Monday 25th October 2010
Restaurant: Highlands, West Village, NY
Price per person: $$$
Rating: 4 out of 5
Currently munching: Home made super green soup
One of my best friends Katerine Stephens (Kat) is traveling in the big apple and had such an amazing experience at Highlands I asked her to write us a review; Big thanks for that Kat, I can actually taste that beef wellington as I read...mmmm...
It's always a wonderful turn of events when that 'quick bite' you grab on the way to your evening's destination, turns into one of the most amazing dining experiences you have ever had. I’m in New York visiting my friend Simon, with whom I went to university and who now lives in Harlem. Speaking to a Scottish friend online, I found out that his sister went to school in Glasgow with a man who now resides here and works in the restaurant industry. “Check out Double Crown,” I was told, and dutifully googled it to get the information. The place looked amazing - but the man in question, Brian McGrory, no longer worked there. He had opened his own Scottish themed restaurant in the West Village called Highlands. Even though the concept of themed restaurants makes me shudder a little inside, I felt obliged to check Highlands out, and suggested to Simon that we go, with the promise that if it was terrible we could go back to his tried-and-tested favourite eatery. We got there around 7.30pm on a Saturday night. It looked fairly classy; dimly lit with a busy bar of well-dressed folks. We were sat immediately by a charmingly efficient maitre d' and presented with a glass bottle of tap water (I liked that; no attempt to charge us, but no having to catch anyone’s eye for a refill) along with the menus. The decor was nice: grownup soft brown leather banquettes and token tartan seat covers, feature wallpaper and sturdy, comforting tables. There was a slightly odd enormous painting of two wolves with a Scottish flag, but it did prompt conversation which is never a bad thing!
To the menus: Just the right size, with five or six options for starter and for main, plus a few specials mentioned by our waiter. All fairly typical Scots dishes, such as Scotch eggs, cod, pork belly, mussels, barley, salmon, mushroom pie. I was disappointed not to see Cullen Skink as I had read about it in a review, but it shows they change their menu fairly frequently. The drinks menu was startlingly Scottish, however not in the whisky-centric way that most themed bars tend to rely on. There was my dad’s favourite beer, Belhaven, along with bottled Brewdog (a brewery rapidly making a good name for themselves worldwide, despite being based in a tiny fishing town on the edge of the North Sea) and a good selection of cocktails and wines. Simon had a perfectly acceptable beer from Long Island, and I went for the Scotch Pear Martini - Hendrick’s combined with Glenfiddich 12yr and pear, lemon and agave syrups - which is possibly overtaking the Hawksmoor’s Artist’s Special as my favourite ever cocktail! Food wise, we weren't sure what to expect and not too hungry anyway, so decided to share a starter of lamb and pork sausage rolls and a main course of Beef Wellington with mini roasted potatoes. The fact that I’m only now realizing that we had two courses which were literally just pastry and meat speaks volumes for the amount of flavour in the dishes. The starter arrived with a harissa aioli which was really tasty and unusual. The sausage rolls themselves were beautifully crisp with tender meat, very simple, although the ubiquitous inclusion of a few salad leaves on the side irritated me - that’s not the Scottish way! The main course, though, was the star: Nestled on a bed of well-seasoned potatoes and mushroom gravy was a perfect, fist-sized parcel of crunchy, flaky pastry encasing a chunk of beef, the likes of which had never been so well cared for in a kitchen. It was cooked on the rare side of medium-rare - the way it should be! The smell was incredible enough, but one bite and I was in heaven! The pastry was solidly crispy on top and just beginning to go soggy on the underside with the glorious drippings of the gravy, and the meat was buttery, creamy, manly and melt-in-the-mouth amazing! There was no mention of where the meat had come from, but given their policy of using local produce as well as importing from Scotland, I would hope it was American and hadn’t traveled the globe before landing on our plates.
Although the dessert menu looked equally incredible, with seckel pears, Millionaire’s shortbread and Scottish cheeses, we were sadly just not hungry enough. No doubt about it, chef William Hickox has stepped up to the plate here and delivered a fantastically high quality Scottish experience without overdoing the theme. Service was friendly and attentive, with the only minor irritation being that we were asked three or four times if we’d finished yet. If you’re in the city, go to Highlands. I‘m certainly not leaving without paying it another visit. (an additional note - their pop-rock playlist was genuinely fantastic. I haven’t heard Edwyn Collins in years!)
