Latest news with #Michelin-recommended
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How to spend a weekend on the Isle of Wight
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Package all that's wonderful — and quite frankly quirky — about England, set it adrift in the English Channel, and you'll end up with the Isle of Wight. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, it's the UK's largest island and a microcosm of its heritage — all thatched cottages, centuries-old pubs and undulating landscapes. Some of the Victorian era's most influential figures came here to relax and be inspired, and while remnants of their time here remain, the island is hardly preserved in aspic. Today, award-winning distilleries, cool hotels and Michelin-recommended restaurants abound, along with a thriving festival scene. The only way there is by boat, so you're forced to slow down immediately, setting your watch to 'island time'. Make the most of its sunny disposition in summer or come during shoulder season for the walking festivals in May and October, when the beaches are quieter, too. Known to the ancient Romans as 'Vectis', the island appears in the 11th-century Domesday Book as the 'Isle of Wit' — a splendid moniker for a place Queen Victoria would later make her home. Her royal residence, Osborne House, was built in the style of an Italianate palazzo, and is full of 19th-century whimsy. Pay a visit to the Indian-style Durbar Room, an extravagant banqueting hall decorated with intricate plasterwork and pendant lamps. Actors frequently appear in role here, so you may well spot Victoria or Albert gliding down a quiet corridor. You might also spot a member of the island's thriving red squirrel population in the groves leading to Osborne's private beach. To improve your chances, spend a few hours at Parkhurst Forest, an ancient wildlife haven near Newport. Further west lie Yarmouth and the neighbouring village of Freshwater, where Alfred Lord Tennyson once said the air was worth 'sixpence a pint'. The poet laureate (1853-1892) spent many years at nearby Farringford House, a gothic manor surrounded by ornamental gardens. A keen walker, he was known for cutting a dash in his distinctive black cloak over the westerly downs, where you'll find hiking trails and a grand monument named in his honour. Otherwise, explore the historical and contemporary exhibitions on show at Dimbola Museum and Galleries — once home to pioneering Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. Along with Tennyson and Lewis Carroll, she was a member of 'The Freshwater Circle', a group of bohemian artists and writers who gathered in this coastal corner to discuss their work. West Wight, with its postcard-perfect Needles — a series of three soaring chalk stacks — is ideal for nature-lovers. Overlooking the pebble beach at Freshwater Bay, the newly renovated Albion Hotel has elegant rooms with sage-green interiors and Victorian-style furnishings. Call in for drinks at the nearby Travelling Tavern, a repurposed double-decker bus known for attracting a local crowd. Otherwise, stay in one of the three cosy rooms at family-run Bay Boutique Bed and Breakfast, popping down for their fabulous full English come morning. The Isle of Wight has a balmy microclimate with more hours of sunshine than the UK average, perfect for the island's growers. At The Garlic Farm, you can pick up deli items and try unusual dishes like chocolate and black garlic ice cream (it isn't as pungent as it sounds), watching as red squirrels nibble hazelnuts from feeder boxes. And on the outskirts of Ryde, there's the award-winning Mermaid Gin distillery, the product of which can be sampled at the adjoining Mermaid Bar. The distillery gets its citrus zest from Ventnor Botanic Garden, whose sunny location on the Undercliff allows fruits, flowers and herbs from across the globe to grow outdoors. Published in the June 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
National Geographic
2 days ago
- National Geographic
Queen Victoria loved this UK island—and so will you
