The City Present Heads to Africa

Adagio Pizza al Taglio Opens - London

A soggy tuna sandwich on a park bench is not a satisfying lunch. Neither is a meal in a stuffy restaurant surrounded by suits yelling at their phones.

The new Adagio Pizza al Taglio on the other hand, makes the cut.

Fresh pizzas displayed on large trays are cut to any size and priced by weight. Chef and manager Shelley Squire sampled almost every pizza in Rome until he found the perfect crunchy crust in a neighbourhood restaurant that shared the secret.

The more than 40 seasonal options range from the classic (Margherita, four cheeses) to unusual (bacon, onion and mozzarella; baked aubergine, garlic, feta and fresh basil).

It’s quick, cheap and open late.

Thank you daily candy.

10 Greek St
London, UK W1D 4DH
02072871194
www.adagio-pizza.com

The Cafe Pushkin - Moscow

The Café Pushkin with its three floors and ravishing 19th century architecture has become of the more legendary restaurants in Moscow.

The first level “Library” offers a very charming dinner, composed normally of traditional Russian aristocratic cuisine. The service of the Café Pushkin is top rate - and that around the clock.

And for those exhausted by the energy-zapping power of a Moscow “all-nighter”, we very much recommend the rejuvenating solace of an early morning breakfast at the Café Pushkin.

Twerskoi Bulvar 26
Moscow
Russian federation
Phone: +7 0952295590
www.cafe-pushkin.ru

Harrods Makes Whoopie (Pies) - London

Originally a New England phenomenon, the craze for these cookie-textured treats has already swept America where they are flying off the shelves at speciality shops and boutique bakeries up and down the country.

Coming soon to Harrods already divine line-up of fine dining delicacies will be the Whoopie Pie. Whoopies are little cake-like cookie sandwiches filled with buttercream that started in New England and have now spread to the famous European food hall. Their skilled pastry chefs have crafted four flavors of Whoopie, all featuring fluffy cake "pillows" filled with delectable vanilla buttercream and topped with darling (and beautiful) edible designs.

There's Gingerbread (spices, vanilla, and chocolate w/polka dots), Pistachio (pistachio, green fondant icing, and edible glitter), the Classic (chocolate, vanilla, and sparkles), and Red Velvet (chocolate, peanut butter cream, and little candy hearts).

Harrods
87–135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London, SW1X 7XL
United Kingdom

Harrods Makes Whoopie (Pies) - London

Spice Market - New York

"Spice Market" is inspired by the street food Jean-Georges Vongerichten enjoyed while traveling in Asia. Authentically uplifted version of flavorful street foods are service family-style…" Thus reads the Spice Market website.

They don't mention that the ENTIRE INTERIOR of the restaurant has also been lifted up from some other corner of Southeast Asia. If the food doesn't amaze you, the antique woodwork will. Its possible to dine on four to five incredible dishes at once, while sitting underneath a reassembled temple.

The design for the chef's counter facing the open kitchen is a two-for-one nice touch: its always a good sign when the kitchen is so accessible, and the stools look like a comfortable extension of the dining room, not an isolated afterthought. Its also nice that such incredible cuisine is accessible in such a friendly, casual atmosphere.

Spice Market New York
403 West 13th Street (Corner of 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10014
212-675-2322
www.spicemarketnewyork.com

5 Napkin Burger - NYC

City Present's quest for the best burger in New York continues.

This weekend it was Five Napkin's turn. A beautiful, bustling diner on Restaurant Row, 5 Napkin is popular, and usually has a wait. But with quick turnover, its worth a drink at the bar.

The menu, from Andy d’Amico of Marseille and Nizza, features a number of $12-15 burgers, some typical meat-centric entrees (ribs, steak, lemon chicken), the obligatory schmancy cocktail list, and naturally sushi and maki rolls. Try an original burger, and "upgrade" your fries to Tuscan seasoning. The fact that there's California rolls on the menu gives you the gist:

Oh and save room for dessert. We tried the S'mores Milkshake. It was well worth the wait.

5 Napkin Burger
Burgers, Sushi, Bourbon
630 9th Ave., Hell's Kitchen
212-757-2277
www.fivenapkinburger.com

Open Baladin - Rome

Just opened in Rome the Open Baladin offers a wide selection of Italian artisanal beers, and some tasty food to go with them.

