Something for the Weekend #9
We are turning our attention to our house in Piemonte, and is our son teething?
Hello there! Welcome to Something for the Weekend, a periodic newsletter named after an old British euphemism. Thank you to the 250+ subscribers to this newsletter. which grows every time someone reads, likes, comments and shares. Thank you for sharing and subscribing with others. Settle in and enjoy a little Something for the Weekend.
Where there’s muck, there’s brass.
We bought an old villa in Piemonte. And I mean old. 120 years old. The decision was made during COVID to find a home somewhere in Europe because the UK looked like a dumpster fire from afar and I was not moving back to Trinidad even if you paid me.
But then I changed jobs, along came Rufus and, like we’ve discussed before, “everybody has plans until they get hit for the first time”.
So the Italian villa—the former cooperative property that pressed grapes into wine for the local growers—remained untouched. Until now.
I am write from Monferrato as we meet with geometras, a uniquely Italian soul that’s a blend inspector, surveyor, general contractor and architect all in one.
Renovating this villa is like plunging your hand into a bucket of unspooled yarn while trying to find the beginning. But begin we must.
She will be spectacular when she is ‘complete’. Until then, it will be an enormous money suck but, possibly, one of the best decisions we could make.
We wandered the misty, hills streets of Vignale Monferatto two days ago with Rufus and my dad where my pathetic Italian cobbled through 668 days of Duolingo is put through its paces in Ristorante Trattoria Serenella, a time capsule deserving of a space in Piemonte’s Best Restaurants Guide.
That’s the long term. Right now, I am in the final corners of a few projects both at work and personal. Christmas is upon us, which means this will quickly become a reflection on the best of 2024. If you have any advice on how to best form these, let me know. Until then, arrivederci.
(Oh! I am on BlueSky too now! Come say hi!)
Eating.
Each month I sigh and tell myself I have not been out that much. Then I check my phone and—oh!—not true. Here’s what’s worth knowing:
Impromptu Revelry date night with Mrs EatGoSee tucking into their Indian tapas take. Read: this is marketing for small dishes at low prices. I like it, Mrs EatGoSee is more modest in her feedback mostly due to decor, the floor plan and an overly complicated cocktail menu. The chicken tikka dim sum, onion samosa and wine by the glass stood out for me.
El Patron is a coffee shop-meet-trader in Dubai South Business Park. You would only be in this area for meetings, but their cold brew and brownies are worth taking to go. It might become a new favourite place for me to work. If you see me, leave me be.
Amritsr is a quiet Indian restaurant in JLT that’s caught my eye. A ridiculous comment seeing as my office faces it and I’ve stared at it for nearly three years. Pallavi Sangtani wisely advised to order the chole bhatura with its almost creamy texture to the channa and these enormous bhatura sheets like deflated footballs. I snuck two samosas too with a mint coriander that I might wear as a daytime fragrance. It may enter the Best JLT Restaurants Club.
Hoe Lee Kow, Korean restaurants owned by the famed Chef Reif Othman and source material for my recent insatiable desire for Korean food. Check out more in the Writing section below.
A month hardly goes by without the exceptionally generous TakaHisa team inviting me to one of their collaborations; this time again with SushiJin for their FOURTH collaboration. In case I needed any more temptation to sack it all in and just move to Japan.
The BIG one: FZN—perhaps one of the top three most anticipated meals for me this year. Björn Frantzén’s overt big swing at making a hat trick three Michelin stars. Check out more in the Writing section below.
It was my son’s first birthday this month, so the exceptional people at 21grams catered, which is apt given he is two parts goat’s cheese phyllo pie at any given time. 21grams is WITHOUT QUESTION one of Dubai’s Best Restaurants.
Sipping.
A child’s birthday party aside, this was a lean month for wine. Omar Shihab brought an interesting South African Carignan, Testalonga Baby Bandit Follow Your Dreams. FZN poured up an exceptional Russian River Pinot Noir from Kistler, a German Kabinett Riesling from Dönnhoff—a pour to which I am always light touch—and a bolshy “Art Series” Australian Chardonnay from Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River with plenty of body and lees work.
Last week, I found myself at an Italian wine tasting led by Gambero Rosso hosted in a billionaire’s mansion. Read that sentence back. It was a showcase event for wine collectors and Italophiles like myself. The food left something to be desired, the wine mostly delivered. The standout white wine was an expressive Sauvignon Blanc from Colterenzio Schreckbichi in my beloved Alto Adige. Best Red: Bertinga Volta Tuscan Merlot 2019 (unusual for me to like Merlot). And dessert? A Vin Santo di Carmingnon Riserva deliciously sweet with dried stone fruit.
Writing.
Another surprisingly productive month!
Vogue Arabia November 2024 edition is now on stands with an article from me about Dubai’s Speakeasy culture. Thank you to Michaela for making that happen, as well as Omar Shihab, Thomas Domingo and Dom Carella for their insights about Speakeasy Culture. This is my first Vogue byline and my first printed publication. Now available on newsstands.
FACT Magazines published my FZN review, a Nordic-Japanese lovefest at wallet-ripping prices, but I loved a lot of it. It fills in the gaps that its imitators cannot re-create. And yes, it’s clear there are imitators…
FZN is sweepingly elegant in an old-world, made-to-look-new sort of way. It is a lovely place to dress up, slink into the plush sofa of shocking teal and take the people you want to impress.
Catch a curation of my favourite dining rooms across the world; it’s not always about the food and, with these places, you need not eat at all.
Courtney Brandt, Pallavi Sangtani and I got the band back together to write about The Best Chefs Awards.
Hoe Lee Kow finds a new stride with me after weeks of obsessing over Korean food.
A sincere au revoir to one of Dubai’s finest chefs and he ships out from Ossiano, Atlantis the Palm.
Watching and listening.
Courtney Brandt and I will be on the Christmas special for the Chef JKP Podcast out just before Christmas. Expect chat about awards, the year that was, James’ rapture about being in the Michelin Guide and what we expect in 2025.
I re-listened to Kitchen Confidential twice this month and it’s solidified how much I miss Bourdain’s piercing clarity and casual irreverence. Listen on Audible.
I was SHOCKED when I read that Jay Rayner is moving to the FT in February next year after 25 years with The Observer. I was DELIGHTED to see that he will be joined by none other than the wonderful Marina O’Loughlin. Together with Tim Hayward—who followed me online this month and I picked myself up off the floor hours later—will make a formidable force in food writing. Possibly the greatest ever collection of food writers under one title?
The Diplomat should have more than six episodes this season. Seriously, you can’t leave me hanging!
Liam is a restaurant critic, food and travel writer based in the Middle East. He owns EatGoSee and contributes to other publications. You can follow Liam here on Substack, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky!
Congratulations on the Vogue article! I'll need to pick up my copy soon.