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  Jet Set Gazette

Review: Elistano

2/19/2013

 
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Every Friday evening I am in no mood to cook. Exhausted, ravenous and ready to let off some steam, I was delighted to find an elegantly simple Italian restaurant hidden behind the noise and bustle King’s Rd on Elystan St – Elistano. Escaping from the harsh winds of the exterior we step into the warmly quiet yet open confines just perfect for a quiet and relaxed dinner without the hassle of other London hotspots on a Friday evening. Even more warm was the smiling service that greeted us and took our coats away while we sipped on still water and pondered over the menu, taking in the authentic Italian delicacies that their new chef, Daniel Urbani, promised to deliver.

We are recommended an excellent bottle of Sangiovese Vigna 2010 (£22.75), an Italian red wine full bodied enough to linger on your palate but light enough to enjoy alone and with the fish choice that I was opting for as my main course. S chooses the Bruschetta with Goats Cheese (£6.95), while I’m informed that the Soup of the Day is Minestrone (£5.95), a perfect Italian classic for the cold winter’s day. My soup is absolute perfection, steaming hot, and accompanied by two delightfully big crisp croutons delicately flavoured with hints of cheese that balance out the lightness of the vegetables in the soup. I watch S cut his bruschetta, the goats cheese oozing onto the plate, tempting me as each melted strand clings to the plate, but knowing I have two more courses to go, I am content at sipping my beautiful wine, which is expertly topped up with attentive service so that the glass is never half full.

Our mains arrive very quickly after this so that we’re not left hanging and as S embarks on his examination of the medium rare steak with a dainty pot of mushroom sauce on the side (£19.95), he informs me that it’s cooked exactly to his liking. As a connoisseur of well-prepared meat, that is a most welcome compliment from him. My pan-fried fillet of sea bass comes (£15.95) with a slice of lemon and sprinkling of black pepper, clean, fresh and light. Although the side of hand cooked chips must also have been simultaneously crisp and soft; we both opt for steamed spinach (£3.95) as our side dishes, which arrive as a big healthy green portion of nature on, separate plates, reeking of class.

Happily content, we are faced with the dessert menu. S immediately spots the uniqueness that leaps out from the paper: Chocolate Brick (£5.95). Bravely he takes the plunge while I am faced with a towering scoop of Mango and Lemon sorbet (£5.95). Sticky and soft spoonfuls of icy wonder that wake up my tastebuds on a paradoxical journey of sweet and sour. “What is the brick?” I ask S tentatively, it looks like a brick of chocolate sprinkled with white polka dots. S informs me that it’s softer than a brick of chocolate but harder than a brownie, another ambiguous discovery that oozes chocolate biscuit, cake and brownie.
Our eyes light up as the charming waiter brings over a shot of Limoncello, the perfect tang of refreshing alcohol to dim the sweetness while leaving us wanting more. Yes we want more of this hidden gem of a restaurant behind the usual overcrowded main street haunts. I dare you – search it out; I assure you – you’ll definitely want more.

Dinner for two with wine, excluding service £94.85
12.5% optional service charge


Elistano
25-27 Elystan Street
Chelsea Green
SW3 3NT
www.elistano.com

My New Year's addiction: Personal One 2 One Trainer

1/15/2013

 
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It’s that time of year again when that awful cliché ‘New Year, New You’ stares at you like the eyes of divinity from all surfaces of advertising. Part of this always involves some form of fitness overdrive, Special K discounts and ‘3 for 2’s on Marks and Spencer ‘Count on Us’ ready meals, if you’re willing to overlook the irony of eating microwaved food for health purposes. 

January is a fairly dismal month – savings ravaged from Christmas, no more sparkly decorations enveloping the streets, it’s cold and dark with less alcohol to provide that inner warmth and the last thing you need is an overcrowded gym with newcomers squabbling with the regulars over ‘your’ bike in the spin class. An obvious solution? A personal trainer.

Now I don’t do New Year resolutions and my expressions of adoration are
not the early motivations of 2013 producing disillusion. My experiences are
thorough, regularly tried and tested methods; and for everyone else now is more than a perfect time to start. My training with Sam Reeves at Personal 121 Trainer started back in June 2012 when I was still recovering from the trauma of the threatened mobility resulting from revision and exams. He approached me as I puffed my way on the treadmill; and because I was euphoric for the start of the summer holidays and a lovely person who rarely said ‘no’, I agreed on that initial session. To be honest I was skeptical before that session – I was a regular exerciser and was part of that crowd who believed weights equaled Madonna biceps. However that first session really opened my eyes and pores. 

We did an hour of circuit training type exercises that worked the entire body and heart and even with years of cardio behind me, I was ready to collapse! Afterwards I agreed on a 10 session package with Sam which, if you know me, is a massive deal, as this meant I had to save on those new dresses. That bag! Less trips to The Botanist for drinks! I thought that maybe my insanity from exams were leaking into other aspects of my life.

