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Welcome back to Insta Stories, a column examining the London restaurant scene through the often-problematic medium of Instagram. This week’s filter is unperturbed by things like Tabasco sauce and soy.
News of the week
Trivet, one of the year’s hottest tickets, isn’t quite open for business yet, but as the details from a week or so of soft launch begin to trickle through, Londoners might be forgiven for getting more than a little excited. Barrel-shaped creations? “Sourdough broth”? “Potato millefeuille”?! Consider the capital t-riveted.
Celebratory pile-up of the week
As was foretold, there was yet more pumpkin-themed miscellanea on the feed this week, as Hallowe’en bled gorily across the best part of a fortnight. But there were also Mexican-themed Day of the Dead shenanigans, and the first hint that Thanksgiving is on the way. With Christmas drawing closer every day, Veganuary staking out a claim to early 2020, and Valentine’s not long after that, it looks like it’ll be about mid-March before restaurants don’t have some sort of calendar event to dangle menu items off. However will London cope?
Late night dining of the week
Appetites shift after midnight; desires move towards the carnal. Hackney’s The Laughing Heart has a dedicated after-hours menu that reflects what people really want to eat once the sun sets and the booze kicks in; The Dairy’s occasional Bloodshot supper clubs no doubt emerged from a similar depth in the London restaurant industry’s raw id. All of which is to say, if this menu looks like a lot ... Give it a few hours.
Successful cosmic ordering of the week
Insta Stories, 9 October 2019: “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?”
Insta Stories, 6 November 2019:
Splurge of the week
Yes, all Michelin-starred restaurants are soulless money traps and blah blah it’s too French. But as literally no football pundit has ever said, look at the tekkers on that crème crue.
Nascent trend of the week
Gussied up roast chicken? Weirder things have happened — see: donuts, comma, still a thing.
Modern love story of the week
The only time cursed condiment salsa verde has ever been used for good.
Celeb endorsements of the week
Some big names here.
Dish of the week
In fairness, it’s easy to see why they’re so excited.