The beer is the main draw, of course, and there’s plenty to choose from. They cite forty draft beers, and another hundred in bottles—all Italian—along with a separate room for imports.

Fortunately, Open Baladin has also put a lot of thought into the food, providing a kind of Italian take on pub grub: there are burgers, homemade crisps accompanied by homemade ketchup, meatballs, and so on, all delicious and reasonably priced.

Desserts are small but scrumptious, served in little glasses. We tried the millefoglie and panna cotta.

This makes 'THE CITY PRESENT' 2010 HOT LIST™

Open Baladin
Via degli specchi, 6 ROMA
Tel. 06.6838989

Crumbs Cupcakes - New York

It seems like just yesterday that Krispy Kreme reinvigorated America's love for sweets-with-style. But since SNL's short Lazy Sunday, which led to a line around the block the Bleeker Street location of Magnolia's Cupcakes, American Cities seem to feature as many Cupcake joints as Dry Cleaners (Magnolia now has a Rockefeller Center location and a spot on Columbus Avenue in the Upper West Side). Crumbs has sprout across the island, too, and now has dozens of locations. The mid-block spot on 42nd Street opposite Bryant Park is convenient.

Pizza East opens in Shoreditch - London

Set within the industrial, warehouse surrounds of the old Tea building - on the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road - Pizza East is the latest venture from Soho House restaurateur and entrepreneur Nick Jones, and comes located conveniently close to his original East London offering, Shoreditch House – which sits directly above.

The interior of Pizza East is all we’d expected from this prime piece of restaurant real estate. Untreated, plaster-peeling walls; exposed arterial piping overhead and dense woody floors underfoot - so far, so Shoreditch. Take in the expansive bar-cum charcuterie and enormous open kitchen however, and it's here that the venture comes into its own.

A myriad of intimate seating configurations cater for every size of party, and the billowing glass spot lights dotted around the space nurture a consistent amber glow – perfectly complimented by a glass of the restaurant’s heady array of (predominantly Italian) wines.

Crisp, soft, super-fresh and tasty, true to its name, it's the pizzas that you should head east for though. It's not just the simple ones you might expect either - the prawns with tomato, garlic, spring onion, chilli and marjoram is a particular treat. When they're done so well, it's easy to see why Jones chose the simple Italian indulgence as the centerpiece for this latest project and didn't attempt anything dazzlingly gourmet instead. Not to be missed when next out East.

Pizza East
Tea building
Shoreditch
London
EC3A 7LP

François Chocolate Bar - New York City

François Chocolate Bar, the new boutique-within-a-boutique from pastry chef François Payard, has opened this week on the fourth floor of the jewelry store Mauboussin.

Expect a café serving the jewel-like chocolate confections pictured in this sneak peek.

François Chocolate Bar
Maboussin, 4th Floor
714 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10065

The Burger Correction - New York City

One good thing about a crumbling economy: cheaper burgers. No one really knows why. One theory holds that prior to a burger-correction period like the one we’re in right now, some sort of culinary-regulatory-group intervention secretly takes place, and the so-called innovators of the burger-boom years—the $29-burger barons and their ilk—are taken away during the night like Bear Stearns employees and sent off to a hamburger rehab facility. Once there, through tough love and arts-and-crafts workshops, they’re cured of their perverse desire to top hamburgers with all manner of luxury ingredients including foie gras, truffles, quail eggs, beluga caviar, French songbirds, diamond necklaces, and $100 bills.

Alphabet City is where you’ll find my new favorite, at the breezy, spacious eight-month-old burger bar Zaitzeff, an outpost of the financial-district burger joint of the same name. The mini-burgers, a brand-new addition to an already stellar full-size-hamburger menu, come three to an order for $12 and are simply superb—plump and juicy and topped with sharp Cheddar and fried onions. The grass-fed sirloin that the brothers Zaitzeff use to make their patties is fresh and flavorful, but the key to these delectable Scooby Snacks is the miniature toasted Portuguese muffins they get from a bakery in Fall River, Massachusetts. These slightly sweet super-buns combine the sturdiness of an English muffin with the burger-melding ability of a delicate brioche and have made the Underground Gourmet reconsider a preference for the squishy supermarket variety.