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Package all that's wonderful — and quite frankly quirky — about England, set it adrift in the English Channel, and you'll end up with the Isle of Wight. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, it's the UK's largest island and a microcosm of its heritage — all thatched cottages, centuries-old pubs and undulating landscapes. Some of the Victorian era's most influential figures came here to relax and be inspired, and while remnants of their time here remain, the island is hardly preserved in aspic. Today, award-winning distilleries, cool hotels and Michelin-recommended restaurants abound, along with a thriving festival scene. The only way there is by boat, so you're forced to slow down immediately, setting your watch to 'island time'. Make the most of its sunny disposition in summer or come during shoulder season for the walking festivals in May and October, when the beaches are quieter, too. Actors frequently appear in role at the Osborne House, so you may well spot Victoria or Albert gliding down a quiet corridor. Photograph by Alamy Images, Chris Howes Where are the best places to discover the island's quirks? Known to the ancient Romans as 'Vectis', the island appears in the 11th-century Domesday Book as the 'Isle of Wit' — a splendid moniker for a place Queen Victoria would later make her home. Her royal residence, Osborne House, was built in the style of an Italianate palazzo, and is full of 19th-century whimsy. Pay a visit to the Indian-style Durbar Room, an extravagant banqueting hall decorated with intricate plasterwork and pendant lamps. Actors frequently appear in role here, so you may well spot Victoria or Albert gliding down a quiet corridor. You might also spot a member of the island's thriving red squirrel population in the groves leading to Osborne's private beach. To improve your chances, spend a few hours at Parkhurst Forest, an ancient wildlife haven near Newport. Further west lie Yarmouth and the neighbouring village of Freshwater, where Alfred Lord Tennyson once said the air was worth 'sixpence a pint'. The poet laureate (1853-1892) spent many years at nearby Farringford House, a gothic manor surrounded by ornamental gardens. A keen walker, he was known for cutting a dash in his distinctive black cloak over the westerly downs, where you'll find hiking trails and a grand monument named in his honour. Otherwise, explore the historical and contemporary exhibitions on show at Dimbola Museum and Galleries — once home to pioneering Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. Along with Tennyson and Lewis Carroll, she was a member of 'The Freshwater Circle', a group of bohemian artists and writers who gathered in this coastal corner to discuss their work. A selection of homemade chutneys and sauces stand on display at The Garlic Farm, where you can pick up groceries or try unusual dishes like chocolate and black garlic ice cream. Photograph by Alamy Images, Steven Hawkins Photography The Isle of Wight is home to around 3,000 red squirrels. Where should I stay on the island? West Wight, with its postcard-perfect Needles — a series of three soaring chalk stacks — is ideal for nature-lovers. Overlooking the pebble beach at Freshwater Bay, the newly renovated Albion Hotel has elegant rooms with sage-green interiors and Victorian-style furnishings. Call in for drinks at the nearby Travelling Tavern, a repurposed double-decker bus known for attracting a local crowd. Otherwise, stay in one of the three cosy rooms at family-run Bay Boutique Bed and Breakfast, popping down for their fabulous full English come morning. What about local produce? The Isle of Wight has a balmy microclimate with more hours of sunshine than the UK average, perfect for the island's growers. At The Garlic Farm, you can pick up deli items and try unusual dishes like chocolate and black garlic ice cream (it isn't as pungent as it sounds), watching as red squirrels nibble hazelnuts from feeder boxes. And on the outskirts of Ryde, there's the award-winning Mermaid Gin distillery, the product of which can be sampled at the adjoining Mermaid Bar. The distillery gets its citrus zest from Ventnor Botanic Garden, whose sunny location on the Undercliff allows fruits, flowers and herbs from across the globe to grow outdoors. Trains from London Waterloo run to Lymington in Hampshire, where you can catch the Wightlink ferry to Yarmouth. The rest of the island is easily accessed via Newport bus station. Alternatively, ferries depart from Portsmouth and Southampton to other ports. Stay at the Albion Hotel from £160 or The Bay Boutique Bed and Breakfast from £130, both B&B. This story was created with the help of Visit Isle of Wight and Wightlink. Published in the June 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK) To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
Axios
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Desert Island Dish with Austin's Susana Querejazu
