I dropped by the recently launched Zia Lucia at the new Boxpark a few days before Christmas. I really enjoyed my meal and thought the pizzas were as tasty and “genuine’ as when I reviewed the original Zia Lucia in 2016. Continue reading
Contrary to the typical Christmastime connoisseur, however, dry sherries generally enthuse me more than sweet ones (that’s not to say I’m put off at all by sweet sherries). So I thought before I commence my own Yuletide celebrations and pour myself a wee glass of cheer, I would single out three dry sherries that offer optimum drinking at this time of year.
Each is Gonzalez Byass, one of Spain’s best known sherry bogedas dating back five generations with deep connections to Jerez, and represents not only excellent value for money but extraordinary value for flavour. Continue reading
Shaun takes time out of his busy day in Guyana to speak with me about his job working for one of the worlds first premium rums and explains what sets it apart from the competition. He also shares some top tips on how best to enjoy El Dorado during your Christmas and New Years celebrations.
Listen now:
Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
A couple of days ago, I wrapped up my annual Best of series of lists about the top food, drink, and travel related items I came across over the past year. For 2018, those lists comprised a dozen categories: podcasts, hotels, cafes, breakfasts and brunches, pizza, burgers, ice cream, beer, cocktails, cheap eats, bars and pubs, and restaurants.
Next to London – the city where I live and write about the most – one place stood out prominently with multiple entries in a majority of categories. That place was Cleveland, with at least one listing in most categories and a couple or more in a few of them.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my experiences making coffee with my Melitta CI Touch and that you’ve benefitted from info about choosing the right coffee kit for you and the coffee lovers in your life. I also hope you had fun with the couple of competitions I ran offering amazing Melitta products as prizes.
I loved sharing this series with you. Word is the folks at Melitta have been pleased as well. So, there’s been some talk about keeping it going through 2019. That’s great news for me – and I think for you readers as well. There’ll be more comps and freebies and all sorts of other ways to help you make the most of your morning cup of coffee.
Until that new series starts, be sure to go back over all the posts in this year’s series. Continue reading
COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LOTS MORE FUN AND FREEBIES TO COME.
To make way for more stuff in 2019, I’m giving away a collection of bottles of alcoholic drinks that have come my way over the past 12 months. They’re all sample bottles, mostly 50ml but some are considerably larger.
This is something I’ve done before a couple of times. This year’s haul of at least nine different bottles is smaller that last year’s but arguably of far higher quality.
Oh – and I’ll do my darnedest to get the prize sent to the winner in time for New Year’s Eve.
For this 54th episode of tikichris Talks, I skate over to Somerset House for a chat with Claire about Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and the whole Peanuts gang. Highlighting the work and legacy of Peanuts creator, Charles M Shultz, Claire’s show at Somerset House is wildly popular. It runs until early March 2019.
Listen now:
Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
Cheers to an amazing year of food, drink and travel. Thanks for tagging along for the ride. I hope this blog has helped you to eat, drink and explore better than you would have otherwise.
Yes, it was an awesome way to spend a midweek evening. Continue reading
As I mentioned in my introductory post to this series, I spent a bit more time travelling than I did staying at home this year. So my list of ‘best” London restaurants is pretty short while the one for restaurants everywhere else is quite long. And maybe – just maybe – another reason for that difference is that the London dining scene possibly has started to plateau.
As for the ‘everywhere else’ …
From Cleveland to Kobe, I ate exceptionally well in all sorts of places over the course of 2018. Other towns making an appearance in this ‘best of’ list include Chattanooga, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Frankfurt, Milan, Liverpool and a few outposts up in the Catalan Pyrenees.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
Here’s the low down on some fine things to see, sip, savour and more – all of which I’ve recently come across and thought were worth sharing with you. Enjoy.
Have a look my Best of 2018 list of my favourite bars sidled up to this year (with entries from London, Edinburgh Dublin, Cleveland and the Texas Hill Country).
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
Everyone knows about ‘big hitters’ like the Tate and the British Museum, but did you know London’s chock full of small, charming and intimate museums and art galleries as well?
Continuing with my Best of 2018 series, my list of Best Cheap Eats is focused solely on London. However, I managed to find affordable options pretty much everywhere I roamed these past 12 months. Berlin and Kobe proved particularly fruitful destinations for budget conscious eating. As for spending less in London on food, I feel blessed to live in Walthamstow. The High Street area of Walthamstow yielded an especially awesome array of cheap eats.
By ‘cheap eats’ I mean a quality meal that costs £5 or less. Believe it or not, my list of topnotch places for such food has grown since last year. Maybe that’s more a reflection of me seeking out inexpensive spots than anything else, but whatever the case I’ve been happy with what I’ve come across.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
During the interview, I ask Ross why his burgers taste so good, whether it’s possible for meat eaters to enjoy vegan burgers, and how he envisions the future of his very scalable Halo Burger concept.
Listen now:
Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
Let’s celebrate with a toast to the most amazing cocktails of the year. The most memorably delicious for me were enjoyed at bars in London, Oxford, and Pittsburgh.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
While the luxury market for fashion, style, and latest trends have been dominated by top brands from Italy and France such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Versace, and Prada, Asia is not anywhere behind when it comes to emerging as potential market leaders. The emergence and promotion of fashion brands on Instagram have opened a new pathway of fashion entering our lives. Asian fashion brands have become a thing of talk since it started to leap onto the global fashion scene. Continue reading
I pour on with my Best of 2018 series to provide a heady brew of the tastiest beers I enjoyed during the past 12 months.
Beers listed are all produced by independent brewers in England, Wales, Switzerland, and the US – with a disproportionate number from the state of North Carolina.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
There’s always time and room for ice cream, especially if you’re near one of these parlors or restaurants in London, Cleveland, Denver, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Köln and Stuttgart – and that goes double for the German ice cream places that made this list!
