Monthly Archives: March 2020

Box sets arent the only thing to binge on while you social distance at home: some of the most famous names in London dining have responded to the coronavirus closures by offering home delivery. Read on to find out about the most delicious ways to survive lockdown all come with a comforting side order of knowing that youre supporting the restaurant trade in its darkest hour.

The Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant has launched an all-day offering to provide round-the-clock sustenance for the self-isolating residents of central London. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast or brunch until 3pm, starting the day with a black truffle-topped croque monsieur or seasonal fruits in a lemon verbena infusion, with perhaps some seeded sourdough and home-cured charcuterie to graze on, or 30g of Beluga caviar.

For lunch and dinner, Hides signature Nest Egg may not have been deemed robust enough by chef Ollie Dabbous to survive a journey by scooter, but there are barbecued langoustines in a pandan leaf broth with baked pumpkin and peanuts, glazed guinea fowl with white miso, celeriac and kaffir lime, and chocolate tartlet with saffron and sunflower all with a suggested wine pairing from Dabbous backer, Hedonism.

If youre stuck for what to feed the kids, Huntsham Farm pork sausages with crispy potato cake and seasonal greens is a posh spin on bangers and mash youll wish came in an adult portion.

Order from: Supper London, within a 2.5-mile radius

Quite possibly the most upmarket Chinese takeaway that London has to offer, Michelin-starred Hakkasan is now available at home, where youll need to light some incense and download the Hakkasan playlist on Mixcloud to get the full clubby effect.

Set menus include the banquet meal for two (135), on which youll find the likes of crispy duck salad, rib-eye in black pepper and merlot and roasted silver cod in Champagne. Alternatively, order individually from the a la carte; the hot-and-sour flavours of the crispy fresh water prawns or intensely savoury black truffle roast duck are both top shouts.

Wash it all down with something from the fabulous wine list: Ruinart Blanc de Blancs followed by Antinori Tignanello, say. For the last word in at-home authenticity, track down the recipe for Hakkasans strawberry and basil martini online.

Order from: Deliveroo and Supper London, within a 2.5-mile radius

For the fully immersive Hakkasan experience, order some daytime dim sum from its teahouse spin-off Yauatcha.

All the dumpling classics are here, though in our experience, steamed dim sum travels better than the fried stuff. Major on scallop shui mai with prawn and tobiko caviar, edamame truffle dumpling with water chestnut, or crystal jade dumpling with pine nut, and save the crispy duck rolls and venison puffs for when we can all eat out again.

Bulk out the dim sum with some stir-fried scallops and prawns or a Mongolian lamb claypot, and top it all off with one of the exquisite pastries; the pastel-coloured macarons are a jewel box of sweet treats.

Order from: Deliveroo and Supper London, within a 2.5-mile radius

The new home delivery service of this famous Mayfair Indian offers a timely opportunity to try the cooking of recently installed executive chef Sameer Taneja. Whats more, for every meal ordered, the restaurant will donate a meal to NHS workers.

Alongside the expected lamb samosas and chicken tikka, look out for more individual creations such as tandoori king prawn marinated in kasundi mustard and raw mango, or wild sea bass marinated in coriander and chilli chutney testament to Tanejas time spent in some exalted Michelin-starred kitchens.

Vegan and vegetarian options, such as paneer malai tikka (mace and cardamom-spiced cottage cheese with mint chutney) and baingan bharta (smoked and mashed aubergine tossed with green peas, onion, tomato and ginger), are no less appealing.

Spice-friendly drinks, meanwhile, range from Meantime and Cobra beer to Killermans Run Shiraz and Ebner-Ebenauer Gruner Veltliner.

Order from: Supper London, within a 2.5-mile radius

Run by two talented young chaps with a brilliant pedigree former Anglo front-of-house Nick Gilkinson and ex-Petersham Nurseries chef Joe Fox Townsend has responded to Covid-19 with an approach every bit as creative as youd expect for a restaurant within the Whitechapel Gallery.

Townsends signature dishes are now available to order direct from the restaurant, ready to eat at home. Start with a snack of fried Wensleydale with heather honey and smoked chilli ahead of potato dumplings with potted brown shrimp and purslane, with ginger and treacle pudding with clotted ice cream for pud.

Wine delivery is also part of the service and you can stock up on an Essentials box of supplies when youre ordering, including fresh eggs, dried pasta, chopped tomatoes and milk and butter. All thats missing is a 16-pack of Andrex.

Order from: Townsend Restaurantfor delivery within eight miles.

