I picked the first week of university term to visit Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven. Thousands of freshmen had just descended on Yale University, intent on whooping it up. My heart sank when I saw the queue of a hundred Ivy League students outside Frank Pepe’s; it sank even further when I realised this place did such a good takeaway trade, there’s even a parking attendant to make sure customers don’t get ticketed. But I’d come this far, and I was damned if a frat party was going to stop me getting to the truth. An hour later, and we were inside, past the searing heat of the ovens, into the booth seating, with a huge jug of Samuel Smith’s ale on the table. I liked it immediately.
Pizza may have originated in Naples, but the New Englanders have made it their own and re-exported it around the world. Frank Pepe’s sells the expected tomato and mozzarella toppings, but the the white clam pizza is unique to New England: no tomato, just a brush of oil and local clams, seasoned, on a very thin, slightly elastic, very flavourful base with no sign of sogginess: frankly, a perfect 10 (where London’s best would score a mere 8). Though it pains me to say it, the Yankee was right: Frank Pepe’s serves the best pizza in the world (probably).
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Of course, working for a magazine dedicated to celebrating London means that most of my year is spent trying out new places in the capital, from the high-profile Modern European restaurants that arrive amid a media fanfare to great neighbourhood joints that I track down. It’s finding the new, the exciting, the unexpected that makes my job such a pleasure; to discover people of real talent at the height of their powers, content to make the best pâtisserie, the perfect cappuccino or the service that customers remember for a lifetime.
It’s always great to find small businesses that have built up slowly, driven by a genuine desire to make customers happy and also showcase excellent artisanal products. The gentle enthusiasm of Timothy d’Offay of Postcard Teas belies his time spent in the Far East, studying both the cultures and the teas: he is the connoisseur who is happy to chat and, of course, make tea for visitors to his sweet little tea room. It is these real enthusiasts, the people of vision who often create the most enjoyable eating and drinking experiences. Likewise Hawksmoor is a quirky place, an undistinguished premises in Spitalfields that is mostly a capable steakhouse, but where the real action is behind the bar. Manager Nick Strangeway is a renowned cocktail enthusiast who has put together a partly historical, partly modern cocktail, all sensational list that will surprise even the most seasoned barflys.
There’s been a spate of wine bars opening this year, but The Ambassador in Clerkenwell stands out. Though it downplays the wine and emphasises the restaurant-quality food, it still has many good value, interesting wines by the glass, from Alsatian sylvaner to a South African chenin blanc. Big brands and complacent choices are noticeably absent. It’s a list that should thrill both wine enthusiasts and people simply looking for a decent glass of wine – and chef Toby Jilsmark’s cooking is the perfect complement.
I don’t always hear about great places as soon at they open – sometimes it takes me months to find them, and so it was with the chance discovery of The Table. Originally the lunchtime works canteen of architects Allies and Morrison in Southwark, it is also open to the public, who appreciate not only the sleek design but also the dishes, most of which are freshly made on the premises. Their Cuban sub – slow-roasted marinated pork topped with mortadella, pickles and roast pepper aioli – became a lunchtime legend, and The Table was a deserving winner of the 2006 Time Out Eating & Drinking Award for Best Cheap Eats.
