Built in the early 50s as a headquarters for British soap company Lever Brothers, Park Avenue’s Lever House is a New York landmark of considerable history… recently restored to its former glory, the building is now home to the ‘Lever House Art Collection’ – Damien Hirst’s imposing ‘Virgin Mother’ stands provocatively in the courtyard – and, as of late last year, the popular Sant Ambroeus family’s latest Milanese outpost, Casa Lever. Enjoying a fabulously retro interior that, in itself, tells the tale of former glory restored, this chic and sophisticated restaurant is already feeling the buzz of ‘A-List hangout’ – Mick Jagger is said to have dined here recently, awkwardly sitting opposite Andy Warhol’s portrait of Jerry Hall, his ex-wife. It’s the Warhol’s in fact that truly lift this intriguing space, with Hall accompanied by Hitchcock, Stallone, Dennis Hopper and Aretha Franklin throughout the venue, offering the diner a unique aura of New York eras gone by… and with the sensational Milanese fare delivered by the kitchen, there’s no doubting this venues potential as a hot-spot for years to come…..
From the finest restaurants to the most luxurious ingredients, innovative new products, dining trends and cultural reference points.
Canteen: Great British Food
London's purveyors of traditional British food release debut book....
March 5th, 2010
Having taken the London restaurant scene by storm in 2005 with their unique blend of traditional, honest ‘home-cooked British grub’ and a strong, contemporary design, Canteen are upping the ante with the launch of their first cookbook. Following their philosophy of great design and honest food, the lovingly produced 224-page hardback is jam packed with beautiful photography, clean, sophisticated design… and of course, ‘proper’ British recipes, that include steak and kidney pie, Arbroath smokies and blackcurrant jelly with ice cream and shortbread. Published by Ebury Press – priced at £16.99 – ‘Canteen: Great British Food‘, with its innovative use of photography and simple, classic recipes, looks set to be one of the ‘must-have’ books of the year, and with the continued growth of the Canteen brand, the resurgence of brilliant, local British cooking looks set to be the foodie success story of the year….
We’re pleased to announce that today’s weekly newsletter giveaway is a copy of Canteen’s sensational and lovingly produced cookbook and that this weeks exclusive recipe is ‘Spicy Mutton Pie’ straight out of the book… don’t receive our bi-weekly newsletter? Register Now….
Negro de Anglona, Madrid
deliciously refined sophistication in former palace's cellar....
March 4th, 2010
If you’re looking for a dose of sophisticated evening elegance when in the old town of Spain’s beautiful capital, you could do worse than a top-end restaurant located in a cellar within the old ‘Palace of the Prince of Anglona’. Brought to you by brothers ‘Juan & Borja Infante’, big names on the local hospitality scene, the chic Negro de Anglona, with a reasonably priced mediterranean-market menu – courtesy of twenty-five year old rising star, Aitor García – simply oozes an understated glamour, thanks to it’s sublimely atmospheric interiors, courtesy of Luis Galliusi – an architect and interior designer who boasts the likes of Manolo Blahnik, Chanel and Phillippe Starck as clients. Don’t miss the ‘hidden’ champagne lounge for after dinner drinks….
A big name on the Melbourne restaurant scene, Teage Ezard has chosen to indulge in his love of Asian hawker style street food with Gingerboy, a wonderfully brash dose of bright colour, bamboo, mirrors and iconic furnishings in the shape of Philippe Starck’s famous Louis Ghost chairs. The lavish interior, and gold metallic tiled façade, courtesy of architects, Elenberg Fraser – also responsible for our recently featured, Café Vue at 401 St Kilda Road – sets the tone for the glamorous presentation of food, bustling bar and feisty dishes such as deep-fried oysters served in their shells, deep-fried whole eggs and mussaman curry of duck legs. If you’re looking for a long, sophisticated evening meal then this might not be your thing…. stylish, modern, bustling and decidedly cool? Welcome along for the ride…..
There’s certainly no mistaking the distinct branding of Spain’s ‘Chocolat Factory‘, courtesy of award winning, Barcelona based design agency, ruiz+company. Bold, vibrant, and graced with an endearing human touch, the strong typography and intelligent packaging – take the calorie chart chocolate tablet for example – engage the customer and simply ‘do what they say on the tin’…. a welcome blessing given some of today’s overcomplicated food labels. As for the products themselves, the highest quality cocoa has magic weaved upon it by master chocolatiers, and with brave lines such as their chocolate pastas, if you happen upon one of their many Spanish outlets, we can see you being forcibly removed for persistent loitering….
