In my years of coffee drinking, it is rare that I come across a wholly new espresso drink, however when I heard of a flat white about a year ago, I was intrigued. A flat white is like a latte, however made with two shots and “velvety” milk that is prepared with a micro-foaming technique. The flat white hails from New Zealand, but it has made quite the impression in London, where it is on almost every coffee shop menu, and has even infiltrated Starbucks. We also noticed a smattering of cafes billed as “New Zealand-style.”
I decided to go to the pioneer of flat white coffee while in London, the aptly named Flat White cafe in Soho (17 Berwick St, London W1F 0PT). The menu is very simple, consisting of only a few coffee drinks and a pastry or two with a special focus on the eponymous drink. There were expats behind the counter and filling the shop, one particularly pleased grandmum expressed her pleasure at being able to get a proper flat white. The cafe is quite small, and many just pop in for a flat white to-go cup. I placed my order and waited at a small table inside.
After a bit of a wait, the cup was slammed down on my table by a brusque barista. With some expert latte art on top, it looked the part. The flat white was quite good, stronger and smaller than a typical latte. True to advertising, it was topped with particularly “velvety” and smooth milk as opposed to the stiffer foam on a cappuccino. I could definitely tell the difference, though I don’t think it will change my routines. So there you have it – the full flat white experience from the original London pioneers. Maybe this drink will cross the Atlantic (or Pacific) to reach the US soon.
Many visitors to London, so we are told, cap their trip with a leisurely boat ride along the Thames – a journey which, surely, will take you to some fine culinary destinations. But – and this knowledge is thanks to a trip from our well-traveled friend Robin – London also possesses a series of small navigable canals in the central and northern parts of the city. You can ride, as we did, a British longboat from the back of Paddington Station to the Camden Lock, a leisurely ride through London’s “
Yesterday we covered an emblematic English dessert, the 
When we were in London this past month, we were absolutely blown away by the huge amount of international cuisines available (even compared to our last visit 10+ years ago). However, we wanted to give proper attention to English classics including our favorite category of food – sweets. Now, we are no strangers to English candy, but we had not ventured far into the world of desserts, or as they are called locally – puddings. While in London, I popped into a bakery that specializes in English treats to brush up on my British baking knowledge: 
Today is 
We have eaten a lot of Lebanese street food, but Egyptian street food is something new to us. The most emblematic street food in Egypt is koshary/koshari, a mix of pasta and grains topped with chickpeas, a spicy tomato sauce and caramelized onions. Koshari Street (56 St Martin’s Ln, London WC2N 4EA) does a modern fast casual take on the Egyptian dish, offering three sizes of koshari in take away cups.
We write a lot about food on this blog, but we don’t often touch on the design experience related to dining. When it comes down to it – there is a lot of design involved in every step of the eating experience – from the restaurant/kitchen, the table setting, right down to the shape of a teacup. Fast Company has an interesting piece by John Brownlee about what role
We are obsessed with old school Italian groceries, and we absolutely pine for an offshoot of our gold standard, Tenuta’s to open in Chicago. Laurenzo’s (16445 W Dixie Hwy, North Miami Beach, FL 33160) is Miami’s answer to Tenuta’s, an old-school 1960s era supermarket with a little restaurant inside and a prodigious selection of olive oil and cheese. We were on our way to Hollywood beach for the day, so we decided we needed to pack a perfect picnic. Fortunately, Laurenzo’s had everything that we needed. We wandered the aisles, spending some extra time in front of the cheese counter, where we spied imported mozzarella and provolone. The baked goods selection was also pretty impressive, with a rainbow selection of Italian cookies and house-made cannoli. We could have piled up a basket or two of food, but we tried to keep our appetites in check. Check out the photos below of our wanderings through the store (and of course, we’ll definitely be back next time we end up in Miami). We ended up buying some crostini, buffalo mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and prosciutto. These are our typical picnic fixin’s, but not typical beach food. We still think it pairs pretty well with the sun and sand!
Eating The World 