The Restaurant Show rocked!
Tuesday 12th October 2010
Currently munching: my Graze box!
I had the best day ever last week with my two friends Jen and Sarah. We started last Tuesday at The Restaurant Show at Earls Court, a fantastic trade event where you can see new products, drink lots of wine, watch chefs in action and eat free cheese samples. It was brilliant, we started the day with a shot of quinoa Vodka...not the best choice at 12noon but it was lovely and smooth and weirdly actually tasted of quinoa. We then drank lots of lovely Hungarian Tokaji, which were syrupy and full of raisin and honey caramel notes. Next, we identified that the green stands were the ones offering free food, and made a killing on the free samples, trying delicious olives and breads followed by a bit more wine. We decided to then dump our bags in the VIP club, and had a glass of bubbly before heading out again. We tried incredible ice creams made by Oddono's: a lemon and prosecco flavour that sparkled on our tongues, a fresh basil sorbet begging to be dropped into a chilled gazpacho and an insane smoked salmon ice cream that I can still taste now! It was so creamy, so subtle, and so surprisingly delicious - throw that amid a spring shoot salad with broad beans and avocado and I would be a happy eater. I can't wait to order some of their mental flavours and use them in cocktails too.
The other highlight of the show Koppert Cress, an amazing company that stock the most beautiful micro vegetables and natural cress' from the Himalayas. They had mini cucumbers the size of a boiled sweet, soft grey 'oyster' leaves that tasted of the sea, tiny yellow flowers that tasted like aniseed, honey cress that dripped sweetness and Tahoon Cress that actually tasted like you were walking through the forest. The most amazing thing was sechaun buttons, a tiny yellow flower, the affects of which must be experienced to be believed! It made my mouth sparkled like i had sucked a battery, then go numb, then crackle - totally mad and a fantastic cocktail ingredient.
After an inspiring afternoon we decided to have sushi in Covent Garden. We chanced bumped into James from The London Cocktail Club and went for delicious Tommy's margarita's at Pacifico - this is the only place to go now for good margarita's since the sad news Green and Red is on the way out, but they are by no means a second best choice: Pacifico is one of the coolest hangout in London. We walked past the brand new Hawksmoor site, situated opposite Pacifico and looking spectacular through the windows. This new venue will be a restaurant unlike anything London has ever seen if the exterior is anything to go by; I spied a giant antique metal cage to store coats and an elevator that would make Willy Wonka green. We all walked around to Kyashii, a sushi restaurant I had heard great things about. We sat in a room where 3 walls were glass fish tanks and had the most delicious vegetable tempura and dragon rolls I have ever had in this country. The service was amazing, the waitress was a total sweetheart - it was truly one of the best dining experiences I have ever had in London. We finished the evening in the fantastic London Cocktail Club, surrounded by leather sofas and mismatched kitsch gentleman's club knick-knacks drinking aviation's and giggling like school girls - a day where London truly showed us what it has to offer!
Currently munching: my Graze box!
I had the best day ever last week with my two friends Jen and Sarah. We started last Tuesday at The Restaurant Show at Earls Court, a fantastic trade event where you can see new products, drink lots of wine, watch chefs in action and eat free cheese samples. It was brilliant, we started the day with a shot of quinoa Vodka...not the best choice at 12noon but it was lovely and smooth and weirdly actually tasted of quinoa. We then drank lots of lovely Hungarian Tokaji, which were syrupy and full of raisin and honey caramel notes. Next, we identified that the green stands were the ones offering free food, and made a killing on the free samples, trying delicious olives and breads followed by a bit more wine. We decided to then dump our bags in the VIP club, and had a glass of bubbly before heading out again. We tried incredible ice creams made by Oddono's: a lemon and prosecco flavour that sparkled on our tongues, a fresh basil sorbet begging to be dropped into a chilled gazpacho and an insane smoked salmon ice cream that I can still taste now! It was so creamy, so subtle, and so surprisingly delicious - throw that amid a spring shoot salad with broad beans and avocado and I would be a happy eater. I can't wait to order some of their mental flavours and use them in cocktails too.