As part of our running feature about Austin chefs' favorite meals, we recently caught up with Susana Querejazu, executive pastry chef at the Michelin-recommended Lutie's, located at the Commodore Perry Estate by 41st and Red River streets. The background: A native Austinite who attended Lamar Middle School and McCallum High School — her dad is from Bolivia, her mom from San Antonio — Querejazu has worked at some of the best restaurants in Austin and across the country. She met her husband, Bradley Nicholson — now the executive chef at Lutie's — in the kitchen at Enoteca Vespaio. She has worked at Uchi, Odd Duck and Barley Swine, as well as Quince Restaurant and the three-Michelin-starred Saison in San Francisco. The couple returned to Austin in 2020, just before the pandemic hit, to take the reins at the planned Lutie's. "It was a pile of rocks, but it had so much potential, so centered in the city, so close to UT." What we like: Querejazu's creations, characterized by technique and seasonal inspiration, include a watermelon soft serve, kouign amann ice cream and an Earl Grey almond cake. "Texas has amazing strawberries, blueberries, honey, yogurt, milk, sweet potatoes, citrus and pecans. I like to hold a spot for that in my menus," she says. This interview is edited for clarity. You're on a desert island. What's the one dish you'd like with you? "Two answers: The shiitake mushroom dumplings at Barley Swine. It's essentially a filled pasta dish — and at one point they were serving it with a soft scramble and candied nuts. ... The shiitake taste really sticks with you — it's a strong flavor with a creamy filling — really beautiful and a great consistency." "And the Italian sub at Home Slice. It's a fully loaded sandwich, and I love shrettuce so much. Flavors and consistency is the king, and I like the contrast of hot, cold and saucy." You're allowed to bring a dessert. "Just a freshly baked warm chocolate chip cookie. It's basic and easy to eat." Do you like to eat one with milk? "Usually no, but my son does. Maybe on a deserted island, I'm not worried about calories." Well, you can bring a libation on the island. What'll it be?
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Denver foodie: Michelin-recommended LoHi restaurant announces last day of service
DENVER (KDVR) — Another one of Denver's Michelin-recommended restaurants is closing its doors after just a few years in operation. Noisette Restaurant and Bakery, located on Navajo Street in Denver's Highland neighborhood, opened its doors in 2022 on the ground floor of the Lumina Apartment building. The restaurant announced on Instagram that its last service will be on Saturday, June 14. Breakfast Inn, a popular Denver restaurant, is closing after 50 years 'This has been an incredibly difficult decision, and one we did not make lightly,' Noisette posted. 'From the beginning, our goal was to bring a wonderful dining experience to Denver — one rooted in French tradition, warm hospitality, and a deep love of food. We are proud of what we built and profoundly grateful for the support, enthusiasm, and kindness we've received from all of you.' The Michelin guide describes the restaurant as 'sophisticated and spacious with a separate patisserie up front,' but said the meals made by Chefs Tim Lu and Lillian Cho, who were trained in New York restaurants, are 'precisely crafted dishes bound by tradition while reflecting a creative approach.' Recently, the restaurant participated in Mile High Asian Food Week, presenting a pre-fixed menu with seven courses showcasing upscale Korean dining, including homemade kimchi. 'Foie gras au torchon with a light coating of Björn's lavender honey and a Port reduction is served with a buttery brioche for a classic take,' the Michelin guide states. 'Next, a lush beef entrecôte enthralls with tender meat topped with petals of sweet roasted pearl onions and a Bordelaise sauce that offers indulgence in every last bite. End on a sweet note with tarte tropézienne aux fraises, a light-as-air brioche filled with diplomat cream and strawberry jam.' The guide also named Noisette's Tarte Tropézienne aux Fraises in its top three Michelin Guide inspectors' favorite desserts in Colorado. The restaurant cited economic reasons for the closure. 'Unfortunately, like many in our industry, we've faced ongoing challenges in the current economic climate that have made it unsustainable for us to continue,' the restaurant stated on Instagram. 'While we're sad to say goodbye, we are also filled with gratitude for the memories and moments we've shared with our guests and team.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Eater
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
A Tale of Three Dallas Tasting Menus at Michelin-Recognized Restaurants in DFW
