The gorgeous space of Mercato is  created by Neri & Hu, bridges the organic and natural with elegance and emotive modernity. Reclaimed wood and warm leather tones serve as a gentle complement to the exposed steel, iron and glass to create an atmosphere that is polished yet warm and inviting.The inspired design imparts a...
Read More »

The cuisine of Northern Europe, especially the casual, currywurst class of continental comfort good, has been cutting edge for several years now-- appearing early in such foodie cult destinations as East LA's Würstküche (City Present February 2011) and in the sudden appearance of Dutch restaurants on gentrifying blocks, and Danish dishes on hipster menus....
Read More »

South Boston, famous as an urban working-class waterfront community and bastion of immigrant heritage has been shifting from Irish outpost to up-and-coming neighborhood. As young professionals are priced out of Beacon Hill and Back Bay, The area’s hilly streets of 3-deckers have been converted to condos, and its commercial streets have gentrified remarkably. A...
Read More »

Summer in Amsterdam is brief, hemmed in on either side by a June that can be as wet and freezing as a North American November, and an autumn that arrives whipping off the North Sea. Even in the middle of July, it can rain sideways and evening outing calls for a warm jacket. The Netherlands...
Read More »

Malongo is a well-known French coffee company, which has reached cult status with its high-standards and transparent reporting of its Fair Trade principals and practices, from workers' rights to environmental sensitivity, resting on a family tradition that began in Nice on the eve of World War II.
Read More »

Gastropub is now a term so overused as to be meaningless– every corner bar with a kitchen is suddenly infused with haute-cuisine, we are supposed to believe. However, there originally was, and is still, such a place as a Gastropub– a classic English watering hole offering fine, gourmet food. Perhaps fittingly, an excellent example...
Read More »

In L.A., where hype is an industry, the universal acclaim showered on Adam Fleischman’s Umami Burger chain in its first two years of operation can be lost in a sea of hyperbole. But believe what you hear: Umami Burger may not only be the best burger in Los Angeles, in may even be the...
Read More »

In the game of celebrichef Go Fish, London has traded one naked chef for one French chef with our friends across the pond. And from the looks of things, we’ve got the winner. Bar Boulud, the first London outpost from NYC phenom Daniel Boulud opens Thursday in Knightsbridge (although they’re taking reservations today). The...
Read More »

Washington still has many holes in its dining options, heavy on the hotel lobby haute-cuisine, with too many expense-account steakhouses and forgettable ethnic eateries. Thankfully, in recent years the city has started to get some serious culinary start-ups, and the City Present’s favorite restaurant in the nation’s capital is the incredible, absolutely unique Birch...
Read More »

Marching around downtown Manhattan, whether shopping in SoHo or gallery-hopping in NoLiTa requires regular intakes of caffeine. Luckily, the area has an abundance of boutique coffee bars, and the increasing number of La Colombe Cafés in the area have become the City Present’s favorite for a superior sip of flawless French Press or invigorating...
Read More »

The Parisian institution that is Patisserie Paul is one of the most popular French high-street chains, with its line-out-the-door storefronts from the Marais to Montparnasse, including small take-away kiosks in landmark locations such as the Tuilleries, offering a high-quality coffee, breakfast, lunch or lite-bite alternative to fast food for locals and foreigners alike. From...
Read More »

The Dutch is one of New York’s restaurants of the moment– sitting atop year-end top ten lists of several of the city’s papers of record, acclaimed by critics, beloved of the in-crowd. These accolades often indicate just the type of eatery that the City Present would want to avoid– impossible to book, a line...
Read More »