5 Places Foodies will Love

2015 is the year of food. In fact, let’s not beat around the bush – every year is the year of food, I mean I’m fat – so you should really listen to me. This year it’s all about eating somewhere a little different. Pack away those Nandos cards, leave McDonald’s for when you’re broke, and don’t you dare think about ordering that Dominos. 2015 is the year of exploration, treat your tastebuds as I take you through five of our favourite big eats in the City.

Burger & Lobster

Who needs a fancy restaurant when you can eat like a royal all for just £20? B&L is exactly what it says it is; a feast of everything beefy and crustacean. Since it’s opening, B&L has branched off into several other locations all over the capital as well as in Cardiff and now NYC! It’s super super busy sometimes, so I’d suggest pre-booking or getting there before 6pm – it is well worth it. The brioche bun filled with lobster; I could’ve died a happy man at that point.

http://www.burgerandlobster.com/

Big Easy

Cajun and American cooking at its finest. It’s always hard to find a restaurant that can hold a candle against real American cooking, I mean no shade – TGI just won’t do! Now London can enjoy some authentic southern states “soul food” at the Big Easy. With branches in Covent Garden and Kings Road, this restaurant will serve American realness with its mountains of beef, shrimp and all things barbeque. At most, you’ll be looking at £25 a head, so you won’t have to worry about breaking the bank either.

http://bigeasy.co.uk/

Circus London

Probably the priciest on this list, but it is a good-un! My Mummy always told me that “sometimes eating isn’t just a necessity, it’s an experience” and if that’s what you’re looking for, this place is it. Tucked away behind Covent Garden, Circus is the type of venue that mixes fin pan-Asian dining with aerial trapeze artists and full-on cabaret. Take your pick between stakes and seafood as well as an extensive drinks and desert menu. It’s a night that you’ll want to share with friends also, and as every night is guaranteed with different entertainment, you’ll be in for a night to remember.

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Abracadabra

Let’s take a short trip to Mother Russia for this one, okay so we’re not really going to Russia but this place serves some of the best authentic Russian food ever! If Borscht and cold meats don’t really take your fancy, they do serve some really nice burgers as well as a good old fish’n’chips. What sold it for us was the extremely kitsch decorating; themed booths involve everything from what looks like a prostitute’s bedroom to Disney to ‘50s Rock’n’Roll. At most, you’re looking at spending a cool £20-30 a head, not bad at all!

http://abracadabra-restaurant.co.uk/

Caribbean Café

This one’s a little far…It’s in Croydon. You’ll forgive me though, because it’s a Caribbean BUFFET!! That means jerk chicken, curry goat and mutton, rice and peas and patties – all you can eat! London is desperate for a buffet that doesn’t include hoy-sin sauce and this is truly it! Not only is it a buffet but it’s all home cooked and you can tell it’s food that’s made from the heart. Croydon isn’t that far either, fast trains from London Bridge and London Victoria and of course there’s the London Overground. It’s cheap too, £10 tops!

http://www.caribbeancafe.co.uk/

2015 needn’t be the same my loves, eat till your heart’s content! #FoodieForLife

Stromae, le meilleur

I’ve always been a huge fan of French music; it actually took an Australian film about a debauched Parisian nightclub for me to truly appreciate the language, the people and the culture. With that being said, I never took the time to focus on music from Belgium; a country with its own musical merits and extensively rich cultural history. It wasn’t until maybe a couple of weeks ago whilst I was dashboard surfing on Tumblr when I caught onto a Belgian musician called Stromae. I’m already a huge house fan; so when I heard “Je Cours”, I was instantly hooked. After watching every single one of his music videos, viral “leçons” and interviews, I was sold and it was clear to me that there was something different about Stromae.

I know all you’re all thinking why I’m going in for a guy who sings in a language I don’t understand, but it’s simple – Stromae is the modern maestro, he is the lamenter with a ‘happy’ sound and the explorer of subject matters that aren’t so-often found in the lyrical mainstream.