It’s Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as ‘Pancake Day’ here in the UK and to celebrate we’ve got an exclusive ‘Apple and Walnut Crepes with Clotted Cream’ recipe from celebrity chef Jun Tanaka, executive chef at London’s swanky Pearl Restaurant & Bar.
If you like this, then we’re pretty sure you’ll love our bi-weekly email newsletter…. each Friday we publish an exclusive recipe from top chefs, restaurants and foodie bloggers… and that’s not to mention the exclusive content, weekly new music guide and all the latest from the site…. sign up now.
Anyway, without further ado, read on for Jun’s exclusive recipe….
A winner at last year’s ‘World Architecture Festival’ in Barcelona, Restaurant Tusen, designed by Swedish architects Murman Arkitekter, is a wonderfully discrete building that perfectly befits it’s exposed surroundings. Almost religious or tribal in it’s design, the restaurant sits in solitude within the mountains of the Ramundberget resort, a resort that prides itself upon resisting intrusive growth, and one for which Tusen is so very well suited. It’s circular form affords breath-taking 360 degree views, whilst the nature of it’s exterior allows for snow to rest on it’s façade, creating a graceful camouflaged appearance, allowing it to blend seamlessly into the scenery…. at one with nature, this is architecture at it’s very best….
Café Vue at 401 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Versailles inspired café in central Melbourne....
February 8th, 2010
With the likes of ‘Slowed cooked wagyu beef, oxtail sauce & root vegetables’ and ‘Red mullet with drunken prawns & Shoi Xing sauce’ on the menu, you know that the small chain of cafés from Shannon Bennett’s Vue brand – famous for the award winning Melbourne restaurant, Vue de monde – are a cut above your traditional lunchtime venue, and witnessing the fabulous decor of their new 401 St Kilda Road outpost only confirms that. Situated on Melbourne’s most prestigious boulevard as part of a swanky new development, Café Vue at 401 St Kilda Road, designed by Elenberg Fraser, is a bold, contemporary French café, inspired by Paris’ iconic royal château, Versailles, Marie Antoinette and clothing of the period… Offering a contemporary twist on this classical period are the café’s distinct centrepiece, a unique wooden, chandelier-like, crinoline structure, surrounding one of the rear tables and the portrayal of Antoinette’s death by guillotine at the height of the French Revolution through the stylish blood-red bathrooms.
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A 20-strong female choir decked out in futuristic technicolour capes who sing and scream about drinking and smoking over a post-dubstep clatter... Gaggle are the London based rebel yell we've all been waiting for. Previously mentioned in our midweek newsletter, their debut, 'I Hear Flies', is released today and yes, it's rather brilliant....
We love this cute little illustration from Central Illustration Agency's Chris Brown for Carluccio's
'The Lambeth Palace' is London's "newest, darkest and dirtiest purpose built cinema".... the temporary space set up by street art legend Banksy is showing his new film until March 4th, there's only a very few tickets left, so if you're in town between now and then, we suggest booking them right now....
Independent Dublin based design studio, Superfolk, are launching a new range of products at this week's Stockholm Furniture Fair, that will pay tribute to Irish heritage... whilst remaining desirably modern.
Loving this high quality print from the ever-impressive Scott Hansen... highly limited to 200 pieces so move quick.
Previously only available in German, Berlin’s Innervisions have released a limited English run of Tobias Rapp’s book, ‘Lost and Sound: Berlin, Techno and the Easyjetset’. Investigating the city's love affair with electronic music and the world's descent upon the German capital in search of the ultimate party....
Ether, the Southbank Centre's annual culture-fest of music, art, technology and experimentation is back from 16th - 24th April with the likes of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio, Broadcast and Gil Scott-Heron... the highlight for us has to be the 23rd where mindfuck genius Chris Cunningham performs a live multimedia extravaganza... expect to be disturbed....
Running from 5th - 13th February at the rather brilliant Darkroom, 'An Exhibitional Orgy of Love Hearts' is a celebration of Saint Valentine's in which a host of creative types have been commissioned to create a piece of work based upon the heart.... All pieces will be for sale for £125, with a portion of the profits going to the Haiti Fund
The latest product from magic industry pioneers, theory11, is this rather tasty set of playing cards that commemorate 125 years of design and development by the US Playing Card Company....
Everyones favourite handmade accessory makers, Hard Graft, are already on the 'case' with an iPad prototype... nearly as fast as these domain name jerks...
Gaggle: ‘I Hear Flies’
Chris Brown for Carluccio’s
Banksy's Cinema
Superfolk
ISO50 'Adrift' Print
Lost and Sound
Ether 10
An Exhibitional Orgy of Love Hearts @ Darkroom
Bicycle 125 Playing Cards
Hard Graft iPad Case
