‘Gourmet’ Macaroni Cheese Is Threatening a Comeback

Welcome back to Insta Stories, a column examining the London restaurant scene through the often-problematic medium of Instagram. This week’s filter is a quandary.

News of the week

At this time of year, it’s easy to uh, tire of wall-to-wall Michelin star coverage. But Instagram presents perhaps the best argument in favour of the continuing existence of the guide, however left-field some of this year’s selections may have been. Even retaining a star — let alone winning one — is a major achievement, and the delight was plain to see as chefs took to social media to share their relief and elation.

Aggressively seasonal produce of the week

In North America, they call them the Three Sisters, so commonly are beans, squash and corn grown together. The vagaries of the British climate may have prevented a Chekhovian full house this week, but edible gourds and pulses were practically ubiquitous on menus as the capital slumped into its cosy autumn sweater.

Aggressively unseasonal dish of the week

Still would.

Newly acceptable hot item of the week

A Deeney’s Macbeth on Broadway Market — an already-excellent cheese toastie lent additional Caledonian heft by a generous dollop of haggis — is one of the city’s great cold-weather snacks, the sort of fortifying absolute unit that can turn a hungover Saturday morning’s fortunes around with just a few bites. Clearly, this is not the sort of dish for hot summer days, but now that coats and even scarves are becoming more commonplace again ... Every gloomy October cloud has a silver lining.

Heresy of the week

Butter on toast, beans, hot sauce, grated cheddar. It’s really not that hard to get right.

Don’t call it a trend of the week

It felt like the great Pimp My Mac’n’Cheese craze had been and gone — a blessedly short window when about one in every three food trucks was slopping out pots of grotesquely over-cheesed gunk topped with wholly unnecessary additions like pulled pork or chile. And, “posh” restaurant takes loaded with rubbery lobster or drenched in truffle oil had their moment over a decade ago. So ... What is this?

Please make it a trend of the week

In Madrid it’s a bocadillo de calamares, in Barcelona a mollete de calamars — in any language it’s a genuinely perfect food. Can one of the current wave of sandwich remixers please bring it over here?

Tinder profile of the week

Tiny Jay Rayner is appalled.

Menu of the week

It’s … Perfect?

Dish of the week

Perhaps not for everyone, but yikes what a combo.

Shot of the week

Get the bread.