A trio of Michelin-recommended Dallas restaurants — the Heritage Table in Frisco, Monarch, and Quarter Acre — launched tasting menus in 2025. Coincidence? Maybe not. Tasting menus have long been a staple at Michelin-starred restaurants, signifying a higher level of service, food curation, and creativity that seems to appeal to the secret Michelin inspectors who award its coveted stars. Fitting into the fine dining category is not a requirement, however. Michelin, the tire company and international dining guide publisher, remains notoriously mum about its rating process and contends that its awards are based only on food and not on service or decor. In Dallas, tasting menus have long been the playground of a certain kind of restaurant — an expensive one. Dean Fearing has served one at Fearing's in the Ritz-Carlton since it opened in 2007. The Mansion Restaurant, with its parade of well-known chefs, has long offered a tasting menu experience as well. Local in Deep Ellum was, for years, the only smaller, less pedigreed restaurant in town offering a tasting. But in the past few years, that has changed. A vegan tasting menu popped up at Maiden in Fort Worth, of all places. El Carlo Elegante created what it calls an 'experience menu' to highlight its best dishes. Rye in Lower Greenville launched an experimental tasting menu on which it somehow put kangaroo, buckle, and Trinidadian green curry together in one meal. Monarch, Quarter Acre, and the Heritage Table also threw their hats into the tasting menu ring. As D magazine dining critic Brian Reinhart wrote in a March 2025 column, tasting menus in DFW seem more popular than ever, and all wildly different. Diners and people in the restaurant industry were stunned, then, when Michelin only awarded a star to one restaurant in Dallas, Fort Worth, and the entire North Texas region: the omakase restaurant Tatsu. It led many commenters to examine why more places didn't measure up to its standards. The uptick in tasting menus now could be the Michelin boomerang effect, which has inspired some goal-driven chefs to go for a star. It could be an omakase effect, where owners are seeing seasonally shifting, chef-driven menus as their chance to take the reins and get diners to try things outside of their comfort zones. Or it could be a sign of changing appetites in Dallas diners, who may feel that a flat fee for a meal that says everything you need to know about the restaurant sounds just right. The last time a chef created a new genre of food in North Texas was probably in the 1980s, when Dean Fearing and Stephan Pyles became driving forces behind Southwestern cuisine. Chef Rich Vana at the Heritage Table in Frisco, Texas, decided to give coining a new genre of food a go when he curated a tasting menu around what he calls 'Blackland Prairie' cuisine — food from the Blackland Prairie of Texas, a strip that stretches down from North to Central Texas and is full of cropland and grazing land for animals. On Heritage's winter tasting menu from February 2025, Vana featured sourdough crackers and bread alongside butter infused with the extremely long green stems of the Greer Farms carrots and roasted garlic. (Two other butters feature beef tallow and salted sorghum with caramel.) Nearly every ingredient on the menu has a farm or ranch designation next to it: Diners know the red kuri squash in the soup served with Texas redfish comes from Comeback Creek Farm, the greens in another course come from Jubilant Fields, and the beets are from Stout Creek. The only things Vana doesn't source locally are onions and garlic, which do not grow abundantly in this region. 'What I want to do is take these nearby ingredients and apply some fundamental tenets,' Vana says. 'What are my farmers bringing me? How can I make it delicious now? And how do I make it delicious later?' Chef Rich Vana at the Heritage Table decided to give coining a new genre of food a go when he curated a tasting menu around what he calls 'Blackland Prairie' cuisine. For Vana, adding a tasting menu at the Heritage Table wasn't about appealing to Michelin, although it certainly couldn't hurt, he says. It was about sharpening his focus and further honing the type of food his restaurant has always served. 