âA meaty tour of the American Deep South...â
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“A meaty tour of the American Deep South...” o n e n o t e f r o m the New Orleans trumpeter as he begins his jaunty lap of the restaurant, swaying jazz band in tow, and the grey Shoreditch sky outside fades away. Mint julep in hand, and with a smoky spread of burnt beef ends, brisket, pulled pork and juicy ribs stretching across the table, this feels more like Austin than East London (bar the interchangeable bare light bulbs and beards). This BBQ mecca takes you on a meaty tour of the American Deep South, stopping in St Louis for a Creole bean burger and New Orleans for jambalaya, munching on corn bread and ‘slaw as you go. If that’s not escapism enough, the list of bourbons is as long as the sliding arm on a jazz trombone – a mere 50 to deliberate over – with special varieties to tempt those with a chronic whisky weakness (guilty as charged). Ask the boys behind the bar for a Jefferson’s Ocean and they’ll regale you with tales of spirits aged on a ship at sea, the porous barrels absorbing the salty breeze as they traverse the Atlantic. End the night by stumbling onto the impromptu dance floor, where bluesy live bands never fail to get diners on their feet. After all, it’s still early in St Louis, so go ahead and boogie. THE BLUES KITCHEN LONDON BBQ and bourbon From €20 theblueskitchen.com
Clockwise from above the decor is New Orleans dive-bar; an authentic taste of Southern BBQ in East London
WORDS FLORENCE DERRICK, SARAH NEISH
“Flavours swirl and sneak up…” t h e r e’s n o d e n y i n g the Greek capital has upped its culinary game considerably of late, but it’s still easy to get souvlaki-d out, there. That’s where this softly twinkling, balmy garden courtyard, where couples whisper intimately over candlelit forays into adventurous gastronomy, comes into its own. Tasting menus of five or seven courses arrive paired with Greek wine and, from a tart,
ALERIA ATHENS Adventurous flavours From €50 aleria.gr
083
pickled watermelon, feta, fennel and rocketcream appetiser to a hearty pasta dish with braised oxtail, shiitake mushrooms and a foamy béchamel sauce, there are smears, splodges and ‘constructed’ piles of veg aplenty, plus flavours that swirl and sneak up on you. A simple rice pudding is reborn when served with pistachio cream, cherry sorbet and cinnamon, and the 21 creamy Greek cheeses make choosing from the mammoth cheeseboard an impossible task. If you want to ooh and ahh like you’re watching fireworks explode over the Acropolis, then Aleria won’t disappoint.
VIEWPOINTS O N E AT I N G O U T
The Refinery Spinningfields
You can spend the whole day at new concept Refinery Spinningfields
Manchester | All-day escape The bods behind last autumn’s launch of Drake & Morgan in King’s Cross, London, have set their sites on Manchester, opening an all-day bar and bistro this month. Spread across a vast space, it encompasses casual dining, a lounge bar and a restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling windows and industrial design notes setting the scene for the extensive drink and food menus. Mains are seasonal – think Parmesan-crusted chicken with polenta or lamb chops with mint jus and crushed potatoes – as are the cocktails.
Aroma Bistro Rome | Relaxed fine dining With its rooftop views of the Colosseum and Michelin star, the Palazzo Manfredi hotel’s Ristorante Aroma already claims the most romantic dining spot in Rome. Now, diners looking for a slightly less formal affair – but without compromising on chef Guiseppe Di Iorio’s classic cuisine – can turn to the new Aroma Bistro, on a terrace that overlooks the historic Oppian Hill and Domus Aurea. Dishes give Roman tradition a Calabrian slant that reveal Di Iorio’s southern roots: shaken carbonara
rigatoni, warm veal carpaccio with truffles and salad, and swordfish rolled with fresh tomato, olives and provolone cheese.
Temper London | Meat feast The British capital hits peak BBQ this month with the long-awaited opening of chef Neil Rankin’s South America-inspired restaurant. Cuts of UK-sourced, speciality
beef, pork, lamb and goat are grilled over a four-metre-wide open fire pit at the centre of the dining area, served with sides like heritage tomatoes, peach and mint or avocado with Sichuan pepper and lime salt. It’s nose-to-tail dining that uses every part of each animal – down to the beef fat for making butter – so that the whole operation is almost 100% waste-free and sustainable. Amen to that.