Oh, and my favorite breakfast sandwich (pictured above). Organic eggs and Vermont Cheddar play their roles well, as do the optional add-ons. But it’s the sweet, squishy Portuguese muffins, shipped in from Fall River, Massachusetts, that make it special.

Zaitzeff
18 Ave. B, nr. 2nd St.
212-477-7137
www.zaitzeffnyc.com

Keeping it together - World

This just arrived at my door. Thanks Matt.

Some things don't always mesh. Two favorites that actually do mesh: cookies and sandwiches. The Cookie Sandwich Company was started by a husband and wife duo (she’s the baker, he’s the eater) when complete strangers began requesting her treats after they heard about them through friends.

The totally decadent snacks are made of premium ingredients but the genius lies in the detailed flavor combinations. Chewy carrot cake cookies with vanilla cream cheese icing in the middle, fudgy brownies held together with crème de menthe liqueur icing, double chocolate chip red velvet cookies with white chocolate morsels sandwiched together with vanilla cream cheese spread, peanut butter cookies spread with peanut butter and milk chocolate ganache.

And my fave — graham cracker crumb chocolate chip cookies with chocolate marshmallow ganache filling.

Now there’s a combo you can get behind. This Halloween try the Spooky Cookie Sandwich. Hide them from the kids.

The Cookie Sandwich Company
2930 5th Avenue
San Diego, California 92103
P 877-729-1001
F 858-433-0516
http://cookiesandwich.com/index.
cookiesandwich@gmail.com

Yog Frozen Yogurt Shop Opens- London

Opening today on Charlotte Street is funky probiotic frozen yogurt spot Yog. On the menu: natural or dark chocolate with more than twenty toppings, including granola, banana chips, honey and fruits bought daily from New Covent Garden market. Seasonal options include hot Bramley apple and Christmas pudding.

The chilled treats are all natural, fat free, and made with organic skim milk. Yog is also a fantastic source of calcium and contains millions of friendly bacteria which are beneficial to the body in many ways. And with over 20 healthy toppings available including the finest fruits bought fresh daily it’s a great way to one of your five a day.

So far two stores have opened here in London. More to come I am told.

Yog
43-45 Charlotte St
London, W1T 1RS
020 7580 7990

Cafe Boheme London

Cafe Boheme is a French bistro which has been decorated in traditional Parisian style. A range of authentic dishes are offered including croque monsieur, steak tartare and creme brulee.

My favorite is saturday breakfast. The people watching can't be beat.

13 Old Compton Street
London W1D 5GQ
Tel +44 (0) 20 7734 0623

Ice Ice Baby in London

A fan of ice cream? Anyone that knows me knows I am. Entrepreneur Matt O’Connor is opening a subversive new ice cream installation in Selfridge's Ultralounge for a week this September.

Aptly named The Icecreamists, the installation will be the ultimate ice cream boutique, offering an array of vice creams and guilty pleasures including cryogenic cocktails, freshly made boutique ice cream, pure frozen yogurts and sorbettos, all freshly prepared every morning by a master mixologist.


Pop in for brekky, a boutique icy cream or for afternoon tea after a hard day’s shopping. Just sit back, listen to one of the DJs who will be spinning tracks and catch a catwalk show.

Of the venture, O'Connor said, "If you thought you knew ice cream, think again. The Icecreamists want to liberate the world from ordinary ice cream with our range of exclusive freshly made boutique ice creams and cryogenic cocktails. Ice cream is the world's greatest socialising agent but has suffered from a poverty of imagination. We hope to change this with the biggest revolution in ice cream since it was first invented. Opens tomorrow and it’ll be gone November 1.

I suggest starting with a chocolate croissant and espresso ice cream. Move on to a subzero sandwich — brown bread ice cream between two oatmeal cookies. I'll be there will you?

Selfridges London
400 Oxford Street
London
W1A 1AB

Prada 'pops up' in Paris

Reigning high in the fashion stakes for some time now, pop-up stores have lost none of their luster as far as Prada are concerned.

Whilst one would perhaps be forgiven for confusing their latest Parisian offering with a more permanent store, Prada's Place Beauvau residency will be around for only five months.

