Restaurants Archives - Page 11 of 27

Restaurants

Cail Bruich sets the bar high for Scottish cuisine

Posted on April 20, 2018April 18, 2018 by David

“We serve wild game and it may contain shot,” cautions a note at the bottom of the tasting menu at Cail Bruich (725 Great Western Rd., Glasgow; 0141 334 6265; cailbruich.co.uk). For those who like their meat nice and brown, the menu further advises, “Some ingredients are cooked sous vide.” With warnings like that, who could resist? (Against my mother's admonitions, I was always the child with beans in his ears.) It's a bit of a schlep from Glasgow central city out to this bohemian stretch of West Glasgow near the Botanic Gardens, but it's worth the pilgrimage. Now in its 10th year of serving elevated Scottish cuisine made with classical technique in a semi-casual setting, Cail Bruich (Gaelic for “Eat Well”) continues to amaze....Read More

Alchemilla brings sunny, exotic touch to Finnieston

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Pat and David

Alchemilla encapsulates the emerging identity of Finnieston as the hip side of Glasgow. When the port was still bustling, lonely sailors used to head to the western neighborhood for professional company. But ever since Zaha Hadid's punk-glam Museum of Transport opened a few years ago—and now the Clydeside Distillery—Finnieston has emerged as Glasgow's answer to Brooklyn. It's where the cool kids hang. If they happen to be foodies, they probably eat lunch at Alchemilla (1126 Argyle St.; 0141 337 6060; thisisalchemilla.com). We did, and we were glad of it. The small restaurant is painted in the bright, glowing colors that those of us who live in wintry northern cities associate with the Mediterranean. The professed concept is “simple, fresh Mediterranean food for sharing, with sustainably...Read More

Willow Tea Rooms perpetuate a grand tradition

Posted on March 24, 2018March 20, 2018 by Pat and David

We look forward to the ritual of afternoon tea wherever we land in the British Isles. Stopping in a homey tea room for an afternoon “cuppa” is such a genteel tradition that it's hard to imagine that it was once at the forefront of a social revolution. But in the mid-nineteenth century, tea rooms were one of the few places where women could gather and socialize. Miss Kate Cranston was one of the pioneers of the movement when she opened her first tea room in Glasgow in 1878. She went on to operate four tea rooms in the city before she retired in 1928. Miss Cranston proved to be a visionary as well as a shrewd businesswoman. To provide her patrons with an uplifting experience,...Read More

Seeking supreme couscous in North African Marseille

Posted on March 10, 2018February 28, 2018 by Pat and David

The North African caste of central Marseille had us jonesing for a great couscous before we left town. We investigated a number of casual and posh spots before we simply took the suggestion of our landlady and of the server at La Marsa. Everyone seemed to agree that we should go to La Fémina (1 rue du Musée, 04 91 54 03 56). Founded in 1921, it is one of the most established North African restaurants in Marseille. North African doesn't mean Arab, though, explained Mustapha Kachetel, the fourth generation to operate the restaurant. His family are Berbers from the mountainous Kabyle region of northern Algeria. There's no question that the food is authentic—the recipes come from his great-grandmother. The family orientation continues—a fifth generation...Read More

Small-town culinary greatness: Patty Queen’s Cottage

Posted on February 11, 2018February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

One of the pleasures of touring rural France, Italy, or Spain is discovering amazing country restaurants far from population centers. The U.S. has some places like that, too. But few of them can match the Cottage Restaurant & Cafe (427 Farmington Ave, Plainville, Conn.; 860-793-8888, cottagerestaurantandcafe.com) for staying power and consistently terrific food. Located at a nondescript crossroads in Plainville, Connecticut, a little southwest of Hartford, the Cottage should be celebrated as a Nutmeg State treasure. Full disclosure: We met Patty Queen at a 1996 book party celebrating the publication of Julie Stillman's Great Women Chefs (https://goo.gl/Rxutaq). Queen was among the youngest chefs featured. Ever since, we've been driving more than 100 miles to eat at the Cottage three or four times a year. We're...Read More

