recommended by Jeremiah Cooper (@jeremiahcooper- photography on Instagram). There wasn’t anything fan- cy about the place — it just had solid, satisfying . Very attentive service too! Ginza Kagari (4 Chome-1-2 Ginza, Chuo, 104-0061, +81 3-3561-0717) – Bethany (@bjbitler on Instagram) suggests coming here for incredible chicken broth ra- men. *Ginza Sushi-Dokoro Shin (7 Chome-12-4 Ginza, Way Fair Bldg. 1F, Chuo, 104-0061, +03-3543-9339) – A spectacular sushi spot in Ginza. It was one of the best I ate at. The portions are huge. Go for lunch, when you get more bang for your buck. And definitely get the uni — yummy! (Suggested by Mark Weins) *Ichiran Shibuya (1 Chome-22-7 Jinnan, Shibuya, 150- 0041, +81 3-3463-3667, en.ichiran.com/index.php) – Recommended by many people, this spot served one of the best meals I had my entire trip. The thick, flavorful broth is to die for. I also like how you eat in your own little private booth. Funky. Expect a wait during peak lunch and dinner times. *Kyubey (8 Chome-7-6 Ginza, Chuo, 104-0061, +81 *Isakaya Juban (2 Chome-1-2 Azabujuban, Minato, 3-3571-6523) – Suggested by my friends, this restau- 106-0045, +81 3-3451-6873, izakayajuban.com) – A rant (which has a couple of locations) offered the Eating little hole-in-the-wall izakaya restaurant (think Jap- fanciest sushi I had in Tokyo. You sit at the bar and anese tapas) with locals getting drunk on sake and are served whatever the chef decides to bring (this is eating tasty small plates. I was big fan of their salmon called omakase). It was expensive (at $150 USD) but and grilled squid. They have a small English menu, worth every penny. but judging how my friend ordered for me, I think it Masaru (1 Chome-32-2 Asakusa, Taito, 111-0032, doesn’t list everything, so if you see something, point at +81 3-3841-8356) – Daina (@headedanywhere on Through it and get it! Instagram) recommended this as an excellent option JBS Bar (Jazz, Blues, Soul) (1 Chome-17-10 Dogenza- for tempura dishes. ka, Shibuya, 150-0043, +81 3-3461-7788) – A cool bar *Memory Lane (Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, +81 that is basically a one-man shop filled with records, 3-3342-1589, shinjuku-omoide.com) – On this tiny whiskey, and smoke. It’s tucked away on the second alley of yakitori joints, some require an entrance fee, level of an office/shopping plaza. but they are all worth it. Tokyo *Kakimaru (6 Chome-1-6 Roppongi, Minato, 106- Mutekiya (1 Chome-17-1, Minami Ikebukuro, 1F 0032, +81-3-5413-3689) – While catching up with my Sakimoto Bldg., Toshima 171-0022, +81 3-3982-7656, On a whim, I went to Tokyo for a week. My we went there in our quest for Wagyu beef. The steak friend, we found this awesome place. There was an old- mutekiya.com) – Carly Sabo (@carly_sabo on Insta- friends and I had been talking about a food-themed basically melted in my mouth and exploded with flavor. er couple next to us and a wedding party getting drunk gram) recommended this spot for its amazing ramen. trip to the city for years, and after convincing them that However, I don’t think I’d go back, as I found it a bit too across from us. As the night went on, the couple helped Honmarumen is its most popular dish. now was the time to cash in all our miles, we found high-end and overpriced for me. The décor is incred- ourselves at the airport on a cold November day with ible, the service over the top, and the wine list world- one goal: to eat as much as humanly possible. class — but all that is more than I needed. That said, if Like me, they’d been to Tokyo before and each you want to spend money on delicious steak with out- had a list of places to eat at. Along with our combined of-this-world service, you can’t go wrong here. lists, I had received suggestions from friends, readers, BrewDog Roppongi (5 Chome-3-2 Roppongi, Minato, and one of my favorite foodies, Mark Weins of Migra- 106-0032, +81 3-6447-4160, brewdogbar.jp) – Recom- tionology. mended by Matt Chandler (@mchandler07 on Twit- Even eating four to six meals a day, I was barely ter), this bar has 20 craft beers on tap, 10 of which are able to scratch the surface of the list of recommenda- brewed on site. So if you’re tired of sake and want some tions. Nevertheless, I wanted to share the combined fancy beer, you probably can’t go wrong here! suggestions of the community and my own investiga- CoCo (1 Chome-2-12 Nishishinjuku, Shin- tions with you. (Those I ate at are denoted by a star.) juku, 160-0023, +81 3-3345-0775) – Recommended by Afuri Yebisu (1 Chome-1-7 Ebisu, 117 Bldg. 1F, Char (@charmatcha on Twitter), this ramen restaurant Shibuya 150-0013, +81 3-5795-0750, afuri.com) – is supposed to offer hearty and filling curry as well as Tom (@tjdj311 on Instagram) recommended this for good chicken and pork curry in a fast service environ- yuzu-flavored ramen. ment. I haven’t been here, but I’ve been to similar plac- *Bifteck Kawamura Ginza (6 Chome-5-1 Ginza, Ginza es in the past. MST Bldg. 8F, Chuo, 104-0061, +81 3-6252-5011, bi- * (24-8 Udagawacho, Shibuya, 150-0042, fteck.co.jp) – At the suggestion of our hotel’s concierge, +81 3-3461-1281, genkisushi.co.jp) – Yummy sushi,

To Market,

When organizing a trip to Paris, one thing that’s high on many visitors list of to-do’s is to browse and shop at a typical French Market. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in real French daily life and also a great place to pick up some presents and souvenirs. But what is a typical French Market?to There areMar over 57 open air and covered markets in ketParis selling everything from fresh produce, fish, shellfish, meats, cheeses, fresh-cut flowers and breads. There are also markets specializing in gourmet produce, organic foods, handcrafted items, antiques, clothing and accessories, house wares and a variety of second-hand goods.

