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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 informative.
News of the week
The dog days of late summer are often referred to as “silly season”, with the media forced to focus on trite, inconsequential stories for want of actual, meaningful news. And it’s hard not to detect a similar feeling of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ on Instagram this week, with precious little by way of cutting-edge intel making its way onto feeds. Like, Tom Kerridge makes ketchup now? Plaza Pastor has a salsa so spicy they give it to customers for free? It’s basically Vaulter up in here, so bring on the return of Instagram, Serious News source.
Innovation of the week
Some Serious News: One of the best snacks in London being upgraded to that game-changing liminal state between snack and cocktail also occupied by Black Axe Mangal’s deranged smoked eel, vodka, pickled walnuts and horseradish juice combo. Are gourmet picklebacks officially a thing now?
Sunday funday, but make it a Saturday of the week
To Coal Drops Yard, for the latest in semi-sporadic wine fair Wine Car Boot’s series of ambulatory piss-ups. Whatever the arguments against mega-developments like Coal Drops, this particular mega-development makes for a hell of a backdrop.
Possible renaissance of the week
The situation was probably never as bad as naysayers with large platforms suggested, but there’s no denying that for the past few years, the noble pudding has endured something of a crisis. Time and price-conscious diners could rarely be bothered to sit around waiting for a whole extra course to emerge; chefs’ apprenticeships were often curtailed before they learned the skills necessary to construct a vertiginous croquembouche; cramped kitchens often had little space for a dedicated pastry chef. Menus soon evolved to reflect these pressures, with a whole new category of dessert — cold, creamy stuff in a bowl, maybe with a few crushed nuts or distinctive pastry ‘crumb’ to lend a little crunch — frequently taking its place alongside a fridge-cold wedge of cheese as the only options available to diners coming to the end of their main course. Fortunately, it seems that this dark interlude is finally coming to a close, with some especially notable examples adorning passes this week. The pudding is dead, long live the pudding.
Envy-inducing holiday snap of the week
[David Hockney sploosh emoji]
Redundant question of the week
Menu of the week
Geographically, The Remedy is in one of those weird hinterlands that occurs when different areas of London rub up against each other — not quite Marylebone, not quite Fitzrovia, not quite the broader Euston / Kings Cross sprawl. If this document — especially that paccheri dish — is anything to go by, it’s worth seeking out pronto.
Dish of the week
Cray.
Shot of the week
Even more cray.