Stromae is Paul Van Haver, a young man of Belgian-Rwandan decent. Stromae grew up in the suburbs of Brussels where he attended Académie musicale de Jette where a keen interest in music was sparked. Since then, the man has gone from strength to strength gaining success in Belgium, France and the rest of Europe. You may recognise the proclaiming horns from his first single “Alors on Danse” from a very messy night in Ibiza, but it put him on the musical map. Everyone from Anna Wintour to Nicolas Sarkozy shared the track and from then it was over… Stromae had become an overnight success.

His debut album “Cheese” was released back in 2010 reaching number one in the Belgian Albums chart for Ultratop Wallonia (Walloon meaning French speaking Belgians). Subject matter is a clear importance of Stromae’s, whilst many of the tracks on the album want to make you get up and dance, they all have deeper meanings; most of which are quite worrying. “Alors on Danse” actually questions the cost of living and how life is just a chain of events and reactions that, for the most part, culminates in nothingness. So we dance; we dance to forget, we dance to not worry about what life will throw at us next. One of my favourite tracks on the album (besides Je Cours) is “Dodo” which is about paedophilia and child abuse. It’s sung in the way a lullaby would, but it really hammers home the effect that situation can have on a child, a child who is forced to be silent when he/she sees their Mother being beaten by their Father, or a when family member is abusing them sexually. All they want if for someone to help, but the best thing for them to do at that point, is to sleep.

“Racine Carrée” (2013) is the singer’s second album which reached number one all over Belgium, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy and even reached number two in the US Billboard World Music Chart. Racine Carrée is French for square root, this album sees Stromae go back to his African roots with instrumentals that take clear influence from a range of African musical styles, in particular the complex and rhythmic guitar riffs of Congolese Rumba (Soukous). The lyrical content covers a range of topics from cancer, the parallels of modern relationships and social networks, absent father figures, race relations, and discrimination – everything really! The album itself is critically acclaimed which has sparked many publications to compare him to the legendary vocalist Patrick Bruel. For me, RC is the voice of a generation – possibly many. The content is so varied that it has no other choice than to speak to many. Whilst listening to it, I found myself looking up the translations and identifying with many of the lyrics. “Papaoutai” is the anthem for those who have grown up without a Father figure, Stromae himself grew up without his Father and you can hear that raw emotion he exudes when he’s asking where his father is. Not only does the track question the absent Father figure, Stromae also asks what kind of Father he will be and how the actions of one generation can influence the other. “Formidable” is sung from the point of view of a drunkard who has recently broken up with his lover. He laments how wonderful they were together and how he now has nothing.

This album has really shown of who Stromae is as an artist, “Tous Les Mêmes” is sung from a female point of view and looks at the typical complaints that women have about men. For the video (and plenty of performances) Stromae plays both parts by literally having one side of his body male, and the other female. Her name is Andrea, and Stromae actually makes a hot girl, just saying. “Quand C’est” personifies cancer, asking it why it consumes to destroy and why it can’t just leave. At one point, he asks cancer why it can’t just go on vacation.

It all sounds a bit pessimistic, but I don’t think that’s what Stromae is going for. It’s pessimistic to us because we don’t want to focus on the bad. As humans, we program ourselves to ignore situations that really require our attention. Stromae helps to us to answer those questions and confront them through the medium of music. In a way, it softens the blow of how harsh reality can be and I think that with that slight softening – we can be more receptive to it, process it a lot better and actually do something; although a slap in the face never does fail to wake someone up.

Musically, the majority of our imports come from the US with very little spotlight for European artists, except for the dance scene. I guess it all comes down to language barriers, but I don’t see why that should be a problem. Music is a language that ideally, should transcend all and bring people together. Musicians are lucky; like myself as a journalist, we have a really special and important platform to use to voice opinions and create things that can change people for the better, however ambitious that might sound.

