THEGAYUK

Day: 1 November 2019

  • Cuffing season has officially begun… but what does it mean?

    Cuffing season has officially begun… but what does it mean?

    As the nights draw in a brand new Cuffing Season is upon us, but what exactly is “Cuffing Season”.

    (C) BIGSTOCK

    Seventy Thirty‘s team looked at today’s dating terms and let us know what cuffing is and who’s doing it.

    Cuffing season; refers to the winter months, when people who are usually happily single start to seek a committed relationship.

    With the days getting shorter and the nights longer, the temperature dropping and the trees becoming bare, it’s the perfect time for cosy nights in with your loved one, building a relationship. It is the optimal time of year for past partners to creep up on you, too.

    Be on the look out for your single exes!

    rawpixel / Pixabay

    Will you on be on your ex’s booty call list?

    If an ex-partner is single, they might try to come back you to spend these cosy nights in with you.

    Clinical psychologist Seth Meyers explains that “our energy levels are lower during the colder weather and we are moodier’” so we have less motivation to organise interesting dates.

    This, coupled with poor winter weather, means we have fewer places to go and things to do. This makes us seek out an easier option, such as a past partner.

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Bloomsbury Street Kitchen, London

    ★★★★ | Bloomsbury Street Kitchen, London

    Lower Bloomsbury Street has finally come alive with the opening of the new restaurant Bloomsbury Street Kitchen.

    In the restaurant space in the Bloomsbury Hotel that used to be Steak & Lobster, and a whole host of other boring restaurants that just weren’t exciting, Bloomsbury Street Kitchen changes all that.

    Part of the Street Kitchen brand (others include May Fair Kitchen, Monmouth Kitchen, Leicester Square Kitchen, and Peter Street Kitchen (Manchester)), Bloomsbury Street Kitchen serves contemporary Japanese and Mediterranean small plates in a very cool and contemporary setting, with staff who are attentive, international, and very knowledgeable about the food.

    As you walk in, you are enveloped in an olive tree-adorned entrance, into a room that is beautifully designed, sleek, comfortable, and oh so cool. And this also describes the food. The small plates come in all sorts of varieties and flavours, in different categories such as Starters, Fish and Seafood, Small Plates and Salads, Signature Gyros, Japanese Flat Tacos, Bincho Grills, and Sides (these are the categories we ordered from), but there are a few others as well.

    One of my favourite dishes of the ten we ordered on our Thursday night visit was the Zucchini and eggplant chips with tzatziki (a steal at £5). Eight piled high, deep fried, the tzatziki had a twirled cucumber in it – and was absolutely divine, and great value for the money. The Oven-baked lobster and king prawn with parmesan crème and chilli herb crust was beautifully presented in a seashell, had a nice golden brown crust on top, but was a bit too rich, but at £14 it’s a right price.

    The Crispy-spiced Lamb Bites from the Small Plates menu were very good.  Similar to empanadas, the dish included 6, not spicy at all, but a bit pricey at £9. The Crab and asparagus salad with dijon mustard and lemon mayo from the same section of the menu was absolutely delicious. A fairly large portion, the mustard and lemon enhanced the taste of this dish (£9) as well, and it was very very unique.

    We also ordered the Slow-cooked glazed lamb shoulder with chilli fries and lemon feta yoghurt from the Signature Gyros menu – at £9 you get two gyros, medium sized, that are tasty. These are not quite a main dish, but the lamb was delicious. The Japanese Flat Tacos, however, are not tacos at all but tortilla crisps (4 in total for each order) laid out flat with a topping. We had the Tuna sashimi with truffle ponzu mayo (£7) and the Seared beef tenderloin with wasabi and shichimi mayo (£9). The seared beef literally melted on our tongues (but was a bit salty) while the tuna was chunky and good. Next time I would skip these and order other dishes. I would also skip the Bincho Grill choices (King Prawns and Baby Chicken). We ordered the prawns which were smothered in chilli and cumin and were very very spicy. Two sticks with two each – it comes to your table in a bincho (hibachi) grill – so expect lots of smoke! But for what you get it’s not good value for the money. Instead throw in a couple of the side dishes – specifically the Chilli and sake flamed tender stem broccoli (£5) – very very good.

