Food for Sir: Leon
Lunch for most of us consists of a Pret Sandwich. Ham, cheese
and mustard as standard; ham and eggs bloomer if we're looking
for a carb overload; something involving crayfish if we're
being daring.
It was a joy, therefore, to be introduced to Leon - the antidote to Pret sarnie
culture. Leon offers a real alternative to the everyday so-called
healthy fresh sandwich, providing genuinely healthy and truly
tasty fast food - perfect for a quick lunch out of the office.
Try the Moroccan Meatballs or Chilli Chicken Shish if you're
feeling particularly peckish - both are £5.50 and come
with organic brown basmati rice and a range of amazingly tasty
sides. If you're looking for a smaller snack, then go for
the Flatbread wraps or the bizarrely named Superfood salads
- each around £4.
All of these can be washed down by a refreshing range of smoothies and juices,
and for the more Mediterrean types a carafe of wine or Cruz
Campo beer.
Following the success of their first Great Marlborough
street branch, restaurants are opening up all over London.
For city boys, the Spitalfields branch (3 Crispin Place) is
probably best. For Fulham / Knightsbrige types visit 136 Brompton
Road.
Home / office deliveries can be ordered via their website:
http://www.Leonrestaurants.co.uk
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Things for Sir: Geek Chic
Every discerning modern man loves a good gadget, so hello
to the latest shopping concept: DigitalWellBeingLabs (DWB).
Both a virtual and real shop, DWB sells the latest and best
digital lifestyle apparel.
If you want to check out their whole range of weird, wacky
and mostly practical gizmos visit their stall in the Bluebird
shop (Kings Road), otherwise browse online at www.DigitalWellBeingLabs.com.
The truly eclectic DWB offering includes:
- Concerto Table: a dining table and iPod dock (with speaker
system) in one, shaped elegantly with the curvature of a grand
piano. No doubt just what you're looking for!
- Nabaztag: a rabbit look-a-like wireless
internet device that that can be programmed to deliver messages
including stock market information. Truly bizarre.
- Hulger phones: retro 80's handsets to
attach to your micro-modern phone. Pretty pointless, but very
cool!
For more info visit their site, call them on 0207 701 2555,
or visit their shop at 350 Kings Road, London. |
Gifts for Her: La Perla
Buying lingerie for your lady can be a fairly intimidating task. The
first thing first is to get right is your girl's size - waist,
chest and cup size. Once you've sorted that, you've then got
to run the gauntlet of picking something she'll like (and
find appropriate). The trick here is not to let your school
boy fantasies take-over, as an inappropriate choice may land
you in the dog house.
One thing guaranteed to keep you out of the dog house is
buying La Perla. For the more confident among you, go for
a classic La Perla bras and panty set. This is guaranteed
to put a smile on her face, and yours! Although at £150 for
a bra and around £50 for a pair of panties it may leave a
dent in your credit card.
For the first timers among you, play it safe and go for
this season's must have - a deep purple full length negligee.
With a negligee you're less likely to get the size wrong,
and the La Perla range is seriously classy. At £380, however,
you've got to hope that she likes purple as otherwise there
could be tears all round.
If all this sounds way out of your league price-wise, you
could save over 50% on La Perla lingerie if you buy take a
trip to the Mall, Florence. See below for more info. A trip
to Tuscany and lingerie - that's serious browny points. Visit
www.LaPerla.com for more
info. |
Something for the weekend: Florence
 It
may not be massively original for a long weekend, however
it's hard to beat Florence just before Christmas. With most
American and Japanese tourists packed off back home, Florence
and the surrounding Tuscan countryside comes alive.
There's the Renaissance tickbox stuff to get out the way:
the Duomo, Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce, Boboli gardens
. . . All of these are of course un-missable, however after
a couple of hours gazing at Renaissance gems it's very easy
to become numb to their beauty and lose interest.
A great way to get over this culture overload is to mix old
Florence with new Florence. Today's Florence is a fun mix
of great boutique shops, amazing food and wine and beautiful
people. You should definitely check out the streets around
Piazza San Trinita. Here you'll find a minefield of designer
shops, all with intriguing window displays.
Then pop over the Ponte Vecchio for a glass of wine at the
Volpi e l'Uva. This is a real gem with a fine selection of
local Tuscan wines. Heaven must definitely be close to a glass
of Chianti with bruscetta and a selection of cheeses.
If you're a real shopalholic, then an afternoon's visit to
the Mall is definitely in order. The Mall is Florence's answer
to Bicester village, and of course being Italian the way the
Mall deals with designer discounts is a lot more chic than
cheap. Every Italian designer label is catered for, including
Prada, Gucci, Todds, Valentino and La Perla, making for a
shopper's paradise.
After a day of indulging in Florentine delights, Casa Howard
is the place to rest your head. Casa Howard is an eccentric
and eclectic boutique hotel, comprising 13 individually designed
rooms including a room made soley for dog lovers with its
own dog baskets. A stumble from Santa Maria Novella and ten
minutes from Ponte Vecchio, Casa Howard is ideal for a long
weekend.
Fly to Florence (Pisa) with Ryanair. The Mall's address is
Via Europa 8 - 50060 - Leccio-Reggello FIRENZE (about 30 mins
outside Florence). Book a room at Casa Howard using www.MrandMrsSmith.com
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 Food
by Sir: Autumn garden pasta
This
recipe is a great wholesome warming pasta for the winter months.
The key to this recipe is a good selection of fresh garden
vegetables. If you've got a small garden with your own veg,
great, if not then a a trip down to your local organic shop
is fine.
The following recipe is for 2. Multiply accordingly to number
of diners. Substitute vegetables depending on taste and availability.
The only rule to success is to ensure all the ingredients
are as fresh as possible.
1 onion (medium and finely chopped)
2 carrots
2 cloves of garlic
1 stick of celery
A handful of finely chopped cabbage
2 radishes
1 courgette
4 large spinach leaves
4 florets of broccoli
4 rashers of bacon
A handful of fresh basil leaves
A squeeze of lemon
200g of pasta
Grated cheese (cheddar or similar)
Olive oil, salt and pepper
A large Wok.
First off, prepare all the vegetables - mostly roughly chopped
to give it a rustic feel. With a good glug of olive oil, cook
up the chopped onion in a large wok. As the onion starts to
lightly brown, add the bacon and garlic. Once the bacon is
cooked through, add carrots, celery, and radishes. After a
couple of minutes toss in the spinach and cabbage. As this
all cooks away, boil up a pan of water with the broccoli.
Once the brocolli's al dente, chuck it into the wok with the
rest of the veg and throw in a handful of fresh basil together
with a squeeze of lemon and season to taste.
As all these lovely vegetables cook away, you should
boil up your pasta. There's no real trick to timing here, but
once you feel the veg is cooked through enough, throw in the
pasta and mix. Once mixed through toss into a large baking tray
cover in grated cheese and whack it into a pre-heated oven at
200 for 5 mins.
Just as the cheese has started to brown a little, serve and
accompany with a bottle of chilled white.
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