Archive for the ‘Restaurants’ Category
Monkey Shoulder Chocolate Trail – Easter Egg Hunt
Friday, April 6th, 2012
We were invited to take part in a Easter-egg hunt with a twist. Instead of searching for traditional Easter eggs, we had to hunt down Easter eggs in a hive of urban foliage and swap them for cocktails.
Monkey Shoulder Whiskey is curating the event in Soho, and have gathered together outdoor designers Bobby Peterson and Anna Garforth to create specially grown moss and grass sculptures to give the effect of the outdoors, indoors.
We had to hunt for eggs in the green and swap them for bespoke whiskey cocktails; and also be on the lookout for the rebellious Easter bunny!
The reclaimed chairs are fitted with speakers to create an outdoors beat:
Delicious new cocktails have been created with London Cocktail Club and chocolatier Niko B has developed flavoured chocolates to go alongside. Here’s the recipe for one of our favourite cocktails served with a lemon, ginger and cayenne pepper truffle:
Rhubarb & Rose Julep
50ml Monkey Shoulder Whiskey
15ml Sugar syrup
15ml Rose Liqueur
Dash of Rhubarb bitters
Pinch of Mint
Build in a julep tin with crushed ice.
This will be paired with – Lemon , Ginger and Cayenne Pepper truffle ( a dark chocolate ganache truffle with fresh ginger infused cream, lemons and cayenne pepper)
Dates: Open to the public from Friday 6th to and including Monday 9th April; 12.00 -7.00pm
The Monkey Shoulder Chocolate Trail is free to attend and discover, drinks are also available to buy.
The pairings will be available at all three London Cocktail Club bars from 30th March -15th April, and at the Monkey Shoulder Chocolate Trail itself at 63 Broadwick St, from 6th -9th April.
The Long Table Food Market
Thursday, November 24th, 2011
We have long been fans of those cool people at the social enterprise company Bootstrap in Dalston, their ingenious roof garden located atop the building is a great beacon of community gardening during the summer months. We’re all foodies here at The Balcony Gardener so we were thrilled when we heard of the brilliant link up between Bootstrap and the Long Table creating a night-time outdoor food market. Driven by Nuno Mendes of Viajante fame, the market celebrates the best of London’s street food. There will be stalls and signature dishes from the likes of Mendes himself and the Loft Project, The Yum Buns, Hawksmoor, Moro and Big Apple Hot Dogs.
The Long Table strives to bring people together through a love of food and emphasise the importance of local chefs, purveyors and producers. Portuguese chef Mendes has worked across the world and his side project “The Loft” has become as successful as his professional work. Originally set up as a temporary supper club and personal test kitchen, the Loft has now become a platform for the next generation of talented chefs to take up residency and showcase their food. Chefs are invited from top kitchens around the world to host dinners for guests around one communal table. The Loft provides the framework for the Long Table – a big foodie gathering! We can’t wait to pop by and hopefully we’ll see you there!
The Long Table night market will be at Abbot Street, Dalston E8 every Friday night 6pm-12am from 25 November until Christmas.
MARKET DATES: 25/11/11, 2/12/11, 9/12/11, 16/12/11
If you want to see for yourself what they’re up to follow them at @TheLongTableAS or go to their website http://www.thelongtable.net/
The Green Revolution
Friday, April 8th, 2011
Over the past few years the skies in urban spaces are looking more green than blue, with more and more people making the most of their outdoor space – be it a balcony, a window box or a roof-top. Here at The Balcony Gardener we’ve experienced the joys of gardening in small spaces and exploring the opportunities of mixing pots and planters, growing herbs on our window sill and sitting in our urban oasis. The trend is growing and turning into a fully-fledged “green revolution,” more and more green spots are popping up across cities.
In many American cities local businesses are offered tax subsidies if they cover their roofs with plants, the Chicago chef Rick Bayless uses tomatoes and chilies he grows atop his restaurant Frontera Grill to make Rooftop Salsa. Whilst in New York City, the Eagle Street Rooftop Farm is a 6000 square-floor organic vegetable farm on top of a warehouse in Brooklyn. And in Manhattan, the High Line park is built on a section of an abandoned elevated railway line that runs along the lower west side. It is as an aeriel greenway in an area of New York that previously was bare of green spaces, the plants and vegetation chosen for the park pay homage to the wild plants that had previously taken over the abandoned railway.
This green activity is not strictly tied to our cousins across the pond, here in London green spots are popping up in imaginative spaces and are feeding community projects.In Dalston, the social enterprise company Bootstrap runs a roof park on top of a community-owned building. They grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants – in an area that previously had less than one-tenth of the national recommended amount of green open space. King Alfred’s School in Golder’s Green, is now proud owners of a circle of green roofs around one of the playgrounds, the school also has their own beehives providing school-grown honey. Budgens supermarket in Crouch End is working with the charity Food From the Sky and volunteers are growing produce on the rooftop garden. The charitable restaurant Acorn House in King’s Cross has converted their own rooftop to a vegetable garden providing ingredients for their own dishes, it doesn’t come more locally sourced than that! They then convert all their food waste into compost for the garden.
It’s easy to become part of the green revolution, arm yourself with some grenades – and get growing!
Our favourite green spaces in London:
Cocktails at Kensington Roof Gardens: www.roofgardens.virgin.com
Dinner at Acorn House: www.acornhouserestaurant.com
Views across Dalston: www.bootstrapcompany.co.uk/13_dalston_roof_park
Supermarket roof garden in Crouch End: www.foodfromthesky.org.uk