So, this bit is about restaurants and other places to eat great food, largely discovered while travelling or encountered "on the road.", as it were. No, it's not written in any chronological order but, rather, follows the illogical order of memory (and coming across unexpected USB drives). So you'll simply have to scroll. I'm sure you'll cope.
It's Good Outside
Better to be an outsider
Back in Scotland once again for my birthday, I had the privilege of having lunch in one of my favourite places in the Edinburgh, The Outsider.
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I recently heard from one of my friends—to whom I recommended it for her recent city break—that it had not been a "quality causality" of the pandemic. So, it was great to confirm for myself what I consider the city's best bistro is still going strong...
Groove Armada
On the good ship Lollipop...
My last birthday was a mixed blessing, the pandemic defining which loved ones I could and couldn't be with. Yet, I was able to be with one great friend, one of my oldest.
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Together, for my birthday, we shared shared world-class culinary excellence at The Galleon, a hop, skip and a jump away from Tobermory's picturesque waterfront on the Isle of Mull. Owned and headed up by husband-and-wife team Martin and Elaine, it was a beautiful dinner in the hands of a duo accustomed to gruelling international standards.
Chewing the fat
Italians do it better in Hackney
Another post-lockdown dining joyous experience was a visit to this excellent Modern Italian eatery Lardo on the edge of London Fields in Hackney, London.
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Less of a "business lunch" and much more about the business of lunch, I so appreciated being taken back to this excellent restaurant by the same friend who first introduced its excellent cooking to me.
Japanese delight in North-West London
My fish-loving friend and I had a fantastic little post-lockdown dining reunion at this marvelous Japanese place, Michiko Sushino; one of those longstanding "open secrets" created by a defining Japanese-British fashion designer who first rose to prominence in the 1990s. Situated in a "less likely" neighbourhood of London, it somehow gives this understated eatery more of an authentic, urbane Japanese feel.
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What can I say? Who's not gonna be happy with quality Japanese food with a laidback vibe?
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Sashi Me
Green and marine
Revisting the sauce
Some years ago on a trip to Genoa, we experienced a few surprises with arguably the world's most famous green pasta sauce on its home territory.
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You may think of pesto alla genovese as something quotidian that you know like the back of your hand. But, when you get to Genoa, it turns out you don't.
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Best burger in the whole of Europe
Where meat means something
Beef from the best butcher in Belgium; the one supplying more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other purveyor of fine meat...
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Why we go to De Pelgrim has nothing to do with awards; nothing to do with winning. It has to do with flavour.
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The versatility of Trastevere
Child-friendly where you least expect it
Rome's colourful Trastevere neighbourhood rightly has a reputation for quality traditional Roman dining and hipster bars. Starry-eyed honeymooners rub shoulders with huge Roman families out for the night; too-cool-for-school regazzi sip aperitivi, waiting for the DJ to turn up...
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Perhaps the last thing you expect is that it would be a child-friendly lifesaver. And, yet it is, as I discovered on a photo shoot with an exhausted child model about to go into meltdown.
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Basquing in it
Tapas delight in the Basque capital
If you need to ask yourself how you ended up in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of the Basque Country, on a Friday night, you probably shouldn't be there. I was there because of sustainable fish, in a roundabout way.
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That said, it's not liked I ignored the opportunities to enjoy some of the fine gastronomy the city has to offer.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Something more than the national dish
Prague is one of my most beloved cities in the world. And one of its most intriguing buildings is also a place in which you can experience Czech cuisine in multiple ways and to suit varied budgets.
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Yes, the intersection of its story and mine is going to take more than one telling. But this one offers the best value.
The best sparkling options under €25
A sparkling New Year
Back when 2017 was about to become 2018, my brother-in-law Karel organised the most wonderful blind tasting of 9 affordable European sparkling wines for us in Antwerp.
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Under his strict direction, we tasted the 9 wines in question without access to what they where before deliberating.
Lake Lustre in Piedmont
Northern Italy's hidden gem
I'm a huge fan of northern Italy in general and of its exquisite "finger lakes" in particular.
Back in 2016, a photo shoot on the "little sister" of these lakes long admired for their beauty also afforded a fantastic pit stop for some delicious regional cuisine.
Stuck in the Mittel with you
The hangover place
There has long been something about this chichi joint in London serving up smart comfort food and a vibe of Mitteleuropa that has made it a place of retreat for me.
But, thinking back over the times I've been there, why is it always that I was horribly hungover at the time?
Better than birthday cake
No Charlie at this checkpoint
My dining at one of Germany's most critically acclaimed eateries was all the better because I had no idea it was happening and because it was a good friend's birthday.
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That said, neither diminished the spectacular reality of this Michelin-star-studded establishment...
Flammkuchen- and bugger the rest
Who else is in Bremen?
I don't really disclose details of those with whom I visit Germany, mainly because I'm only interested in those who can progress beyond the clichéd version.
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But, yeah, Brian is always a good person to take to Germany, as was once again proven on this little sojourn to Bremen a few years ago.
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