French-born, New York-based chef Dominque Ansel has launched an at-home range for delivery from his Belgravia bakery. There are freshly made breads such as thyme and sea-salt focaccia and fresh pastas and sauces like macaroni with three-cheese sauce but ordering any of this is merely a cover for stockpiling the former winner of the Worlds Best Pastry Chef awards bid for immortality: the Cronut.

The croissant/doughnut hybrid, named one of Time magazines best inventions of 2013, is released in a different flavour each month. Currently its pineapple upside down cake, filled with homemade pineapple jam and creamy vanilla cake ganache, which can now be scoffed without shame in the privacy of your own home.

Order from: Deliveroo and Uber Eats or, if you live within five minutes of the Belgravia bakery, you can request an at-home drop-off from Dominique Ansel

Read more: The best high-end home delivery food boxes

Read more: 'I have a secret kitchen gadget thats better than any box of ingredients in isolation'

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Michelin-starred meals that can be delivered to your home during lockdown - Telegraph.co.uk

The Byrdes accountant Marty (Jason Bateman, seen here) and his coolly scheming wife Wendy (Laura Linney) have their casino licence and are laundering money for the vicious Navarro drug cartel.

Steve Dietl/Netflix/Netflix

Its up to you: Comfort viewing or journeys into the exotic or unknown in these times of lockdown and isolation. As its the weekend, lets assume comfort is your choice.

Ozark (Netflix) returns for a third season and its a familiar, furiously paced escape. It will be a top choice for many readers. Me, Ive been a bit skeptical about it from the get-go. Sometimes it looks like fabricated prestige-TV drama done with a simple-minded adherence to fiery narrative twists coming with such regularity that narrative and character development are tossed aside. Still, Ill admit its addictive, all that propulsion. And it did win some Emmy awards.

Happy to report that in the evidence of the first batch of episodes, its tighter, better paced now and still has that pulpy appeal. The Byrdes accountant Marty (Jason Bateman) and his coolly scheming wife Wendy (Laura Linney) have their casino licence and are laundering money for the vicious Navarro drug cartel. Theyre in so deep, the only way to survive is to go deeper. That cartel will punish with ferocity, a fact made clear by the cartels frosty and frightening lawyer Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer).

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Its summer, the Ozarks area is teeming with tourists and Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner) is running the casino floor with her characteristic guile. Garner, who won an Emmy for this role and won acclaim for her starring role in the recent movie The Assistant, is the shows anchor figure. Shes superb as a cunning crook who still retains a slice of naivet.

In fact, this season Ozark improves largely because of the platform given to its female characters. Wendy Byrde, for all her coolness, is at the end of her tether and she and Marty go into couples counselling. How that plays out is both dramatically sound and an illustration of the moral slime that now covers this family.

There are new characters who dont have much to do except engage in stupidity that puts the Byrde operation in jeopardy. The cartel gets angry, of course, and Marty faces retribution. At times the plotting still seems too calculated, as though aimed at exhausting a binge-watch audience. Still, it has improved and is recommended. But if youre going to binge the 10-part series, take it two episodes at a time.

Garth Brooks: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song Concert (Sunday, PBS, 9 p.m.) is a fun, all-star-tribute concert to celebrate Brooks getting the Gershwin Prize. At 58, Brooks is the youngest artist to receive it. There are performances by Keith Urban, Ricky Skaggs, Chris Stapleton, Keb Mo, Lee Brice, the Howard University Choir, and by Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood. The host is Jay Leno, in case youve been wondering whatever happened to him.

The Chaperone (Sunday, most PBS stations 11 p.m. on Masterpiece Classic) is a one-off movie thats a pleasant, odd little creation. Written by the ubiquitous Julian Fellowes, its about silent-screen star Louise Brooks in that period where she was about to become a sensation on the screen. Brooks (played with oomph by Haley Lu Richardson) is about to go to New York to study with a leading dance troupe. Her mom insists there be a chaperone. One Norma Carlisle (Elizabeth McGovern) steps forward to volunteer. An uptight woman recovering from a broken marriage, Norma is baffled by Louises hedonism and appeal to men. The movie gives you some sense of the formidable erotic charge of Brooks as performer, but gets a bit lost when Norma uses her time in NYC to research her own family background.

Finally, at the suggestion of many readers, this column continues with a Stay-at-home-period daily-streaming pick for the next while. Todays pick is On Becoming a God in Central Florida (Crave). It has an emphatically tough, rounded woman in the central role, with Kirsten Dunst astounding as Krystal Stubbs, a struggling mother, former pageant queen and wife to insurance salesman Travis (Alexander Skarsgard, unrecognizable from his role in Big Little Lies). The couple are at the bottom, barely making ends meet. Then things get worse. Its about many things, but the Showtime-made, piquantly sour comedy is mainly about American dreams, fallacies and deceit, both personal and societal. It is also terrifically entertaining, twisted and, at times, moving.