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
Set on the lower ground floor of the Meridien – and not far from where these turn of the century illusionists once astounded audiences at Egyptian Hall – the Maskelyne & Cooke bar features a cocktail menu that recalls the charms and mysteries associated with attending a show with Maskelyne & Cooke at the top of the bill as well as live up-close performances four nights a week by some of contemporary London’s top magicians. Continue reading
My Best of 2018 series continues with a look at the most scrumptious burgers had in London, as well as in Basel, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Denver, Dublin, Edinburgh and Liverpool.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LOTS MORE FUN AND FREEBIES TO COME.
Guess who’s got a bottle of 12 Year Old stashed away for my last competition with a prize to arrive before Christmas?
Made strictly from local Demerara sugar cane and aged for at least 12 years in ex Bourbon oak casks, El Dorado 12 Year Old is hand-blended to achieve its exceptionally smooth and complex profile. It won Best Rum at the inaugural Caribbean Rum Awards this year with similarly impressive accolades lined up every year before that.
Craving a taste?
My Best of 2018 series rolls on with my recs on where to eat the tastiest pizzas in London and beyond. Pizzerias in Milan, Edinburgh, Frankfurt and Cleveland made the cut, with the Cleveland pizzerias particularly wowing my palate.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
Parked outside King’s Cross, passers-by are encouraged to step inside the bus to learn about Lombardy, immerse themselves in multimedia activities and virtual experience “journeys” and enter prize draws for free trips to Milan and other destinations in the region. Continue reading
Welcome back to the Best of 2018. Here’s a plateful of hearty recommendations for breaking fast in London and elsewhere, and in this case elsewhere means San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country, Dublin, Edinburgh, Milan and Hiroshima.
For suggestions regarding coffee and cafes, take a look at my 2018 list of best cafes.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
Hosted in her flat which doubles once a month as a dating app supper club, I chat about with Nina about how banana bread, cooking for celebrities and bringing people together over good food.
Listen now:
Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
Excellent coffee is crucial, particularly when I’m travelling. Having comfortable places to drink it is a big deal too. So are competent and affable baristas. If, in addition to that, you can throw in reliable WiFi and an outlet to keep my laptop and phone charged while I drink coffee (or exceed my expectations in some other remarkable ways), you’re golden. This list of three London espresso bars and six more in Chattanooga (Tennessee), Greenville (North Carolina), Köln, Liverpool, Pittsburgh, and Zurich met all my requirements and shined the brightest for me in 2018.
For more suggestions regarding morning meals take a look at my 2018 list of best breakfasts and brunches.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LOTS MORE FUN AND FREEBIES TO COME.
Valued at £120, the new AromaFresh filter coffee machine from Melitta comes with an integrated grinder enabling you to brew up to 10 cups at a time of filter coffee from freshly ground coffee beans to your own taste.
I took rooms in lots of hotels over the course of 2018. Most were perfectly fine, and I would be cool with booking any of them again. That said they hardly left much of an impression.
A few did though. Here’s a look at four in particular that wowed.
Please note, this list merely reflects how I chose to spend my time during the year and is comprised of well established and brand new venues as well as businesses that are somehow related to where work and play took me.
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
I chatted with Tony at The Sheraton Grand Park Lane Hotel before he began set up for his show, The Magic Hour. During our conversation we spoke about how he got into magic, his shows around London and his involvement with the soon-to-open Maskelyne and Cooke magic bar at Le Meridien Piccadilly.
Listen now:
Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
I know podcasts (particularly the ones I subscribe to) don’t represent any ‘food, drink and travel treats’ as I said in my introduction post that I would be highlighting. However, I felt it would be good to include my podcast recs for your listening pleasure.
For me, travelling without getting to listen to my favourite podcasts would be considerably less enjoyable. They make wait times, long flights and train journeys more tolerable. Starting and ending days by myself in unfamiliar places are better as well when I have the chance to catch up with the shows I follow.
I work on two podcasts (my solo tikichris Talks project and All Consumed, which I co-produce with journalist Neil Davey). So podcasting is often on my mind. That seems to be the case with all sorts of other folks too though – whether they have any desire to podcast or not. What podcasts people are listening too and which are worth checking out is an increasingly common topic of conversation.
Without further ado, here’s my list of favourite podcasts of 2018 (and yes I’m really into politics and shows produced by WNYC).
Items appear in alphabetic order, not ranked.
The “edutainment” style travelogue follows presenting trio Colin Hampden-White, Aidy Smith and Helena “Winebird” Nicklin as they visit distilleries and take in the best of drinking culture across Scotland. Each episode is 30 minutes long. The first three episodes of The Three Drinkers Do Scotch Whisky can be viewed now on Amazon Prime. The fourth will be available in January. Continue reading
As in years before, I kept plenty of notes to help recall the most noteworthy experiences of 2018. To be sure, the year had plenty of peaks and troughs. This “Best of” series, obviously, is focused on the peaks.
I’m not sure if 2018 represented a game change for my work and lifestyle or an anomaly. But for the first time ever over the course of a year, I spent (slightly) more time on the road than I did at home. And, when I was at home I was often very much just that: in my house, writing and recuperating and not exploring London nearly as much as I might normally have done.
With respect to compiling the lists for this series, these factors added up to more recommendations for stuff beyond London than in London. So compared to my previous “Best of” series, this one is more city break centric with less of an insider edge with respect to having fun around London.
Capturing the attention of hungry customers is a great way to add sales that will make your visitors happy. Customize the types of foods offered by choosing from a selection of hot food display types. Continue reading