Drink Progressively at Harvest in Cambridge

Posted on February 5, 2018February 22, 2018 by Pat and David

One of the pioneers of New American Cuisine, Harvest restaurant (44 Brattle St, Cambridge, Mass., 617-868-2255, harvestcambridge.com) continues its innovative ways with contemporary New England fare from chef Tyler Kinnett. “The Book and the Cook” dinner series highlights recipes from a new cookbook—usually with the author appearing to explain the food and the approach as well as to guide the Harvest staff in the kitchen. The series kicked off 2018 with Urban Grape's Drink Progressively, by Hadley and TJ Douglas with recipes by Gabriel Frasca, the accomplished executive chef of Straight Wharf (straightwharfrestaurant.com) on Nantucket. As you can see from the photo at top, all three showed up for a great dinner and book signing. This was an unusual event in the series, since the...Read More

Firing a steak with Argentina’s Francis Mallmann

Posted on February 2, 2018February 22, 2018 by David

Some of the best food writing these days appears in the pages of venerable old Esquire, where the late Jim Harrison set the tone the way Hunter S. Thompson defined the ethos of Rolling Stone in its heyday. I was reminded of that when I got an email tickler in my mailbox pointing me to an overblown but heartfelt profile of one of the greatest chefs I've ever met. The online article (please go read it before it's taken down) by Jeff Gordinier is entitled “Is Francis Mallmann the Most Interesting Chef in the World?” Well, yeah. One of the most memorable evenings of my life was the pre-opening opening of Mallmann's Siete Fuegos at the Vines Resort & Spa (Tunuyan, Mendoza, Argentina, +54 261...Read More

A Dalí-ance in Catalan gastronomy

Posted on January 12, 2018February 23, 2018 by Pat and David

When we visited Salvador Dalí's home and studio in Port Lligat, Spain, late last year, we didn't know that the cookbook by the most surreal of Surrealist artists had been re-published in 2016. But we knew he loved to eat. Dalí and his wife and muse, Gala, spent a lot of time in their house-studio in the fishing cove of Port Lligat, about a mile away from Cadaqués near the Spanish border with France. The property began as a fisherman's shanty when Dalí bought it in 1930. Over the next 40 years, the house accreted new rooms and wings and gardens and statuary and.... Well, Dalí was prone to excess. That's a photo of the building at the top of this post. It perches above...Read More

Jordan captures the luscious bounty of Sonoma

Posted on December 28, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

You can be forgiven if you rub your eyes at first sight of Jordan Vineyard & Winery (1474 Alexander Valley Road, Healdsburg, 707-431-5250, jordanwinery.com). It looks like a mirage. Tom and Sally Jordan established the 1,200-acre Alexander Valley estate in 1972 as an homage to Bordeaux. True to their vision, the ivy-covered manse overlooking gardens and vineyards appears to have been transported whole from the gently rolling hills of Entre-Deux-Mers. Now their son John Jordan (above) continues the tradition of crafting Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Russian River Valley Chardonnay in the Old World style. Producing two superb wines—one modeled on Bordeaux's Saint-Julien, the other on Burgundy's Montrachet—gives Jordan Winery a clarity of focus. But following the model of Napa, Jordan is a destination winery....Read More

Costeaux proves one cannot live on wine alone

Posted on December 26, 2017February 24, 2018 by Pat and David

The most famous of Persian poet Omar Khayyam's quatrains suggests that “paradise enough” consists of a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and his beloved beside him in the wilderness. Healdsburg has dozens of potential wine suppliers to the paradise picnic, but the loaf have to come from Costeaux French Bakery (417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, 707-433-1913, costeaux.com). We were already well-acquainted with Costeaux's breads before we ever stepped foot in the downtown bakery and cafe. Honor Mansion makes most of its breakfast goodies from scratch, but there's no homecooked substitute for the Cinnamon Walnut loaf from Costeaux. (We know. We tried and failed to get the recipe.) It's a hand-rolled eggy bread dense with chopped walnuts and aromatic cinnamon. Sweet icing glazes the top...Read More