What’s your idea of street food? What do those two words mean to you? Are you thinking kebab with all the sides on a Friday night after the pub; a fish & chip supper (sadly no longer wrapped in newspaper); a takeaway burger from one of the well-known (or hopefully not) brands littering our high streets? Well move on, sister (and brother because here we truly are PC), because street food is hot, here and now. And you’re missing out.
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Unless you’re Michael Winner, or particularly au fait with each and every half-decent restaurant and possessed of an admirable persistence, it’s very hard to ensure you are given a really good table, or at least one halfway satisfactory when you eat out. You might think it not a matter of great importance; the service, the food, the wine are all much more significant factors to many of us but a poor table can ruin a potentially great night out. Obviously some quite like the busy thoroughfare quality of the toilet entrance – it adds content to the non-existent conversation – but for the rest of us, that draught from the frequently-opened door, the clash of cutlery at the work station, the looming pillar blocking your view of any helpful staff can make you unwilling to return. Read full post
It is with interest – and not a little gourmand dribbling – that we note the herd of specialist steak houses mo(o)ving across the UK. Not non-descript, tourist-driven joints either. No, these are the real deal. Any chef who’s worth his mustard is sharpening his Sabatier on a sirloin.
The list is long and plentiful: Gaucho Grill, Black & Blue, Goodman Steakhouse and Hawksmoor in the South through to Wildfire and Prime Cuts in Scotland; they’re all focused on serving up the big and the beautiful of the beef world. Of course, the latest in this long and distinguished line-up is US super-chef Wolfgang Puck who’s just opened up Cut at 45 Park Lane. He brings us the slightly artery-hardening concept of the Steak Tasting Menu (anyone longing for good old-fashioned à la carte?) – 3 small cuts of beef from across the globe, yours for £48. Otherwise take your pick from corn-fed, grass-fed, beer-massaged; Chile, New Zealand, Australia, England, USA… – all starting at around £30 a steak. Talk about cow with (globe)trotters. In fact, it seems the whole world loves a cow. Read full post
Is there anything more ridiculous than the concept restaurant? It seems no-one, nowhere and no cuisine is immune. Cherry-picking from the headlining new openings in the next few months, we see that St Jamie of O is not content with dominion over Italian and whatever the heck Barbacoa is supposed to be; his next new thing is a chain called Union Jack’s, but – wait for it – the concept is ‘undecided.’ Well, we’d hazard a guess it’s not going to be Korean. Also down South, Mark Sargeant is expanding The Smokehouse, his newest venture with a ‘fish and chip concept.’ Erm, that’s just fish and chips to you and me. While we’re at it, look out for the latest in confusion dining – Orchid’s ‘Pizza Pub’ concept, which is, and you would never guess it, a pub serving pizza ‘in a casual environment.’ Clearly necessity is the Godfather of invention – who knew? Read full post
What with it being the time of year for resolutions we thought it might be a good idea to nudge – or rather forcibly elbow – the restaurant trade into sorting out the mess that is tipping for 2011. You all felt strongly about the issue when we last addressed it The Tipping Point.. So have a look at this direct quote from the Department of BiS Voluntary Code from October 2009: “Our aim is to empower customers through clear information on what happens to the service charge, tip or gratuity they leave. The customer should know what is happening with his/her money and be able to make a judgement on its fairness.” Read full post
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