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I have absolutely no ties to Italy that I know of, and the last piece I read about it was from a Black woman explaining the near-constant racism and ostracisation she experienced in the more rural areas, and yet here I am advocating an Italian digestivo. I prefer Greece as a destination, my spirit animal is feta, but would never have you chug ouzo like on a balmy night like a chav on a gap year. Like many an amaro, Meletti is bittersweet and you only have to add a dash of prosecco, ice and an olive to look suave which is much less time-consuming than a finishing school in Switzerland or one of the private schools with a riot club. It is a no-frills Aperol for grown-ups (it’s actually best in a half-pint glass, curveless like a supermodel). Drink Meletti, feel expensive.
Jun 3, 2021
Related Recs
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I just finished a short tour for my first book coming out in Spain, so that’s probably why I’m obsessed with the general Spanish lifestyle. Literally what could be better than sitting at one of these white-tiled little bars in late morning or late afternoon and having a little glass of vermouth and a toothpick with an olive, spicy pepper, and anchovy? The point isn’t to stay all day; no one is working on their laptop. It’s to spend the perfect half an hour, maybe adding a plate of patatas bravas and a cortado to help you stagger on with your day. (I also assume this is why everyone in Barcelona is always smoking: how else do you recalibrate your body chemistry after the various snacks, booze, and caffeine?)
Feb 22, 2022
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Bar Italia is a classic spot in the Soho neighborhood of London. The best for people watching and generally feeling like you’re in it. The patronage is diverse: bikers, tweedy intellectual families, Italians, women in white skinny jeans sitting on mens laps. Getting a table outside at night on a weekend can be difficult, but it is worth stalking the movements of whoever looks like they’re on their last sip of cappuccino. I’m not sure exactly what the history is, but you can just tell there’s history, which is a special thing in its own.
Mar 27, 2023
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One of life’s greatest pleasures in 2021 is leaving work (from your living room) and heading to the kitchen at 5:02pm for aperitivo hour. My ideal cocktail hour includes a negroni and lots and lots of small bowls of snacks. The best aperitivo bowls are: Claudia Frolova’s olive bowls, anything from Crow Canyon Home, & little East Fork Pottery Bowls. The best aperitivo snacks are: sesame taralli, cavaltrano olives & cured meat.
Aug 19, 2021
Top Recs from @raven-smith
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Ottolenghi doesn’t call it slab cake, it has some French-adjacent name with an accent on the e, but it’s basically lightly gelatined fruit embedded in a cement of almond sponge. It’s important to me that the slab has squared edges because circular cakes are for sissies (I don’t make the rules). I would happily sell a kidney for regular access to squares of slab cake, but not both kidneys.
Jun 3, 2021
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I know what you’re thinking, another gay man with a penchant for pop, another bum boy obsessed with Kylie. But this is the best, most hornily, summery song ever written (Madonna’s Tell Me with the Marlboro men is excellent, but feels less seasonal). After the first note of Slow I can literally taste sea salt and sweat and spf50 on my lips. The video is heaving with ripe bikinis and the heavy gussets of men in Speedos. Saddle up.
Jun 3, 2021
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It’s frowned upon in book circles to push your own (forthcoming) book because everyone in literature is chronically self-deprecating (they also apologise when retweeting praise). I’m lucky enough to have avoided such an affliction. Expect softbois, hard truths, and a rigorous retelling of every time I’ve been punched or fingered.
Jun 3, 2021