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Ozark, back on Netflix, is better but still messy and addictive - The Globe and Mail

Abel Tesfaye of Toronto, known to many as Grammy-award-winning artist, The Weeknd, released his fourth album, After Hours, on Friday, almost four years since his last full-length album, Starboy.

In the four years since Starboy, he released a small EP titled My Dear Melancholy, and was featured on many high-profile projects including the Kendrick Lamar-curated Black Panther soundtrack album. The Weeknd also made his acting debut, playing a fictional version of himself in the critically-acclaimed film Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler in late 2019.

The Weeknd began teasing the album with the two singles, Heartless and Blinding Lights, in Nov. 2019. Finally, in February The Weeknd announced the album and released the title track After Hours.

A bulk of the production was handled by some of The Weeknds usual partners: Illangelo, Metro Boomin and renowned pop music producer Max Martin, who worked with The Weeknd previously on the chart-topping song, Cant Feel My Face, in 2015.

The album does not boast any features, but there are two notable guests appearing as producers and writers: Kevin Parker, known as Tame Impala, and Daniel Lopatin, known as Oneohtrix Point Never, who also composed the score for Uncut Gems.

The album flirts with The Weeknds usual subjects of drug use, hedonism and lust; similarly, the album continues to explore his dark, mysterious style of alternative pop/R&B. In After Hours, The Weeknd added elements to his repertoire, specifically the 1980s influence that controls the album.

These 80s tropes come in the way of retro synths and glamorous build-ups. For example, In Your Eyes, features a horn section with trumpets and saxophones thats begging to be the theme of an 80s film. Even songs that do not directly feature these elements feel like they come from the Blade Runner soundtrack because of the dark, atmospheric and warped synths that add a new mysteriousness to The Weeknds vocals.

The album is paced beautifully, and with the added context one might discover a newfound love for the singles released previously. After Hours, parallels his diminishing mental state after a breakup, where The Weeknd originally seems apologetic then quickly becomes arrogant with his own self-pity.

One of the album highlights, Scared to Live, a smooth ballad in which Tesfaye encourages his ex-lover to move on, does a marvelous job of capturing the guilt of ending a relationship.

On Faith, The Weeknd faces his actions and spirals further into trouble while using drugs to artificially fill a void that the relationship left. The song ends with the line, I ended up in the back of a flashing car.

The ideas and concepts are capped off by the penultimate and title track, After Hours: a progressive track that bounces between an R&B ballad and a garage-house apology where The Weeknds love for the fast-life fades away to reveal sadness and vulnerability.

Fans of The Weeknd that are looking for songs about wild nights and toxic relationships no longer have to wait. Despite the lack of diverse content in Tesfayes catalog, fans should appreciate that After Hours is a complete and thorough project that satisfies from start to end, and puts some of his past writing to shame.

You can find love, fear, friends, enemies, violence, dancing, sex, demons, angels, loneliness and togetherness all in the After Hours of the night, said The Weeknd to Apple Music.

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The Weeknd's 'After Hours' lands at No.1 on Billboard 200 - The Connection

Sitcoms dont come much gentler than Friday Night Dinner (Channel 4), Robert Poppers slight send-up of the Jewish weekly family meal. Now in its sixth series, it is a sweet thing, starring Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal as Adam and Jonny Goodman, the two sons of Jackie (Tamsin Greig) and Martin (Paul Ritter). In each half-hour edition, the family assemble in the suburbs and something happens to derail the meal. Sometimes its a relative, often its their creepy neighbour Jim (Mark Heap). It is an old-fashioned kind of programme, with jokes stuffed in cheek by jowl at the expense of detailed characterisation. This isnt meant to be a diss. Or not purely a diss. At its best Friday Night Dinner fits in the great British tradition of light entertainment. Not everything has to be True Detective.

In fact, in light of current news, the series feels remarkably close to the bone. The series central joke is that the whole family attends this dinner faithfully every week, regardless of how little they want to be there. Tradition and a sense of familial duty trumps Friday night hedonism. Viewers trapped at home in self-isolation, unable to see their families, might find this vision melancholic. Those trapped at home with their families might find it so triggering that it sends them reaching for the gin bottle, as Jackie does at the start of the first episode. Just as aeroplane disaster films were a sensitive subject after 9/11, perhaps the coronavirus will make viewers jumpy about one-room domestic dramas.

