Berlin Music Week, 6-12 Sep 2010
Including Popkomm 2010 and with 70 bands across three stages, music lovers will have a hard time deciding between their favourite artists who will clearly have to share stage time.
Artists to hit the stage include LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, Fatboy Slim, Fever Ray, Caribou, Peaches, Soulwax, Gang Of Four, Friday, 10 September Editors, Tricky, Edwyn Collins, Boys Noize, Neon Indian, The Morning Benders, Atari Teenage Riot, Robyn and much more.
Posted Under: Events Festivals Berlin Germany
Wall Street Eats Italian
Eataly complex opens in New York as analysts and stockbrokers queue for jobs
NEW YORK – “Two young communications studies graduates came to see me in Turin. They were looking for a job. I told them I had nothing for them in Italy but was I opening a large complex in New York. A top-quality food store and seven restaurants. I needed people who could make mozzarella by hand. The job was theirs if they were willing to learn. The two jumped at the chance and they’ve been in Andria for the past two months”.
When they get to Manhattan, the young hopefuls will find what is still a huge construction site of Italian food on Fifth Avenue, as the opening day of Eataly USA on 31 August approaches. The huge, 6,000 square-metre space stands opposite the Flatiron, New York’s iconic early 20th-century skyscraper. According to Oscar Farinetti, a man disinclined to modesty, it will be “the most important place for Italian food anywhere in the world”. The Piedmontese businessman is best-known for his Unieuro electrical goods chain. Now in the wake of Eataly events in Italy and Japan, he has joined forces with America’s leading Italian chefs, Mario Batali and Joe and Lidia Bastianich, and the Sapers, two Jewish brothers from New York who abandoned Wall Street for the world of food.
Posted Under: Food and drinks USA Places Restaurants Random NY
La Roccia restaurant, Castro, Salento
A small corner of culinary heaven as seen by a new local, my friend Sinan, on his always awesome Sinanation blog.
Hotel La Roccia stands like a fortress on top of a bay that runs into the town of Castro. In the southern tip of Salento, approx. 1.5 hours away from Lecce, this town is a smaller version of the romantic Italy you are used to seeing in movies.
Secluded estates that reveal only their entrance gates line up around the rocky shoulders like a string of pearls. You take extra caution driving on a snake-like road built right next to a cliff that rolls into the Aegean Sea, but you still wish you had a convertible red Ferrari or a classic sports car to test your skills on such a memorable track.
Beyond its rough topography, Castro is built for peace and serenity.
I can’t say much about Hotel La Roccia, but I believe it could be an amazing hotel once given a good renovation and a modern vision. It has a great setup and a unique beach that comfortably stands on a narrow cliff running down to the crisp Aegean waters. The hotel’s seafood restaurant on the other hand has so much more to offer.
On a bright night where the moon dives into the Aegean, we take our seats outside at Ristorante La Roccia with Andrea. We wait impatiently for food, trying to avoid the undisturbed romantic scene that lacks the right partners.
Dinner starts with fantastic appetizers of muscles, tuna carpaccio and an octopus salad dressed up with celery and carrots.
The spaghetti with muscles and tomatoes here (prepared for two, modified a little by Andrea*) is simply the best I have ever eaten so far anywhere around the world. It is simple yet prepared just right to provide the best flavor out of all the ingredients that made up this unforgettable dish. Every bite gives a hint of an amazing olive oil, fresh tomato, parsley, muscle wrapped around pasta al dente. The main course, a sea bass oven-baked covered in salt, is equally impressive and prepared with the same vision. I demand that you save room for dessert and order the Panna Cotta and the warm apple cake served on top of a vanilla sauce.
I hope you make it to this place. I certainly want to go again.
* As standard, most restaurants will offer two versions of spaghetti with muscles: red or white (i.e. with or without tomato sauce); in reality, the best choice is neither. You should ask for bianca con qualche pomodorino spezzato (i.e. white with a few freshly chopped cherry tomatoes). This is how you’ll enjoy it better, this is how you’ll have it if you ever are at a table with me.
Posted Under: Food and drinks Places Restaurants Lecce Salento
SalentoandOut – Be a local in Salento
A few days ago, CityandOut launched its first satellite local site, SalentoandOut. Our aim is to provide maximum depth into Salento, the beautiful southern part of the Puglia region, in Italy. We are going to recommend you the best places to stay and visit, the best restaurants and wineries and everything that makes Salento an amazing experience. It will be personal and biased, partial and imperfect. Our aim is to tell you about the places we like and go to, not give you a dry directory of places. All the places we recommend we have visited personally or come highly recommended by people we trust and like. We are also working with a small number of selected locals to offer you discounts, special treats and other goodies so that you can remember about them and your stay in Salento.
Stay tuned while we grow the service but go to the site now and tell all your friends who may be planning a visit to Salento. You should come too.
Posted Under: Food and drinks Places Events Random Accommodation Lecce Salento
Botafumeiro, Barcelona
Over the past 25 years, Botafumeiro has been widely considered to be one of the best seafood restaurants in Barcelona. The artistic cuisine features a wide range of fresh seafood such as saltwater fish, clams, mussels, lobster, crayfish, scallops, and several varieties of crustaceans. The meat dishes are also excellent and there is a great range of wines from the most renowned cellars in Barcelona.
