre, food & drink. Here are just a few of my personal highlights: Theatre – behind the scenes at The Bridge In February I wrote […]