By Charlotte Cox
Art. Food. Art you can eat. And, of course, the art of drinking… What a weekend we have in prospect
ART: London Art Fair
Fancy yourself the next Saatchi (strictly in the art-collecting sense, you understand)? Or maybe you just have a patch of wall with mini masterpiece-sized hole that needs filling? Then step this way, to the 28th edition of the UK’s premier contemporary art fair. Packing Islington’s Business Design Centre with pieces from 126 galleries, here you can browse for the Next Big Thing or simply admire works by some of the biggest names in modern art. We suggest you start by checking out Joe Webb’s media mash-ups (pictured) and Kenneth Armitage’s surreal sculptures. We further suggest you wear a beret and a ‘hmmm, what IS the true nature of art?’ expression while you do it.
London Art Fair, 20-24 Jan; from £15 Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street N1 0QH
POP-UP: Cat’s Arabian Nights
Middle Eastern food has been quite the big deal for some time now, thanks to big flavours, bold textures, and did someone say ‘Ottolenghi’…? But here comes an exciting new take on the cuisine, courtesy of one Cat Ashton, head chef at Paradise by Way of Kensal Green. Which, for one night only, should be more accurately renamed ‘Paradise by Way of Istanbul, Momo’s and Petersham Nurseries’. Because these are the places Cat picked up her love of Arabic food and inventive way with seasonal produce – which come together to inspire this one-off, five-course menu. Trust us: you’re going to want to try it.
28 Jan; £40 Paradise by Way of Kensal Green, 19 Kilburn Lane, Kensal Green W10 4AE
FILM: The Big Short
A film about banking doesn’t SOUND like a must-see. But a film about banking that turns the 2008 economic crash into laugh-out-loud comedy, while exposing the dark heart of the global financial system? A film about banking that has gained rave reviews and five Oscar nominations? And – crucially – a film about banking that stars (wait for it) Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and Christian Bale? NOW you’re talking. We’d see a film about fly fishing if it starred Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and Christian Bale…
Out Friday, cinemas nationwide
NIGHTLIFE: Ruby’s Bar & Lounge
We love Dalston bar Ruby's. We love the laid-back, retro interiors, the well-made cocktails and the speakeasy vibe. But what we don't love is that it's so tiny, and so popular, that nipping in for a drink without a booking is about as likely as rocking up at Chiltern Firehouse for an impromptu snack. Ie: not likely, not likely at all. So imagine our delight to learn that right next door, they've now opened Ruby's Bar & Lounge – offering all the good bits of the original, only three times the size and with an extensive craft beer menu, food by Hanoi Kitchen, plus a roster of live entertainment. Goes to show, sometimes more really is more.
Ruby’s Bar & Lounge, 76 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston N16 7XB
FOOD: Macaroon Art Masterclass
‘Don’t play with your food’ – your mum. ‘No go on, do’ – us. Because this Sunday, pop-up supremos Christabel’s are turning a secret north London location into a veritable gallery of gooey, glittery macaroons, which you can pretty up at will. With edible paint. While drinking prosecco. And eating blue popcorn. Surrounded by golden pineapples and bejewelled watermelons… We feel a seminal moment in the Macaronist art movement coming on.
24 Jan; £35 Secret N1 location
DRINK: Cocktail Trading Co Brick Lane
If you’ve attempted dry January, you may well be a) realising that life without cocktails is pretty bleak and b) be ready to fall off the wagon. But why merely fall off the wagon when you can do a backflip off it? Here to assist is the new flagship from the CTC crew, bringing their weird, wonderful and marvellously potent brand of mixology to the East End for the first time. German whisky and cola liqueur? Hell yes. Buchi leaf gin from the 1800s? But of course. Mezcal, vermouth and ‘mixologist’s tears’? Um, we think so… To try these and more creative concotions, head down to Brick Lane. Because cocktail-soaked is the new dry, don’t you know. Opens 22 Jan Cocktail Trading Co Brick Lane, 68 Bethnal Green Road EC1 6GQ
EVENT: Bourne & Hollingsworth Burns Night Party
Bagpipes! Banquets! Bottles and bottles of whisky! And, er, 18th century Scotch poetry (maybe). They all await you at B&H’s celebration of auld Rabbie Burns – which takes marking the birth date of Scotland’s most famous poet to a sophisticated new level. We’re talking a lavish five-course supper created by chef Adam Gray, plus whisky tastings, whisky cocktails, whisky on the rocks… If you’re sensing a theme, you’d be right. But believe us, it will all help with the traditional ceilidh dancing you’re in for as the evening goes on. Tartan ensemble recommended.
25 Jan; from £20 Bourne & Hollingsworth, 42 Northampton Rd, Farringdon, EC1R 0HU
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