What I love about Stromae is that he’s very modest. He’s a self-proclaimed “good boy” and it shows in his appearance and over-all mannerisms. He wears cardigans and blazers, buttons his shirt to the very top finishing it off with a bow tie and he rolls his socks up. He’s genuinely coming from a good place and wants to share his music with anyone who’ll listen.

Stromae is an important asset to pop culture because he’s a rare gem, he’s an artist who truly believes in what he does and does it to the maximum without over-doing it. His artistry is something that the whole world needs to see, when you watch him perform you can see that strong sense of conviction and his character is always strong; whether he’s playing the drunkard in “Formidable” or the plastic Father who occasionally dances in “Papaoutai” – every performance is captivating and genuine. He has toured the UK before and he does have a following here, I personally want to see that grow. What I don’t want to see happen is see Stromae having to re-record songs in English, the songs will lose their beauty and their meaning. I’m not just saying that because French is a naturally mysterious and romanticised language, I’m saying that because most times these things shouldn’t be changed – it’s just like going to see a classical Opera like Carmen and changing the words because you don’t understand it. The very heart of the piece becomes distorted.

There are a lot of musicians and musical genres that can learn from Stromae. Just because you make pop music, doesn’t mean you can’t let it have a meaning that can edify a person; just because you make hip-hop doesn’t mean you have to rap about your harem of ‘bitches’ and your many ‘whips’. In fact; Stromae started off in Hip-Hop, a genre which he fascination in because of its rhythm and its (original) messages, he cites Biggie as someone he looks up to because of his way with words and his meanings.

I wouldn’t just take my word for it, get into what Stromae has to offer. Even if deep meaning and thinking isn’t your thing – the music alone will make you want to shuffle and wine something severe.

Northern Soul: Keeping the Faith

I have two really good friends; one called Troy and the other called Dylan, Troy could dance amazingly well – it was literally like a dancehall king possessed every inch of his body; waist gyrating like a masculine hula dancer and footwork so fancy, even James Brown would be kicking his teeth in jealousy. Dylan on the other hand…I don’t think discombobulated would be the correct term, still loved him for it. Being raised around a predominately black community (besides that one time we lived in Berwick-Upon-Tweed), I always heard the notion that, white people couldn’t dance – at least with rhythm anyway.

Imagine a whole community of white teenagers drop kicking, splitting and spinning for their lives to sounds of black Motown soul, not such a far stretch when you think about white girls ‘wining’ their hips to dirty lyrics rapped by Vybz Kartel. Let’s take a trip back to Wigan in the early ‘60s, yes Wigan – not exactly the place I’d imagine such energy emitting from – but this was the soulful home of a movement that refused to die; Northern Soul.

Emerging from the late 1960’s, Northern Soul was the life and heart for many young people. Soul music, in particular Motown, was the music of choice centring the scene with die-hard fans importing vinyl records from the US. The scene wasn’t interested in anything new that Motown had to offer and preferred the older, purer sounding music which in turn sparked off the beginnings of home-based record labels such as Ric-Tic and Golden Records – “we tended to look for the obscure American Record Labels that didn’t get exposure at the time who tried to emulate the Motown Sound. Yet never made it at the time and were forgotten.”

The man in the eye of this soulful tornado sweeping England was Russell Winstanley. A fun loving Motown fan, who began djing in the late ‘60s because the music he liked wasn’t being played anywhere. He heard his Northern Soul calling when he partied on down at the Blackpool Mecca to which begun djing at Wigan’s Rugby League Club. September 23^rd was the date that made history – it’s the night Russ launched the Wigan Casino All-nighters. I had the huge pleasure of speaking with him as he shared his experiences of the scene’s colourful history.

The all-nighters brought in dancers and Northern Soul enthusiasts from all corners of the UK “it was built as a Dance Hall for 4,000 dancers. Its smaller club, Mr Ms opened to help with any over-crowding and another club called the Beachcomber – there were 12 to 15,000 people per week!”