    There are loads of cocktails to choose from. I had the Rosé Sangria which included San Salvatore Rosé, Malfy Rosa gin, RinQuinQuin, Hystérie liqueur, strawberry, raspberry, lemon and nasturtium (£10.50).

    Beautifully coloured, tasty, and refreshing, it made for a nice start to the evening. My dining companion had the non-alcoholic Pineapple and Cucumber drink. While a bit too tart, the green in color cemented this as a healthy option. Other unique options include Lychee & Elderflower Martini, Kyoto Sour (whisky, ginger, apple, citric cordial, yuzu, rosemary and egg white) (£9.50), Hoba Smoked Old Fashioned (Diplomático rum, Laphroaig whisky, Mozart Black, umeshu, chocolate bitters and hoba leaf smoke (£11.50), and other wonderfully-flavoured uniquely different cocktails.

    Bloomsbury Street Kitchen also has a Vegan Menu, and a lunch and pre-theatre menu, A Christmas Day menu (at £95), and a New Years Eve menu (£75). The restaurant is centrally located, minutes away from Tottenham Court Road Station, and accepts reservations here:

    Bloomsbury Street Kitchen is an excellent addition to this dreary area of London. Come for the unique selection of drinks and stay for the unique selection of dishes, and atmosphere. There is a DJ on some nights, but it’s not loud and gives the restaurant the cool vibe that will make it last.

    T: +44 20 7666 2044

    E: reservations@bloomsburystreetkitchen.co.uk

    9-13 Bloomsbury St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3QD

    Breakfast

    Monday – Saturday: 7am – 10.30am

    Sunday: 7.30am to 11am

    Lunch

    Monday – Saturday: 12pm – 2.30pm

    Sunday: 12.30pm – 3pm

    Dinner

    Sunday to Thursday: 5pm – 10.30pm

    Friday to Saturday: 5pm – 10.45pm

    Pre-Theatre

    Monday – Friday: 5pm – 6.30pm

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Curtains – National Tour

    THEATRE REVIEW | Curtains – National Tour

    Curtains The Musical ©The Other Richard

    ★★★★ | Curtains The Musical, Sheffield

    On the opening night of a new musical the star of the Broadway-bound show is murdered as she takes (what turns out to be) her final bow. But the actress is not the only thing that dies on stage that night, as the show is an absolute stinker. Enter, stage left, Detective Frank Cioffi, whose keen detective skills are matched only by his love of musical theatre. With everyone in the cast and crew a suspect, can Coiffi catch the killer, get the girl and transform the musical into a Broadway smash?

    Written in 2006 by Kander and Ebb, who are best known for Cabaret and Chicago, this musical has a beautifully old fashioned air to it, with a look, feel and sound of the classic musicals of Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. The show gently, but lovingly, ribs the genre with its tongue very firmly in its cheek, parodying Oklahoma!, the backstage relationships of 42nd Street and the on/off stage antics of Kiss Me, Kate. The songs are instantly catchy and warmly familiar on first listen, but retain the odd glimpse of Kander and Ebb’s trademark sound running through them. Throw into the mix a pastiche of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, and you get to the heart of what this musical whodunnit is about.

    TV’s Jason Manford is wonderfully affable as Detective Frank Cioffi and nestles neatly alongside the broadly talented cast, and Ore Oduba (Strictly Come Dancing winner) is good fun as the show’s songwriter and Emma Caffrey was an utter delight as the show’s wannabe starlet, Bambi. The static set provides a suitable backdrop to the backstage shenanigans, with the audience swiftly moving to the front of the curtain during the big rehearsal numbers using a directorial trick which works remarkably well.

    Overall, Curtains has a healthy dose of subtle and gentile comedy, some cracking, foot tapping songs and the whole show is lovingly put together. It transpires to be a thoroughly pleasant and undemanding evening of old fashioned entertainment, which was incredibly enjoyable.

    Curtains is at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre until 2nd November 2019 before continuing on its extensive national tour.