London Calling
Maybe it’s because I just got off a plane from London. Or maybe it’s because the build-up to the Olympics this summer is really beginning to take hold. Whatever it is, I’m certainly having a London love affair. The daily bustle along cobbled roads, the charming rows of white townhouses, and the inexplicable air of inspired creativity that subtly – but palpably – seeps from the streets. And so this Friday, I’m spreading the love with some of my favorite London Town food discoveries.
Lily Vanilli: Ditch the chocolate heart this year. With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, opt for this stunning – albeit gory – anatomically correct heart shaped cake from London-based baker, Lily Vanilli. Made of red velvet sponge cake, cream cheese frosting, and blackcurrant and cherry “blood,” it’s sure to get anyone’s heart racing…
Bangalore Express: If you’ve ever romanticized about exploring the tastes of India on a train, then this London spot is your kind of joint. Here, contemporary Indian cuisine is served within an interior that unabashedly mimics train booths – only more sleek and modern.
The Icecreamists: Based in London, this avant-garde troupe of culinary boundary-pushers are serving-up such off-the-wall creations from Viagra liquid nitrogen cocktails to the highly controversial breast milk ice cream, as well as more tame creations with worldly flavours. It’s a place where punk rock meets pop culture meets the humble ice cream cone. As they say, “God Save the Cream.”
Bompas & Parr: The world of jelly is not new to the UK. Creating giant architectural installations out of it is. Enter Sam Bompas and Harry Parr, two British chaps who have been putting the funk back into everything jellied since 2007. Think, colossal Elizabethan dessert buffets to walk-in cocktail installations…Oh yes, getting jiggly with it (sorry, we had to…).
Dishoom Chowpatty Beach Bar: No, it’s not summer. And no, this beach bar isn’t permanently on display. But when the snow melts and the warmth returns, we’re hoping that this tripped-out Indian beach shack will find its way back to London’s South Bank “shores.” This summer time pop-up is an imaginative mash-up of design, music, and spiced-up, hawker-style street food that’ll have you sipping on Gola ices all summer long. Now, if only that snow would melt…..
Neal’s Yard Dairy: From Brooklyn to Melbourne, young foodies around the world are revisiting old school culinary traditions – from jams to pickles to cheese –with fresh and inspired energy. And in London, the UK’s new generation of cheesemakers convenes at this top spot where the fine work of over 70 young artisanal cheesemakers is carefully selected from farms throughout Britain and Ireland. Here, cheese reigns king – or queen, as it were.
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