Two cylinders: one hot car May 10, 2011 FIAT’S decision to sell its 500 city car with a super-economical two-cylinder engine may not stem from sentimentality. But my desire to drive it does. How would it compare to the original iconic Fiat 500, a car that also had a two-cylinder engine and which I have driven and have a fondness for? The original [...]
CAR TALK May 10, 2011 VAUXHALL’S INSIGNIA VXR IS UNLEASHED Vauxhall has introduced a package to de-restrict the Insignia VXR so that it’s capable of 170mph. Called the ‘Unlimited’ option the package removes the ‘regular’ Insignia VXR’s 155mph restrictor and costs just £250. Available for the hatch, saloon and sports tourer versions it means the Insignia VXR Unlimited’s turbocharged, 321bhp, [...]
Chelsea gets some traditional Brit grub in a sleek modernist setting May 9, 2011 The Penny Black 212 Fulham Road, SW10 9PJ www.thepennyblack.com FOOD **** SERVICE *** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £40 IT sounds like the name of a pub, doesn’t it? For some reason, the image I had in my head of a restaurant called The Penny Black was some dark, old-fashioned tavern, a place [...]
Learning to make the most of asparagus May 9, 2011 ASPARAGUS is one of the glories of the British spring. Its yearly sprout excites chefs the country over. The problem with asparagus, though, is that it’s not exactly sexy for the rest of us. You don’t race to the supermarket with a craving for it – nor do you discuss its sensual merits with foodie [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS May 9, 2011 HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLUEPRINT CAFE The Design Museum’s well-respected restaurant, the Blueprint Cafe, opened 21 years ago today. To celebrate, head chef Jeremy Lee has created a three-course set menu, including a glass of fizz (and, of course, Blueprint’s fantastic views along the Thames from its Bermondsey riverside setting) for a very reasonable £21. Dishes include [...]
Goldmine: Beauty gets bling May 9, 2011 IT makes sense, when you think about it. Gold prices, thanks to the recession, have soared in the past few years making gold jewellery, bullion, and gold accoutrements the ultimate status symbol. Now the trend is hitting the beauty world as products containing 24 carat gold become hot property. Gold Leaf nail varnish by nail [...]
Don’t cry for me, Argentina: I’ve found Malbec paradise May 8, 2011 THE new Argentina is deeply seductive – its famous beef and increasingly famous wine are celebrated in restaurants from New York to Beirut. Its natural beauty, from the Andes to the plains of Patagonia; its sparkling heat, beautiful people and stunning horses lure travellers the world over. And Buenos Aires, the gorgeous, cosmopolitan crown on [...]
The winner of the Investec Derby will join racing greats May 8, 2011 THE INVESTEC Derby is one of the highlights of the social and sporting calendar. Watched live by 125,000 people, it is not for nothing that the Investec Derby is known as the world’s greatest flat race. The Derby, of which City PM is the official paper, is open to three-year old thoroughbred colts and fillies, [...]
How to bring the outside in this summer May 5, 2011 LONDON’S parks and green spaces were rammed full of people desperate to soak up the sunshine last weekend. Even the vaguest hint of summer notoriously has Brits whipping out the shorts and firing up the barbeque. Appreciation of our country’s bursts of summer is practically a national characteristic. How then can the keen, but often [...]
