|
|
|
|
|
BEAUTIFUL DEATH
You're on a romantic walk, when your date veers off to retrieve a robin from the road — not a red breast that's fighting for its life — no, this particular bird has very much kicked the bucket. Introducing the elegant and beautifully macabre jewellery making world of Kate Gilliland. Immortalising foxes' molars, whole crabs and tiny spines found by her or by her nature loving friends from across the shores, she uses lost wax casting to create pieces ranging in price from £25, rising to around £200. The claws (pictured) were cast using oxidised silver and belonged to a female blackbird, found serenely still on a pavement in Leicester. Less serene was the postman who had to deliver a (damp) whole frog through Kate's letterbox on another occasion.
|
|
GALICIAN GOODNESS
Despite the rising trend toward more mature beef, the majority eaten in the UK comes from cattle no older than 30 months. Find out the error of our nation's ways in the most practical sense, with the undisputed heavy weights of the steak world, Fiesta Del Asado, who will be delivering up cuts of Galician Blond that are 18 years old, and Basque dairy stock that are around 14. Increasingly favoured by top chefs, it's the deep maroon colouring, complex flavours and beautiful, yellowy marbling that the more mature ruminants have over their younger competition. Dinner is served on Tuesday 13 September from 5.30pm onwards and comprises four courses for £45, including empanadas and carpaccio (beef of course) prior to the main event. Book
|
|
|
FILM PICK: SHADOW WORLD
Showing in the social justice-oriented Screening Rights festival, this excellent documentary is bracing stuff. You probably already sense that the international arms trade isn’t exactly sustained by rainbows and puppy dog tails, but it’s still galling to see its links to both those in government in the West and those who’ve recently retired from it. Many Bush-era officials, whose brass neck is extraordinary, get both barrels (pun tasteless, but intended), while Ronnie Reagan (pictured, worryingly) also comes under fire (tasteless, intended). Avoiding the leftie tubthumping that can sometimes mar docs like these, this is instead a calm and rational presentation of a deeply moral case, with cause and effect methodically presented. Just to make it even more worth your while, there’s a Q&A with the director, the writer and with Clare Short (who's in the doc) after this screening, at the mac, September 16. The festival runs Sept 15 to 18 across five venues. Buy a festival pass (£33), or seats at individual screenings (£7), with a couple of freebies in the programme. More
|
|
|
Venue: Annexe, 220 Corporation Street, B4 6QB; website
Choice: Black truffle & chicken velouté (3 courses is £39) Chooser: Waiter
Early in the week atmosphere comes guaranteed at but a fistful of Brum's bistros. Dining with Annexe early on a Tuesday evening, in the middle of holiday season, might have sounded like a toughie, and yet the team delivered that hard to reach intangible around buzziness, without a hint of the frenetic. The menu has changed entirely since our last visit, with a set price three or five courses full of combinations that felt like they had been designed for us — deliberations, in concert with the kitchen, hit the half hour mark before our order was placed. And though, taken together, it felt like the dishes could have done with a bit more roughage and range to break through a pretty uniform richness, on their own, there were some podium finishes. The black truffle in chicken velouté was the out and out victor of the evening, with a depth of flavour so gratifying it induced table-wide food envy and an immediate decision that a repeat visit would be occurring. Ideal for small groups and non-boring dates, all the wine matches we were sampled were très bon. Menu
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