Spread over 570 sq m and straddling two floors, the store features the full range of women's ready-to-wear, along with a smattering of accessories, shoes and bags.

Despite having such staunch Italianate roots, Prada have embraced their Parisian side for the project, fronting the store with an extensive Mirabeau Bridge-themed facade designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi.

The bohemian theme carries on throughout, with a Montmartre-inspired, mannequin-lined street scene up the staircase; bronze and glass apothecary cases; lilac velvet furnishings; an abundance of floor-to-ceiling mirrors and a chequered marble floor recalling Prada’s 1913 original store in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan.

92, Place Beauvau
Paris
France

D-Hotel in Kortrijk, Belgium

From a distance, the latest design hotel to hit Belgian shores could be little more than a rennovated 19th century windmill and farmhouse. Step a little closer however and things come a little clearer. The d-hotel, from Belgian architect Govaert en Vanhoutte, is an immaculate synthesis of traditional culture with contemporary design.

The farmhouse portion of the project has indeed been renovated to contain the ample wellness centre, lounge, bar and breakfast area but it is the guestrooms, set within several unrefined concrete volumes lying-low adjacent to the windmill that caught our eye.

Glass-fronted and achingly industrial, the volumes contain 34 guestrooms and eleven suites, each of which has been given the distinctive mark of a renowned name in Belgian creativity.

The fashion suite, for instance, comes courtesy of Belgian couturier Natan; the diamond suite from Belgian-Italian jeweler Hulchi Belluni; whilst the Movie suite comes from writer, actor and director Jan Verheven.

Despite the various embellishments and additions, the guestrooms all boil down to simple, creamy, clean-lined luxury, dramatically offset by the ascetic exterior – a theme held consistently throughout this weird and wonderful hotel.

D-Hotel
Abdijmolenweg 1
8510 Marke
Kortrijk

There's no place like DOME - St. Paul's Cathedral - London

When it comes to good food, you’re holier than thou (for you, dieting is a sin).

So you’ll be overjoyed about the restaurant and cafe that has just opened in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Situated in the crypt, the eating space serves up traditional British food with a modern twist, and the majority of ingredients are sourced from local outposts like Neal’s Yard and bread-makers Flour Power City.

Churchgoers and nonbelievers alike can sample dishes like pressed rabbit with carrot relish or steamed sea trout with champ and green tomato chutney, followed by some delightfully wicked puddings.

The resto currently serves only lunch and afternoon tea but — God willing — it’ll open for dinner in the near future.

Amen to that.

Thank you Daily Candy.

The Restaurant at St. Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s Churchyard, EC4M 8AD
020 7248 2469 or restaurantatstpauls.co.uk

Jo'Burger, Dublin

The late-night organic burger joint called Jo'Burger has loud D.J.’s, graffiti murals and juicy grilled burgers that are pure beef bliss. The Dobson burger is a patty stacked with Maasdam cheese, arugula and a zingy relish, my favorite.

Menus are made out of old annuals in this retro spot. It's very popular and can be quite busy. A diverse selection of burgers are on offer, along with sweet potato fries and organic sodas. Loud music and great burgers keep them coming back.

Jo'Burger
137 Rathmines Rd, Dublin
01/491-3731

Antico Forno Roscioli, Rome

For a quick lunch or snack, make a beeline for Antico Forno Roscioli near the Campo de Fiori, one of the best bakeries in Rome, offering delicious pizza rossa and bianca, bread, pastries and a hot lunch counter, where the pasta and vegetables are weighed by the pound. Pizza bianca means white pizza and is really denuded pizza — like a firm, crispy focaccia gently kissed with oil, herbs and salt.

It isn't as ancient as its name implies (it opened in 1972 and was completely renovated in 2007) but it’s a local favorite for its pizzas (priced according to slab size) and primi piatti (usually some pasta or gnocchi, tasty potato dumplings). Come armed with patience, it’s always crowded at lunchtime. My favorite for a quick lunch on the go. A second location, the sit-down Roscioli Restaurant, is around the corner at Via dei Giubbonari, 21.

Antico Forno roscioli
Via dei Chiavari 34, Rome, 186
06-6864045