The other highlight of the show Koppert Cress, an amazing company that stock the most beautiful micro vegetables and natural cress' from the Himalayas. They had mini cucumbers the size of a boiled sweet, soft grey 'oyster' leaves that tasted of the sea, tiny yellow flowers that tasted like aniseed, honey cress that dripped sweetness and Tahoon Cress that actually tasted like you were walking through the forest. The most amazing thing was sechaun buttons, a tiny yellow flower, the affects of which must be experienced to be believed! It made my mouth sparkled like i had sucked a battery, then go numb, then crackle - totally mad and a fantastic cocktail ingredient.
After an inspiring afternoon we decided to have sushi in Covent Garden. We chanced bumped into James from The London Cocktail Club and went for delicious Tommy's margarita's at Pacifico - this is the only place to go now for good margarita's since the sad news Green and Red is on the way out, but they are by no means a second best choice: Pacifico is one of the coolest hangout in London. We walked past the brand new Hawksmoor site, situated opposite Pacifico and looking spectacular through the windows. This new venue will be a restaurant unlike anything London has ever seen if the exterior is anything to go by; I spied a giant antique metal cage to store coats and an elevator that would make Willy Wonka green. We all walked around to Kyashii, a sushi restaurant I had heard great things about. We sat in a room where 3 walls were glass fish tanks and had the most delicious vegetable tempura and dragon rolls I have ever had in this country. The service was amazing, the waitress was a total sweetheart - it was truly one of the best dining experiences I have ever had in London. We finished the evening in the fantastic London Cocktail Club, surrounded by leather sofas and mismatched kitsch gentleman's club knick-knacks drinking aviation's and giggling like school girls - a day where London truly showed us what it has to offer!
Restaurant Review: Favela Chic
Monday 4th October 2010
Restaurant: Favela Chic, Great Eastern Street
Price per Person: £35 inc wine and service
Rating: 0 out of 5
Currently Munching: Dry roasted peanuts
So, here is my first ever negative review; and boy is it negative! On entering Favela Chic, on the off chance of an early dinner after fantastic (yet snobbily served) cocktails at Lounge Lover, my two friends and I were in awe at the space. The ceilings are so high, the decor super kitsch, the staff smiling and warm, we were looking forward to a great dinner. We were taken to a table in a cosy corner and given menus. The food is themed around Brazilian cuisine. We were not given a 'leave by' time, remember that point. We shared a bottle of house white wine which was fine. We shared a vegetarian tapas style starter. It was pedestrian but inoffensive. Then came the mains...Sarah had a salmon dish which she enjoyed. I went for black beans with slow cooked belly pork which was ok but essentially was just beans and a big piece of bone, no meat. Jen had ordered kingclip with mixed seafood rice but when her dish can it was just prawns - apparently they had run out of Kingclip, even though it was about 7pm when we ordered. The waitress stated "if you want to order something else just don't touch it and I will take it away." As me and Sarah had our food already, Jen said she would eat it. She later revealed she was so shocked that the waitress had said that she didn't know what else to say other than yes. It was again not particularly exciting, and baring in mind all our mains were between £12 and £15 each, we were understandably under whelmed. We were drinking our wine, relaxing, when the waitress came over and demanded the table back as it was rebooked at 8.30pm and we must have taken off the label on the table that stated that. When we replied that we clearly hadn't she just stomped away. We decided to leave as it was slowly becoming less and less fun to be there. We asked for the bill minus service as we decided the 12.5% they were adding was too high, and were more comfortable leaving some cash. The bill arrived with service and Jen's dish on the bill too which seemed a bit ridiculous considering she had prawns and rice which was not what she wanted, and certainly didn't warrant a £14 price tag. We called over the waitress and asked for the amendments. Another waitress this time came with the same bill, so we asked for the changes again. Our original waitress then returned with a menu, slapped it onto the table and exclaimed while pointing at the dish "you ate this, you ate this, you could have ordered something else!" Jen politely stated that she did not want to order something else while we were eating, that she had been to shocked that no one had informed her that her food was going to be different from that ordered until it had arrived, and that she wasn't going to pay for kingclip when she didn't eat kingclip. The waitress stormed off, leaving us slack jawed. Then a third person came to the table, this time the male manager. He sat down at 'our level' and asked what the problem was - again we explained, by now getting rather annoyed. He became very aggressive and rude, stating we had to pay for the dish, and the service. We corrected him that service is always optional, that we were not paying for food that was not as described and he could either accept what we were willing to pay or we would pay nothing. He got very heated, was very angry but took our payment begrudgingly. We left utterly appalled, worst service ever and worst ever dealing with a complaint I have experienced. I will never dine there again.
