The planet seems to be warming even faster than expected; it's doubtful we'll make it through the end of the century without global cataclysm. Of course, few of us will live that long, because the triple plagues of obesity, binge drinking and sexually transmitted diseases will take care of most of us in the industrialised world before the polar ice caps really start to go. But that could take years. For immediate crisis we only need look at the economy, which the entire journalistic establishment seems to believe is heading into a grim recession. House prices, the source of most individual's wealth in the UK, are sliding downwards for the first time in years. The banking industry, the source of much of the UK's wealth, is pondering its own implosion. The price of oil has jumped above $100 a barrel, while the train, electric and gas companies all raised their prices in the first week of the year. And there's a very nasty bulge on the side of my 190-year-old house that looks like I may have expensive dates with builders and plumbers ahead.
First, the meal. Off to St. Alban's on lower Regent Street on Friday for a belated Christmas lunch with a senior executive from my PR agency. Yes, I know most of London is detoxing this month, but January ... especially this January ... is really too grim a month for further deprivation. I went instead for positive moderation. Just one glass of wine, fish and no dessert. During a week I made it to the gym three times, I felt positively saintly.
Clearly, it's time to head out for a nice meal and start thinking seriously about holidays.
St. Alban is a stone's throw from Piccadilly Circus, but is a long stride away from the tacky tourist establishments that occupy so many storefronts here. This is a subtle and elegant dining room; the etched glass windows and subtle signage are so low key that you can pass by this place frequently, as I have, and not even realise there's a restaurant here. The dining room is beautifully designed, with expanses of black slate alternating with spots of bright colours like pink and turquoise. It's elegant yet cheerful.
The menu presents itself as contemporary European with Portuguese accents. This played well to my attempt at healthy eating, allowing me to order a smoky, perfectly grilled plate of octopus for starters (they make a big deal of their real charcoal grill) and a herb-stuffed sea bream for my main. Both absolutely delicious. There's a substantial by-the-glass wine list, and they have Sunday lunch specials including paella. This is someplace I'll certainly put on my list to check out again. While not cheap, it does stand out from other places in the immediate area.
It was a nice way to wrap up the first week of the year. Though only a partial one, I'd had enough by the time Friday afternoon rolled around. Home, then, for a quiet weekend, the primary occupations of which were putting away Christmas decorations (always a bit depressing) and starting to think about what to pack for the Caribbean (uplifting).
The big picture may be all gloom and doom, but the immediate horizon doesn't look so bad.
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