These green olives have been allowed to forment before being soaked in brine, rinsed, and covered with freshly cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.

I had these razor clams a few months back at Recette in the West Village (the old Jarnac spot). They were deep fried and served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Like really fancy clam strips.

Thick homemade noodles with a gamey hare sauce at La Campana in Rome.

Braised, fried, or sauteed with entrails are just a few ways to enjoy Roman artichokes. Find out everything you need to know about enjoying Rome’s noble thistle in my post on the NY Times In Transit Blog here.

Who would have thought that octopus, beans, and ricotta cheese could harmonize so perfectly. Throwing out the old Italian rule never to mix seafood and cheese, Chef Francesco Mazzei of L’Anima in London combines these three ingredients in an inspired dish.

I have just returned from London where I shamelessly gorged myself on all sorts of delicious and magical foods. I certainly didn’t achieve all of my culinary goals, but I did put a good dent into my interminable list of places to eat before I die (admittedly some dramatic wording but you should see my cholesterol levels–I’m just being a realist). Here are some places I enjoyed in London:

L’Anima: Amazing creative Italian in the heart of the City.

Galvin La Chapelle: Gorgeous French cuisine in Spitalfields.

Tayyabs: Great Pakistani in East London.

The Greenwich Union: excellent pub food, London’s best burger, and delicious beers.

The Hawksmoor: Famous Spitalfields steakhouse that should get equal praise for its meat and its starters like Tamworth belly ribs and Jerusalem artichoke salad.

Monmouth Coffee: Stellar coffee and rich, buttery pastries in Borough Market.

Canteen: great British food in several central locations.

Leila’s Shop: Damn good breakfasts in Shoreditch.

Antepliler: Good lahmacun and amazing künefe in Green Lanes.

Barrafina: Superb Soho tapas joint.

The Wells: A delightful gastropub in Hampstead.

Franco Manca: Neapolitan Pizza in the Brixton Market. Yeah, it’s not Naples, but I’ll take it.

Meze Mangal: London’s best lahmacun in Stoke Newington.

Technically called “New Tayyabs”, you can call this famous (and justifiably so) Pakistani restaurant in East London just plain Tayyabs. The “new” bit refers to its expansion from its original 1974 dimensions. Regardless of the added space, Tayyabs is still known for its excellent, moderately priced food–and its queues. Patient diners line up day and night for their flakey vegetable samosas, perfectly seasoned grilled meats and intensely flavorful chicken dishes. I went Monday at 3pm after the lunch rush was over, expecting things to be slow. Instead, the place was still busy with groups of families and friends sharing a plate of lamb ribs, take out customers wandering in and out of the dining room, servers delivering sizzling plates of kebabs to diners. Fortunately I got a table right away. It was all the fun of Tayyabs without the interminable line. The joy was doubled by the extra spicy chicken tikka.

Tayyabs
83-89 Fieldgate St.
London E1 1JU

Yesterday I indulged in another stellar fish and chips plate at the Greenwich Union. It was so crispy, meaty and juicy. I’m pretty sure this is what the Food Standards Agency had in mind when they decided to crackdownon the UK’s most famous dish.

My first formal introduction to Roero Arneis was at Cantina Vietti in the summer of 2006. I was in the Langhe region of Piedmont researching food and wine and I arranged a visit to the cantina in Castiglione Falletto. When we arrived, a small and rustic tasting room was set up just for us. There were 8 bottles on the table-7 reds and Roero Arneis. We started with Roero and I was struck by its crisp acidity and rich bouquet of grapefruit, melon, exotic fruit and floral notes. All the wines we tried that day were fabulous but it was Vietti’s Roero Arneis really stayed with me.

Roero Arneis is a white wine from Piedmont made from 100% Arneis grapes. Cultivated since the 15th century, this native fruit had nearly disappeared from the region until Cantina Vietti began experimenting with it in the late 1960s, leading to a revival that culminated a few years back when Roero Arneis was given a DOCG appellation. Due to its relative novelty and the sheer quantity of great wines that come from its corner of Piedmonte—Barolo, Barbaresco, 3 Barberas, 7 Dolcettos, Gavi, Asti Spumante, Moscato d’Asti, the list goes on and on—this stellar white seems to get lost in the shuffle and is not as widely known as it should be considering its quality, versatility, and complexity.

Its medium body, balance and acidity makes it rather versatile for pairings. Later in the trip, we would pair Arneis with vitello tonnato (chilled veal in tuna sauce), local salumi, steak tartar, tajarin al burro e salvia (homemade pasta in butter and sage sauce), and an unhealty amount of soft cheeses. Beyond these regional pairings, Arneis would complement fish or poultry and pastas with a butter or oil condiment. In fact, on tonight’s menu is a bottle of Roero with tortelli di zucca (fresh pasta stuffed with pumpkin) with butter and sage.

Yesterday I had one of the best lunches maybe in the history of mankind at Galvin La Chapelle. This converted Victorian school chapel next to Spitalfields Market in London serves impeccable French dishes like lasagne of Dorset crab in a velouté of chanterelles. Simultaneously light and rich, delicate and flavorful, this starter set our expectations soaring. The Galvin brothers then proceded to exceed them.