A Taste of London

London, as is the case with most European cities, presents an eclectic collection of cultures and cuisines.  If true English fare doesn’t suit your taste, then skip the meat pies, the bubble and squeak, and even the fish and chips.

You’ll find superb restaurants, reflecting a wide range of cuisines, from Indian to French, Italian to Lebanese, and Japanese  to (God forbid) American.

Now, if you happen to find yourself in the West End theatre district, stumble into Li Posito.  We did, following a superb production of “Wicked.”  Li Posito served up what is possibly the best Italian food we’ve ever enjoyed in the UK… fresh, flavorful, the real deal.  We spoke with the owner and learned they also opened a small location in Kensington.

I hesitate to name everything we tasted, but I must mention the Grilled King Prawns.  Perfect.  Utterly perfect!  If you are a shrimp fan, this marks a most unexpected taste delight in London.

The following night, The Ronald (my hubby), wanted French cuisine.  The concierge at The Cadogan Hotel made us a reservation at Racine, a splendid French restaurant on Brompton Street.  We were seated at a little round table in the front window.  Value-added is an understatement when I tell you how giddy The Ronald was, as he giggled and chortled intermittently at the regalia of the passersby.  He always loves people watching best of all.  We humans are rather intriguing creatures.

Amidst his various guffaws, I was able to interject that Ron Howard’s “twin brother” was seated beside him just to his left.  (Hello!  This means it was truly Ron Howard.)  Being of the theatre ilk and a broadcast journalist, I am not taken aback by folks of celebrity, but this gentleman brought out childhood smiles.  He was Opie, for crying out loud, and lisped adorably through “Music Man.”  Okay… that’s way before “Happy Days,” but we of a certain age had watched Ron Howard grow up and blossom.  More importantly, we’d cheered as he earned respect as a wonderful film director, somehow managing to avoid or escape what I call Hollywood Hell.

There he was, blissfully orchestrating a movie industry meeting.  He and the two men with him relished both ice cream and their global cinema discussions, before Howard donned his baseball cap and they all slid past us and back out onto the London street.