Antico is not going to get the food twitchers excited, but as a reliable, affordable place for a decent lunch or dinner it’s got the balance and the attitude right.
Simply red-La Tomatina at Tapas Revolution
Madrid-style tapas bar, Tapas Revolution, will be celebrating the popular Spanish festival, La Tomatina in its Westfield London and Bluewater branches by creating an entire tomato menu until 2nd September.
Pappardelle don’t preach
I could be in trouble deep. That high street purveyor of middle class Italian nosh, Carluccio’s, is coming to a Sainsbury’s near you with a range of ready meals that knocks the competition into a cocked hat and I for one have had my head turned.
Cafe Spice Namaste’s Parsi New Year Feast
Today is suspiciously auspicious. Not only is it my dining partner’s birthday, but also that of the bloke behind us. And, to cap it all, it’s only Navroz (New Year) for the Zoroastrians- the Persian sect from which the Parsis of India descended. The Parsi community has a well-deserved reputation for enriching both culture and cuisine wherever they tread- and, since landing at Gujarat in the 17th century, their influence has spread far and near.
Picnic by Claudia Roden
This is a fascinating window back in time to when food writers were properly educated and actually experienced, there are some really rather good recipes in there and some nice stories. Roden is one of those writers who we will almost certainly never see the like of again; she should be preserved in aspic. And then taken on a picnic.
Scandilicious Baking
With Noma overtaking our own Heston as the world’s top dining experience, the resurgence of Gudrun & Gudrun knits and the killer television drama coming from the north, it’s no wonder we’ve all gone Scandi-mad.
Half-Baked Cake Co.
It couldn’t be easier really. You get the convenience of off-the-shelf with the aroma and freshly-baked quality of home made.
Game for a spicy Indian?
Trishna, the Marylebone restaurant specialising in the coastal cuisine of south-west India, will mark the arrival of the game season with a five-course set menu specially created by Head Chef, Karam Sethi.
Dach & Sons
Dach & Sons is something of an anomaly in Hampstead, which is no doubt its intention. Not known for its participation in any type of zeitgeist since the days of Arts and Crafts, the affluent north London’village’ of Hampstead has supported a selection of very good pubs, outmoded chains and’neighbourhood’ restaurants for decades, with few hints of the fickle food trends jostling for position a few miles away in central London.
Spanish Flavours, José Pizarro
Crucially, in a time when cookbooks are treasures to look at, coo over and stroke, this is an attractive production. The photography, by Emma Lee, tells a story of Pizarro’s travels around Spain, of the people producing the food and the shops and bars satisfying their customers with a fresh cheese or a wide variety of mushrooms, and there are photographs of almost all of the recipes.