I had two sessions per week with Sam, each session divided into lower body
and upper body with circuit training and boxing thrown in spontaneously. Sam
mixed up the sessions each week which meant I was never bored of doing the
same exercise as I had been before when I was training on my own, and contrary to my beliefs, working with weights did not see me blossoming into the next incredible Hulk. Importantly however, Sam’s personality as a personal trainer was legendary. Gentle while motivating, attentive and so funny I forgot I was undergoing physical torture. Exaggerating I am not when I say I looked forward to my sessions; I even refused offers of date nights when I was booked in the next morning. Within a time period that felt like a blink, Sam was saying I had two sessions of my package left, with a blink I renewed. I could see my core strength increasing, I was no longer collapsing flat on my face doing push ups, and when university started again, I fitted the sessions in when I could, jetting down to London with dedication. I was shocked when I even found myself in the gym, ‘merry’ after a few cocktails. Of course that time I was gently sent back on my way home.

Of course it’s not all jolly. I have movement problems for days after a session on legs and am misconstrued as a moody female with hormonal problems after an abs session, laughing and scowling from the consequential pain at the same time, but I welcome this as positive pain. As I am made to do walking lunges there is a sign on the gym wall that always stares back at me: “ I Love My Personal Trainer; I Hate My Personal Trainer; I Love My Personal Trainer; I Hate My Personal Trainer”. 

Although those many Louboutins I could buy instead disagree wholeheartedly; I recommend the addiction to personal training.

Personal 121 Trainer provides individual and group fitness training with top
quality instructors in homes, gyms and local parks across London and the UK.
With training and packages geared to suit each individual’s goals and desires,
wherever you are, Personal 121 Trainer is perfect for that Jet Setting lifestyle!

www.personal121trainer.co.uk
@p121trainer

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Maristella Lee is a student at Cambridge University. She enjoys escaping reality through literature, running, ballet and a cocktail at a nice bar near her home in Chelsea.

All About Bond

11/21/2012

 
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It was a rather wintery September evening and I was thinking Bond. Yes, James Bond. I had been lucky enough to be invited to the private viewing of Terry O’Neill’s 50 Years of James Bond photography exhibition at Proud Chelsea. No one knew the British Secret Service Agent as well as O’Neill, the iconic photographer who has captured Bond in every guide throughout the years, from Sean Connery to the man of the moment, Daniel Craig.

Of course, given that Ian Fleming’s Bond did live in a flat just off the King’s Road, it was all too appropriate that Proud Chelsea was the location for such an exhibition, attended by the Terry O’Neill himself on that evening. We were greeted upon entrance with different choices of beverage – I of course chose the classic Vodka Martini, made with Chase Vodka, which sponsored the evening, shaken not stirred with the perfect tartness of an olive. My companion, fearing the stronger drink, reached for the Gin and Elderflower cocktail, while waitresses continually whizzed past carrying variously shaped, colourful canapés on large trays. I couldn’t resist a lobster caviar cone and bite sized morsels of sushi, but had to force myself away from the rare beef croutons and brie oozing from bruschetta to focus on the most important objects of attention: the photographs themselves.

The exhibition consisted of 37 photos in total, all beautifully presented and composed, with some of the highlights being O’Neill’s work from Diamonds are Forever with Connery; shot in Las Vegas and invoking his renowned, enduring charisma. O’Neill’s photographs perfectly encapsulated what it means to be Bond, both on and off the screen. Meanwhile, the Bond girls, Jane Seymour, Ursula Andress, Honor Blackman and their intimate portraits provide the sultry provocativeness essential to James Bond. With limited edition prints of all the work in the Proud Gallery on sale throughout the exhibition, no serious 007 fan can afford to miss this exhibit which anticipates the release of Skyfall in November.

Clutching a goody bag each and having munched my way through the caviar and sipped maybe one too many shaken martinis, we decided to head on towards Brompton Road to continue our night. We perched ourselves al Fresco, able to courageously face the cold 007 style with the martinis insulating our stomach, and decided on two rather expertly made Expresso Martinis. Conceived in 1972, La Brasserie is a little bit of Paris in the heat of South Kensington, showcasing all day dining and drinking in that rarely breached heaven between restaurant and café. Although unfortunately we did not sample the cuisine, the delightful French menu alongside raving reviews definitely ensure we will go back rather too soon to try it out for ourselves, not to mention exploring further the rather lengthy list of cocktails. On this occasion, service was impeccable at a rather late hour and the Expresso Martini topped with just enough froth and caffeine to send us safely back home. 

ALL ABOUT BOND: Photographs by Terry O’Neill was from 13 September until 4 November 2012 at Proud Chelsea, 161 King's Road, London, SW3 5XP. For more information on current/future exhibitions, visit www.proud.co.uk. LA BRASSERIE: 272 Brompton Road London SW3 2AW Tel: +44 207 581 3089 www.labrasserielondon.com


Maristella Lee

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