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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 gravy with beef.
News of the week
General elections, as a rule, do not take place on Instagram. But: The events of the most significant general election in a generation did, inevitably, start to filter through to even this most glossily apolitical of platforms last week, as optimism gave way to shock, horror, and the sort of pessimism not seen online since the bad old days of 2016. In moments like these, food can be a lifeline — a reminder of the great things human beings can do when working in solidarity with one another. Knob gags also work.
Duelling festivities of the week
Before all that, though, there were initially good-humoured election parties to attend. Two stand out for their commitment to the bit — although perhaps its best to declare them joint winners rather than going through the process of electing a winner.
Forthcoming festivities of the week
Something to look forward to: New Year’s Eve at some of London’s best restaurants.
Caption of the week
More reasons to be cheerful: the chances of Stormzy releasing a Nigel Slater-themed freestyle in 2020 just increased significantly.
Seasonal tie-ins of the week
The unceasing Christmas onslaught continues, this week encompassing the gimmicky, the postmodern, the continental, and the deeply, lustfully classical.
Seasonal showstopper of the week
Easy to miss the finer details here: the different herbs used for extra hairline verisimilitude; the garlic studded with cloves; the fact that the recipe IS A POEM IN RHYMING COUPLETS. Hard to miss the overarching point that this will still be tastier than 95% of turkeys served this Christmas.
Service journalism of the week
And should you need a little something on the side…
Cosmic ordering of the week
After requesting more food-related Christmas tree content exactly one week ago, this feels like pretty speedy work from Santa and his elves.
Rockpool of the week
2019’s hottest presentation trend is going nowhere.
Unconventional toasts of the week
Maybe even combine the two?
Winter warmers of the week
Special sweet edition!
Dish of the week
The minimum acceptable quantity of aioli.
Shots of the week
Davies and Brook may not be reinventing the wheel so much as ripping it wholesale from the Michelin-branded chassis of Eleven Madison Park, but boy does this stuff look pretty.