'What we wanted to do was figure out what it means to be 'Blackland Prairie cuisine,' and that name wasn't there when we started,' Vana says. The idea goes back to the restaurant's opening in 2017, when Vana wanted to create parameters around his menu. Sustainability is a priority for the restaurant, in which processes like pickling, fermenting, and using every part of the vegetable are vital. Sourcing local food was another hallmark. The fourth course — Windy Meadows duck pot pie served atop sweet potato mash with marinated chestnut mushrooms — represents what Vana wants to achieve: a dish that combines simple ingredients from a specific Texas region to add up to a complex, satisfying whole. The menu ends with some substantial proteins, including a pork chop from Knob Hill and a small wagyu strip from River Creek. Monarch, meanwhile, rolled out its new winter tasting menu in January 2025. Maple Hospitality Group's managing partner and chef Danny Grant and Monarch's executive chef Jason Rohan had their eye on a Michelin star this time around. 'Getting recommended last year gave us something to push toward,' Rohan says. Of the three tasting menus, Monarch subscribes to a more classical school of thought about food and service — and to that of chef Grant, the youngest chef to run a restaurant awarded two Michelin stars (at Chicago's now-closed French restaurant Ria, which was awarded stars in 2011 and 2012). Monarch's spring tasting menu follows a similar ethos, staying within traditional fine dining expectations, except for a few dishes that Rohan and the kitchen developed that color outside the lines. The first selection of bites feel emblematic of Grant's approach. Bruschetta gets topped with fava bean hummus and whipped feta that has a hint of Meyer lemon juice and zest. The idea originated when Monarch's pastry chef, Mariella Bueza, suggested making mini-briochettes with truffles baked inside. After Rohan tried to simplify the process, Bueza suggested baking the one-bite-sized toast with garlic butter. Rohan thought a single grilled lamb chop, which accompanies the bread, would pair well with fava beans as a Mediterranean-style combination. 'We make it with basil and olive oil, to keep in mind that we are an Italian restaurant, and add spinach to brighten it up, plus a little avocado to make it creamier,' Rohan says. The rest of the six-course meal veers toward classic choices — steak, branzino, scallops, foie gras, an on-menu rigatoni that Monarch diners know and love. Dishes are executed with precision and service is immaculate; its decor and sweeping views of Dallas from high in a Downtown skyscraper are predictably breathtaking. Other than a playful dessert called the Pearl (a Madagascar vanilla mousse, raspberry puree, and hazelnut sponge cake served atop a foam cloud that the diner cracks open), the food itself feels somewhat prescriptive. This is a tasting menu informed by an old-school set of rules that dictate what fine dining is, and it doesn't quite fit the mold-breaking format that many chefs in DFW are playing into. Down at Quarter Acre, chef Toby Archibald uses his new tasting menu to explore his personal history, touching on Texas favorites while showcasing family recipes and ingredients he grew up eating in New Zealand and the Asian influences on the cuisines there. According to Archibald, the team had already planned to launch a tasting menu in 2025, well before the restaurant landed a Michelin guide designation, but it took longer than he expected. 'Year one, opening the restaurant, was manic,' he says. 'Year two was solidifying and making sure we came up for a breather, to be honest. The goal for year three was to get better... This gives longtime guests something to be excited about. It is the next evolution.' The Quarter Acre tasting is a mix of long-running menu items, dishes Archibald is developing to serve as daily specials, and dishes that let him be himself on the plate, even when that means being a little maximalist. From the diner's point of view, there is no 'set' menu, and no two nights are guaranteed to be the same. Interestingly, there is no printed menu for the tasting, either. Instead, staff ask diners to trust the chef. 'It's taking things and perhaps pushing the boundaries a little on what guests are used to. Saying, 'Hey, you might not have ordered this on the a la carte menu, but try it for us,'' Archibald says. Diners won't leave this meal overfilled. It features appetizer-sized dishes like oysters with a passionfruit foam, smoked beef tartare that has been on the menu since opening day, cabbage served three ways (one is liquified), the debut of a carrot dish with scallops, and wagyu beef served alongside sweet potato and charred lemon. 'If we get to the end of the year and we don't win a Michelin star, I'm not going to say [the tasting menu] was a waste of time. It wasn't,' Archibald says. 'We already think we're really good, and we like the level we're at.' 'But if it leads to Michelin, awesome,' he adds. Sign up for our newsletter.