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing anything related to Northern Soul, you would absolutely fall in love with the dancing. Its high energy kicks, spins and box splits are moves that I couldn’t try. The dancing was a huge part of the scene, those who might not have been interested in the music, flocked in their numbers to see the dancing. Believe me when I say, they danced for hours and didn’t leave until the club lights turned on revealing an army of sweaty dancers – the true definition of ‘go hard or go home’.

Like all good sub-cultures should, fashion was a huge part of the movement. Initially Northern Soul started off as an off-shot of the famed Mod culture. As times changed and music and fashion began to take a different direction, the Mods found themselves in a slightly strange situation. Some mods discovered and embraced the emergence of Brit Invasion music during the mid ‘60s, (we can only thank The Beatles; those cuties) whilst others found the joys of early ‘70s psychedelic rock. The few that were left wanted to retain the scene’s modesty, and that’s when the Mods birthed two children; the Skinheads the Northern Soul movement.

At first, Northern Soul enthusiasts donned the original Mod style of buttoned Ben Sherman shirts, centre-vented blazers and brogues. But as the tempo of the music quickened, there was huge need for a wardrobe change. High-waisted, baggy Oxford trousers and vest tops became the clothes of choice, giving dancers the mobility and freedom to really get into it.

Many might associate the ‘60s as a time of the nightclubs and the rise of celebrity culture; and it was – but it was also still a time of racial turmoil. Tensions between white and black people was still rife – and a lot of people were angry, the latter part of the ’50s saw these tensions rise and eventually culminate in a violent stand-off between young Caribbean men and the British Teddy Boys: The Notting Hill Riots. One could argue that Northern Soul might be seen as cultural appropriation without acknowledgment, however Winstanley passionately explains that Northern Soul was far from that, “White youngsters in the North of the UK had an affinity with the singers and acts. They championed black music and loved Black people in general. Never any prejudice either way.” In fact, the Northern Soul’s main imagery was the raised fist which is very similar to the symbol for the American Black Panther Movement who fought hard and tirelessly for the rights of African American’s in the mid-‘60s. Uplifting slogans such as ‘Right On Now’ and ‘Keep the Faith’ were popular, re-enforcing positivity and equality within the Northern Soul communities.

Winstanley shared with me some of his proudest moments, his upmost being the time he had the opportunity to meet and book his idol; Jackie Wilson. Winstanley had plans for the Wigan Casino, cementing its stance as one of the most popular nightspots for the scene. These were cut short when Wigan Council went ahead with plans to demolish the building to extend its Civic Centre – a plan that actually never went ahead, which ended up in the building being demolished and nothing being built. Why? They’d run out of money! The club closed December 6^th 1981 where Winstanley headlined; as the night came to a close, crowds refused to leave the premises. Winstanley went in full crowd control mode and played one last song; “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” by Frank Wilson, a song that Winstanley later auctioned off – it sold for £26,500!

Whilst the site might be Wigan’s Grand Arcade Shopping Centre now, the legacy of the Wigan Casino is one that will stay forever, placing it in history as one of the key backdrops of this amazing scene. People thought that with the closing of an iconic venue, the scene would eventually frazzle out. They couldn’t have been so wrong, Northern Soul is a timeless scene filled with fans who kept the music, the clothes and the dance moves. It never left, whilst it might not be in the forefront of British sub-culture, it’s inspired many movements and artists a-like. One of the features of the scene that still manages to wow is the dancing, it’s been featured in many music videos and recently crept back into the mainstream at this year’s Brit Awards in the form of the Northern Soul Dancers who danced for the live performance of Pharrell Williams’ smash ‘Happy’ – which is a pretty good example of the type of music you’d hear. Countless films had been made recapturing the scene and its vibrancy; the most popular being ‘Soul Boy’ directed by Shimmy Marcus. Later this year will see the release of ‘Northern Soul: The Film’ directed by Elaine Constantine – and we are excited to see it!