Each market has its own unique pace and ambiance. For example, there’s very little time to discuss at the fruit and vegetable produce at the Marché d’Alligre, which is one of the largest fruit and veg markets in the center of Paris and where many Pa- risian family’s shop for the quality and competitive prices of the Fresh produce. Here, the vender will pass out bags all over his stall for you to choose the goods by hand as there are too many customers for the seller to to hand select for you. However, the Marché Boulevard Raspail only sells organic food making it very exclusive. It has a more sedate pace, leaving a better oppor- tunity to talk to the vendors about their produce. Note that there are no markets in Paris on Mondays, as it is the day for mer- chants to go to Rungis, the wholesale supplier. The Unsung Much of London is Victorian. During the 19th cen- tower is guarded by two stone lions from a set of four that once tury the city’s population grew from under 1 million to over 7 sat at the entrance to the Imperial Institute. million people. To accommodate them, pioneering architects No. 39 Harrington Gardens, just around the corner from the and engineers built churches, schools, hospitals, banks, offices, outrageously flamboyant townhouses of Collingham Gardens, theatres, mansion blocks, streets of terraced houses and town- where the architects Ernest George and Harold Peto let their houses, bridges, sewers, roads and railways. imaginations run riot, is a gorgeous Flemish-style red brick and Buildings of They developed bold new architectural styles and in- stone extravaganza built by George and Peto in 1883 for the genious new engineering techniques. They built many of the librettist Sir William Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan fame. He iconic buildings and structures that promote London to the paid for it out of the profits of their light operetta Patience. world; the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, St Pancras As noted by Beatrix Potter in her diary, “it is a very station and Midland Hotel, Nelson’s Column, the Royal Al- handsome house indeed” – five stately stories of mullioned bert Hall and the London Underground. windows and carved stone topped with an enormous stepped These are treasures we all know and love but London is gable. Gilbert decorated the interior in the Aesthetic (or Artis- Victorian London also full of unsung glories around unexpected corners, down tic) style and filled it with exotic oriental objects, creating per- quiet streets and off the beaten track. They’re hidden from haps one of the last great hurrahs of the Aesthetic before the view by familiarity, modernity and the rush of life, and yet Arts and Crafts movement set in. built with a pride and attention to detail that remains unique Gilbert wrote the Mikado in his study here, inspired, it is to the Victorians. Take the time to stop and stare and you will said, by the clattering fall of a Japanese sword that hung above be amazed. the study door. Note the stone galleon that sits at the very top St Michael’s Vicarage, Burleigh Street (c. 1860) of the stepped gable, a reference to Gilbert’s alleged ancestor, Hidden away down a little lane behind the Strand Pal- the heroic Elizabethan sailor Sir Humphrey Gilbert. ace Hotel this delightful little Victorian gothic red brick house The Queen’s Tower, Imperial College Road (1887) is squeezed into an L shape by its corner plot and stands out At 287 feet (87m) high, the Queen’s Tower is one of the from its dull nondescript neighbours with decorative stone tallest structures in Kensington, and yet it still takes most peo- dressings, striking diamond patterns picked out in white brick ple by surprise, tucked away as it is down a private gated road and elaborate gothic window arches. and hidden from view by the encircling Imperial College build- It was built by William Butterfield, one of pioneers of ings. In actual fact the tower’s distinctive copper dome can be polychrome brickwork, to serve as the vicarage for St Mi- glimpsed from Kensington Gardens if you know where to look. chael’s church of 1831, which stood opposite and was de- The Queen’s Tower was the central one of the old Im- molished in 1906. The Vicarage lay low and was thankfully perial Institute’s three towers, and was only saved from being overlooked by the wrecking ball. It is now a clergy house for St demolished along with the rest of the Institute in the 1960s by Paul’s in Covent Garden. a fiercely fought campaign of local enthusiasts ably abetted by William Gilbert’s House, 39 Harrington Gardens (1883) Sir John Betjemen. The foundations and base had to be rein- lead up to a viewing gallery at the base of the dome, from forced so that the tower could become free-standing. where there are stupendous views over London in all direc- Built to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, the tow- tions. The gallery used to be open to the public, and hope- er contains a set of bells, named after Victoria and some of her fully will be again one day, but for now the views can only be children and grand-children, which are still rung on royal anni- enjoyed by special arrangement with Imperial College. The versaries. A series of spiral staircases consisting of 325 steps Sfenj in Morrocco