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For the first time, Adam and Jonny both have girlfriends at the same time, but they cant tell their mother for fear of how happy it will make her. Her joy, expressed as smothering, would be hell for them. They arrive to find their father in his caravan in the front garden. It is new, but only to him: it is falling apart, with a grim overflowing chemical toilet and cupboards falling off the walls. Martin wants to have family dinner in there, Jackie refuses to step foot inside. Meanwhile, the drains are overflowing. Jim turns up to announce he has named his new dog Milson, rather than Wilson, and then later to complain that his house has been flooded with human excrement, and he needs somewhere to go.

A predictable mix of slapstick, Dad jokes and literal toilet humour ensues, but the weakest link in Friday Night Dinner is Adam and Jonnys relationship. Birds punctilious nerd shtick was perfect for Will in The Inbetweeners, but his limitations as a performer are stark opposite Greig and Ritter, proper actors who deserve better scripts. He and Rosenthal are unconvincing as brothers, which wouldnt be as much of a problem were not so many of the gags constructed around their fraternal banter. Perhaps thats meant to be part of the joke, but if so, like many of the others, it falls flat. Friday Night Dinner has had an improbably good run but its time for everyone to grow up.

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Friday Night Dinner returns with a predictable mix of slapstick, Dad jokes and literal toilet humour review - The Independent

Cooped Up Indoors? These Songs Will Transport You to a Better Place

If youre like most people, these last few weeks of social distancing have taken a serious toll on your mental and physical health.

Your old routine going to the gym, seeing friends, even commuting to work every morning has been totally disrupted, replaced by a quasi house arrest in which youre not even supposed to entertain friends.

RELATED: How to Stay Sane When Youre Cooped Up Indoors

Unless you preferred to never leave your home before this crisis, chances are youre going a bit crazy. After all, there are only so many hours you can spend playing video games, streaming the latest movies and television shows, or doing home workouts in your underwear. At a certain point, you need something to look forward to, something exciting on the horizon to make the lonely present that much more bearable.

Thankfully, a group of hotels across the world (think Jamaica, Italy, Guatemala to Iceland) have curated playlists to help transport you, imaginatively, to their beautiful locales.

Playlist: Hedo Hustle(r) - Nude Edition

After weeks and weeks of social distancing, youre going to want to release all that pent up energy, and what better way to do it than with these high-energy, highly sensuous tunes. Youve heard of music you can dance to? This is music you can twerk to.

Playlist: Hedo Hustle(r) - Prude Edition

If you love pleasure but arent about pure hedonism, thats OK, too. This list of songs is still sensuous without all that sexuality.

Playlist: Grace Bay Beach Vibes

The Turks & Caicos boast some of the worlds best beaches and bluest waters, and this playlist will have you feeling the sun while hearing the sounds of those crystal clear lapping waves.

Playlist: The Land of Eternal Spring

If you think relaxation requires salt water beaches and ocean views, you havent visited Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Give this playlist a listen to get a sense of the sumptuousness resort vibe and the pristine beauty of its location.

Playlist: Tuscan Vibes by Il Salviatino

Tuscany is famous for its scenic beauty, but the guests of Il Salviatino, tasked with curating this playlist, didnt just evoke its majestic hills; they also captured the upbeat rhythms of nearby Firenze (Florence, for us English-speakers).

Playlist: Aruba Marriott Island Vibes

The temperature inside your apartment might rise when you bump these island jams, evocative of Arubas blue waters and golden sands. If paradise exists on earth, its probably a beach on Aruba just sayin.

Playlist: Barnsley Boot-Scootin Boogie

The South is famous for comfort food, but these tunes prove the cooking isnt the only warm and reassuring thing about Southern living. If youve never been to Georgia, youll still feel the heat with these feel-good country jams.

Playlist: Icelandic Eclectic

If sun and sand isnt your preference, you might prefer the crisp snow and endless skies of Iceland. This playlist, curated by musician and Hotel Ranga Social Media Marketing Manager Ingibjrg Fririksdttir, evokes Icelands ethereal beauty and the utter strangeness of its remote location. Enjoy!

Playlist: Caliente Caribe

The most underappreciated part of America isnt actually part of the mainland its beautiful Puerto Rico, where island beauty, Latin music and the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan have been beguiling visitors for decades. You might not be able to fly there tomorrow, but this playlist will transport you there all the same.

Whether your dream vacation destination involves sunny beaches, mountains, sand, snow or the finest wines and liquors, these playlists will evoke the best of each place, offering you a little respite from the dreariness of the quarantine and an imaginative escape to paradise.

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Playlists Curated by Hotels and Resorts That Make You Feel a World Away - AskMen