Another place we went back to recently was the Viet Grill and again really disappointed. Jen and I had such a lovely time last visit. This time, our mains were brought while we were still eating our starters, the waiter just saying 'aren't you finished' even as we are mid chew. I had the same as I had last time and it was literally half the portion size from before, and basically under seasoned, over cooked mushy noodles. Jen also had the same as last time too, and had hardly any seafood in her rice (boy it’s becoming a theme for Jen...lack of seafood...), and flavourless. We were cleared and brought the bill before we even swallowed! Awful: turning a table for a future customer should never been more important than the customer presently there! I will not rush to go back there.
Restaurant: Favela Chic, Great Eastern Street
Price per Person: £35 inc wine and service
Rating: 0 out of 5
Currently Munching: Dry roasted peanuts
So, here is my first ever negative review; and boy is it negative! On entering Favela Chic, on the off chance of an early dinner after fantastic (yet snobbily served) cocktails at Lounge Lover, my two friends and I were in awe at the space. The ceilings are so high, the decor super kitsch, the staff smiling and warm, we were looking forward to a great dinner. We were taken to a table in a cosy corner and given menus. The food is themed around Brazilian cuisine. We were not given a 'leave by' time, remember that point. We shared a bottle of house white wine which was fine. We shared a vegetarian tapas style starter. It was pedestrian but inoffensive. Then came the mains...Sarah had a salmon dish which she enjoyed. I went for black beans with slow cooked belly pork which was ok but essentially was just beans and a big piece of bone, no meat. Jen had ordered kingclip with mixed seafood rice but when her dish can it was just prawns - apparently they had run out of Kingclip, even though it was about 7pm when we ordered. The waitress stated "if you want to order something else just don't touch it and I will take it away." As me and Sarah had our food already, Jen said she would eat it. She later revealed she was so shocked that the waitress had said that she didn't know what else to say other than yes. It was again not particularly exciting, and baring in mind all our mains were between £12 and £15 each, we were understandably under whelmed. We were drinking our wine, relaxing, when the waitress came over and demanded the table back as it was rebooked at 8.30pm and we must have taken off the label on the table that stated that. When we replied that we clearly hadn't she just stomped away. We decided to leave as it was slowly becoming less and less fun to be there. We asked for the bill minus service as we decided the 12.5% they were adding was too high, and were more comfortable leaving some cash. The bill arrived with service and Jen's dish on the bill too which seemed a bit ridiculous considering she had prawns and rice which was not what she wanted, and certainly didn't warrant a £14 price tag. We called over the waitress and asked for the amendments. Another waitress this time came with the same bill, so we asked for the changes again. Our original waitress then returned with a menu, slapped it onto the table and exclaimed while pointing at the dish "you ate this, you ate this, you could have ordered something else!" Jen politely stated that she did not want to order something else while we were eating, that she had been to shocked that no one had informed her that her food was going to be different from that ordered until it had arrived, and that she wasn't going to pay for kingclip when she didn't eat kingclip. The waitress stormed off, leaving us slack jawed. Then a third person came to the table, this time the male manager. He sat down at 'our level' and asked what the problem was - again we explained, by now getting rather annoyed. He became very aggressive and rude, stating we had to pay for the dish, and the service. We corrected him that service is always optional, that we were not paying for food that was not as described and he could either accept what we were willing to pay or we would pay nothing. He got very heated, was very angry but took our payment begrudgingly. We left utterly appalled, worst service ever and worst ever dealing with a complaint I have experienced. I will never dine there again.
Another place we went back to recently was the Viet Grill and again really disappointed. Jen and I had such a lovely time last visit. This time, our mains were brought while we were still eating our starters, the waiter just saying 'aren't you finished' even as we are mid chew. I had the same as I had last time and it was literally half the portion size from before, and basically under seasoned, over cooked mushy noodles. Jen also had the same as last time too, and had hardly any seafood in her rice (boy it’s becoming a theme for Jen...lack of seafood...), and flavourless. We were cleared and brought the bill before we even swallowed! Awful: turning a table for a future customer should never been more important than the customer presently there! I will not rush to go back there.
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