The presentable staff look after the guests and make sure that you enjoy a unique dining experience. Botafumeiro is a meeting place for international business people from around the world and the King of Spain is also sometimes a patron.
C Gran de Gracia 81, Barcelona; +34 932 184 230; botafumeiro.es; map
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Posted Under: Places Restaurants Barcelona
Corte dei Pandolfi (da Michele)
My view is probably skewed as the owner and chef of this restaurant is my cousin. However, I can safely say that this is one of the best restaurants in Lecce. The service is casual in a cool way, and the atmosphere is always great and friendly. This is the favorite spot for many locals, it’s a place where people come knowing they’ll meet some of their friends and where they are going to have great food and a good time in a relaxing yet giovial environment.
I am not sure how to define the food. Michele, Michael for some, has created a menu that is based on fresh local and very high quality ingredients but has also added some phantasy and innovation and a mix of dishes from other regions or cultures. The choice is not huge but actually most people, me included, go there to taste over and over again their favorite dishes. Mine are the beef tagliata and the millefoglie with cream.
There are usually 5-6 pasta based first courses, with a different selection of vegetables and meat or fish, depending on the season. Similarly, the summer’s second course menu will be mainly based around fish, including local raw fish, but you’ll always find some good meat if you prefer some. The desserts are awesome.
One of the reasons you want to go there is also because of the wine cellar. Corte dei Pandolfi started as a wine tasting bar, hence the convoluted name, and although it evolved in a fully fledged restaurant it has maintained the love for wine and other liqueurs. So, you’ll find many local wines as well as a very broad selection of some really good bottles from all over Italy and beyond.
Michael is an entertaining character and very much loved by all his customers, many of which are foreigners, going back to visit him everytime they are in Lecce.
Michele is open only in the evenings and you may need a reservation at weekends or for bigger tables. If you visit Lecce or Salento, you simply can’t miss a dinner there. You’d regret it.
And I’ll probably be there with my steak or a glass of grappa.
Piazzetta Orsini; +39 0832 332309; cortedeipandolfi.com
Posted Under: Places Restaurants Lecce Italy
Chez La Vieille Adrienne, Paris
This lovely old bistro is situated in the heart of Paris in the 1st arrondissement and oozes an authentic French air. The dining room has the appearance of a flea market that has been cleverly arranged, with an old wooden counter, photos of Adrienne with celebrities and a beautiful beamed ceiling, all befitting of this 16th century house.
The menu at this veritable institution is traditional French, and includes dishes such as calves liver, kidneys, braised beef and carrots, blanquette of veal a l’ancienne and pot au feu. Finish with a baba or rice pudding.
1, Rue Bailleul / 37, Rue De L’arbre Sec; +33(0)8 99 69 80 97
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Posted Under: Places Restaurants France Paris
Emporio Armani Caffé, St. Germain, Paris
The Emporio Armani Caffé was set up by the famous fashion designer Giorgio Armani himself. It is in the heart of the famouse bohemian area of St Germain des Près just above the Armani shop itself. The décor is unquestionable chic and Italian. The cusine is gourmet Italian, with many dishes from the Milan area.
People come from the world over to taste the famous White Truffle Risotto. The service is slick and charming and the atmosphere easy going.
149, Boulevard Saint-Germain; +33 (0)1 45 48 62 15
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Posted Under: Places Restaurants France Paris
Orrery, Marylebone, London
With views over the leafy grounds of tranquil Marylebone parish church, Orrery has a graceful and airy atmosphere. Its Michelin-starred menu is executed with classic French panache and includes squid ink ravioli and roast partridge with chestnuts and braised cabbage. Set on the first floor over the Conran shop, it also offers diners a summer roof terrace and a first-class wine list.
55 Marylebone High Street; +44 (0)20 7616 8000; orreryrestaurant.co.uk
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Posted Under: London UK Places Restaurants
Babylon, Kensington, London
Smart and sophisticated, Babylon is an aptly-named urban oasis situated a soaring 100 feet above Kensington High Street, presenting breathtaking views over London’s skyline from the stunning rooftop gardens. A regularly changing menu of modern British classics caters to a well-heeled crowd of diners, who step out onto the terrace for al fresco dining in the summer months. One of the most stand-out dishes is the Baked Fillet of Loch Duart Salmon with cucumber, samphire, dill butter sauce, potato spaghetti, and keta caviar.
For a more intimate dining experience, there is also a private dining room available. Combining with the panoramic vistas to create a glamourous backdrop to this stylish restaurant, the surrounding roof gardens are a splendid spot for summer barbeques, as well as being a home to the resident ducks and flamingos. With live jazz music being performed on Thursday nights, there is always a good reason to treat your taste buds to a mouth-watering meal at Babylon.
The Roof Gardens, Derry Street; +44 (0)20 7368 3993; roofgardens/babylon
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Posted Under: London UK Places Restaurants
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