“Most supermarket honey isn’t the real deal…” “h o n e y m a k e s yo u happy. My dad used to mix honey into warm milk – there’s nothing better when you’re feeling a bit down. “My parents were farmers and at harvest time we’d always get more than we needed, so we’d share it with the community. It’s the way I love to live. I buy my honey from Bermondsey Street Bees, opposite my José restaurant in London. “Honey has a super-delicate flavour which is easily overpowered, but don’t
overuse it in your cooking. Buy local honey and tailor your recipes to suit its unique flavour. “People don’t realise that real honey is influenced by terroir, just like wine. Heather honey has quite a strong, woody taste, which works well with savoury flavours. I’d grill some fresh figs, and serve them with goat’s cheese and toasted almonds, then I’d make a honey dressing with some acidity – some Chardonnay or sherry vinegar – to cut through the sweetness. “A lighter, more delicate honey is beautiful in a simple dressing with olive
084
oil and a little splash of lemon over pan-fried hake and a simple salad. Or make an amazing cake with orangeblossom honey and walnuts. “Most honey sold in supermarkets isn’t the real deal. It’s diluted and boiled down, so none of its goodness is left. Luckily, there’s more awareness now about the threat that bees face and how important they are. Consumers can lead the way by buying local, sustainable honey – it’s easy to find. Look after your community – it’s better for everyone.” josepizarro.com
WORDS FLORENCE DERRICK
With Majorca’s Llubí honey fair taking place on 20 November, chef José Pizarro roots for the bees
“A meaty tour of the American Deep South...” o n e n o t e f r o m the New Orleans trumpeter as he begins his jaunty lap of the restaurant, swaying jazz band in tow, and the grey Shoreditch sky outside fades away. Mint julep in hand, and with a smoky spread of burnt beef ends, brisket, pulled pork and juicy ribs stretching across the table, this feels more like Austin than East London (bar the interchangeable bare light bulbs and beards). This BBQ mecca takes you on a meaty tour of the American Deep South, stopping in St Louis for a Creole bean burger and New Orleans for jambalaya, munching on corn bread and ‘slaw as you go. If that’s not escapism enough, the list of bourbons is as long as the sliding arm on a jazz trombone – a mere 50 to deliberate over – with special varieties to tempt those with a chronic whisky weakness (guilty as charged). Ask the boys behind the bar for a Jefferson’s Ocean and they’ll regale you with tales of spirits aged on a ship at sea, the porous barrels absorbing the salty breeze as they traverse the Atlantic. End the night by stumbling onto the impromptu dance floor, where bluesy live bands never fail to get diners on their feet. After all, it’s still early in St Louis, so go ahead and boogie. THE BLUES KITCHEN LONDON BBQ and bourbon From €20 theblueskitchen.com
Clockwise from above the decor is New Orleans dive-bar; an authentic taste of Southern BBQ in East London
WORDS FLORENCE DERRICK, SARAH NEISH
“Flavours swirl and sneak up…” t h e r e’s n o d e n y i n g the Greek capital has upped its culinary game considerably of late, but it’s still easy to get souvlaki-d out, there. That’s where this softly twinkling, balmy garden courtyard, where couples whisper intimately over candlelit forays into adventurous gastronomy, comes into its own. Tasting menus of five or seven courses arrive paired with Greek wine and, from a tart,
ALERIA ATHENS Adventurous flavours From €50 aleria.gr
083
pickled watermelon, feta, fennel and rocketcream appetiser to a hearty pasta dish with braised oxtail, shiitake mushrooms and a foamy béchamel sauce, there are smears, splodges and ‘constructed’ piles of veg aplenty, plus flavours that swirl and sneak up on you. A simple rice pudding is reborn when served with pistachio cream, cherry sorbet and cinnamon, and the 21 creamy Greek cheeses make choosing from the mammoth cheeseboard an impossible task. If you want to ooh and ahh like you’re watching fireworks explode over the Acropolis, then Aleria won’t disappoint.
VIEWPOINTS O N E AT I N G O U T
The Refinery Spinningfields
You can spend the whole day at new concept Refinery Spinningfields
Manchester | All-day escape The bods behind last autumn’s launch of Drake & Morgan in King’s Cross, London, have set their sites on Manchester, opening an all-day bar and bistro this month. Spread across a vast space, it encompasses casual dining, a lounge bar and a restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling windows and industrial design notes setting the scene for the extensive drink and food menus. Mains are seasonal – think Parmesan-crusted chicken with polenta or lamb chops with mint jus and crushed potatoes – as are the cocktails.
Aroma Bistro Rome | Relaxed fine dining With its rooftop views of the Colosseum and Michelin star, the Palazzo Manfredi hotel’s Ristorante Aroma already claims the most romantic dining spot in Rome. Now, diners looking for a slightly less formal affair – but without compromising on chef Guiseppe Di Iorio’s classic cuisine – can turn to the new Aroma Bistro, on a terrace that overlooks the historic Oppian Hill and Domus Aurea. Dishes give Roman tradition a Calabrian slant that reveal Di Iorio’s southern roots: shaken carbonara
rigatoni, warm veal carpaccio with truffles and salad, and swordfish rolled with fresh tomato, olives and provolone cheese.
Temper London | Meat feast The British capital hits peak BBQ this month with the long-awaited opening of chef Neil Rankin’s South America-inspired restaurant. Cuts of UK-sourced, speciality
beef, pork, lamb and goat are grilled over a four-metre-wide open fire pit at the centre of the dining area, served with sides like heritage tomatoes, peach and mint or avocado with Sichuan pepper and lime salt. It’s nose-to-tail dining that uses every part of each animal – down to the beef fat for making butter – so that the whole operation is almost 100% waste-free and sustainable. Amen to that.
“Most supermarket honey isn’t the real deal…” “h o n e y m a k e s yo u happy. My dad used to mix honey into warm milk – there’s nothing better when you’re feeling a bit down. “My parents were farmers and at harvest time we’d always get more than we needed, so we’d share it with the community. It’s the way I love to live. I buy my honey from Bermondsey Street Bees, opposite my José restaurant in London. “Honey has a super-delicate flavour which is easily overpowered, but don’t
overuse it in your cooking. Buy local honey and tailor your recipes to suit its unique flavour. “People don’t realise that real honey is influenced by terroir, just like wine. Heather honey has quite a strong, woody taste, which works well with savoury flavours. I’d grill some fresh figs, and serve them with goat’s cheese and toasted almonds, then I’d make a honey dressing with some acidity – some Chardonnay or sherry vinegar – to cut through the sweetness. “A lighter, more delicate honey is beautiful in a simple dressing with olive
084
oil and a little splash of lemon over pan-fried hake and a simple salad. Or make an amazing cake with orangeblossom honey and walnuts. “Most honey sold in supermarkets isn’t the real deal. It’s diluted and boiled down, so none of its goodness is left. Luckily, there’s more awareness now about the threat that bees face and how important they are. Consumers can lead the way by buying local, sustainable honey – it’s easy to find. Look after your community – it’s better for everyone.” josepizarro.com
WORDS FLORENCE DERRICK
With Majorca’s Llubí honey fair taking place on 20 November, chef José Pizarro roots for the bees