Moroccan doughnuts called sfenj are a lovely way to start your day or end your meal. During my trip to Chef- chaouen (the Blue City) a lovely man offered a bite to us to try. We noticed several people walking around with a ring of doughnuts. They were hot, crunchy on the outside and doughy on the inside. They are not sweet but perfectly dunkable in tea or coffee. - Darlene Longacre lead up to a viewing gallery at the base of the dome, from clock tower, 120 ft (37m) high, which has a hint of Venetian where there are stupendous views over London in all direc- about it and perhaps presages the coming Victorian passion for tions. The gallery used to be open to the public, and hope- Italianate architecture. fully will be again one day, but for now the views can only be The clock itself was made for the British Avenue of the enjoyed by special arrangement with Imperial College. The Great Exhibition by master clockmaker Edward Dent who entrance to the tower is guarded by two stone lions from a set would go on to make the Great Clock of the Palace of West- of four that once sat at the entrance to the Imperial Institute. minster, popularly known as Big Ben. The smaller arch to the Albert Buildings, 49 Queen Victoria Street (1869) right of the main arches marks the entrance to the original cab Queen Victoria Street in the City was laid out in 1867– drive. Now that the front of the station has been cleared it is 71 to cover the newly built District line railway. Most of its possible to see the original clean and uncluttered lines of this Victorian infrastructure has long since gone, bombed and bull- most elegant of railway terminuses. dozed, but at No 49, occupying the triangle formed by Queen Nos 91-101 Worship Street (1863) Victoria Street, Cannon Street and Queen Street, there is a Nos 91-101 comprise a short row of Victorian shop rare and wondrous survivor – Albert Buildings. fronts with plain brown brick houses above. The row was built A Gothic gem designed by Frederick J. Ward in 1869, in 1863 and designed by Philip Webb, Father of Arts and the long facade on Queen Victoria Street elegantly folds round Crafts architecture. Webb usually designed large individual do- at each end and is a joy to behold. It has long uninterrupted mestic homes but was asked to build this terrace of affordable marching rows of windows, pillars and arches, with different artisans workrooms, shops and houses as a charitable commis- sizes and shapes on each storey that are divided by heavily-dec- sion by Lieutenant-Colonel William Gillum. orated cornices. This is just an ordinary Victorian office block The colonel was a hero of the Crimean War and a but how dull it makes the bland and boring modern blocks mutual friend of Webb of William Morris and the pre-Ra- seem that surround it. phaelites – all of whom were keen to encourage artisan crafts. King’s Cross Station, Euston Road (1852) The architectural style of the terrace is simple Gothic but the King’s Cross Station was built as the London terminus pointed, brick window arches and steep roofs are early signs of for the Great Northern Railway running between London and the Arts and Crafts style that Webb would later develop with York, and sits on the former site of the London Smallpox Hos- Morris. pital as well as, romantics believe, the grave of Queen Boadi- Basement windows allow light into the workshops below cea. The station was partially opened in 1851 to accommodate while the large shop windows allowed the artisans to display crowds coming to London for the Great Exhibition and fully their wares. The big dormer windows above provided light for opened in 1852. artists at the top of the house and there is even a gothic drink- The glass roofs, which each have a span of 71 ft (26m), ing fountain at one end of the terrace to complete the Victori- were originally born on laminated wooden trusses supported an ‘good works’ setting. A uniquely moving and compelling ex- by brick arcades but these were replaced by slender wrought ample of the philanthropic spirit that survives – just – amongst iron ribs in the 1870s. The front arches are separated by a the City’s affluent glass towers of Mammon.