I told you, it’s a scene that refuses to die – and why? Northern Soul was and is a pure movement, one that grew and was nurtured out of a mutual love of music that was previously marginalised. As for Winstanley, he’s still going strong regularly put on events globally and taking Northern Soul to the heights that it deserves. Winstanley is the definition of keeping the faith – we salute you.

Transform: A Story of Truth

I’ve always said that being gay is one thing, but whenyou’re a biologically born male or female who legitimately feels as if you’vebeen born in the wrong body – that’s a whole other story. It involves so muchmore than just merely ‘coming out’ and having a bit of surgery. Imagine feeling trapped inside a body you don’t identify with, having to deal with the fact that you’ll be rejected from more than one avenue, just because you know you’re supposed to exist in a different way. According to a GIRES report issued in 2009, around 10,000 people in the UK identify as transgender with only 6,000 undergoing the full surgery – and we’re now in 2014…

In the not-so-glory days of the 1950s when everything was either an experiment or people were involuntarily inhaling cancerous fumes, numerous studies were taken to define the ‘act of switching gender roles’ both physically and mentally, this meant putting ‘subjects’ (God forbid we think of them as humans) to some pretty degrading tests. However, on the upside, there were a whole leap of amazing breakthroughs including developments in hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment surgery – Christine Jorgensen being the first widely known MTF (male-to-female) transgender to under-go the operation. We have Sexologist Harry Benjamin to thank for the word ‘Transsexualism’ which was actually an umbrella term for those who are one gender – yet identify with the opposite; that includes everyone from cross-dressers to drag queens. Let’s not beat about the bush – being transgender has nothing to do with dressing as a woman for sexual or entertainment purposes.

I’ve always admired people of trans experience – the abuse that they’ve had to endure and the bravery it’s taken to stand up to that. With hate coming from every angle, even from the same people that make up the LGBT community, it can be extremely hard to not feel like every door is closed to you. With that being said, the trans community has raised a strong middle finger to any of those who have ever tried to push them into a box, and conquered hurdles that some of us simpletons would run straight into at first try. Isis King is probably one of the most memorable contestants from ANTM, making such an impression that Tyra paid for her gender reassignment surgery. Fellow New York girl Carmen Carrera is penned to be the next Victoria Secret model. And who can forget BB5’s Winner, Nadia Alamda and her “I need cigarettes” outburst? The trans community are breaking out of the constraints of emotional and political oppression, eagerly campaigning for the total freedom of their peers and actively seeking to be accepted for who they are – human beings.

Perhaps it’s only in places other than our own shores do we find those free enough to share their experiences, opportunity had it that I would cross paths with two very brave woman who were willing to share their stories with me. Their journeys are different – but equally as amazing. Meet Eden Imagica and Leiomy Maldonado, both born male and finding their places in the world as women…

Eden

I had been asked to write a little about my journey from a gender non-conforming male, to my womanhood – and it’s been just that! It’s been a journey of deep moments of introspection and a new found appreciation for life and people.

I remember trying to explain to my African parents that I had been living abroad with my white Portuguese boyfriend for three years. I came out as gay at 23 to my parents, I remember my mother asking how it felt having sex, I replied “Uncomfortable…but?” What I really wanted to say was that it was uncomfortable, but it was the only place to put it!

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t grow up feeling victimized by my family for being gay. Everyone in my family acknowledged I was always different!

I decided to transition three years ago, but it was always inevitable. When I was growing up I always treated by friends and family pretty much as they would a female (or a very gentle boy). As an adult I couldn’t command attention in the workplace and I still looked like a teenager.

The decision was an easy one, I couldn’t continue to live my life being mistaken for a girl. I’ve lost count the amount of times I’ve run from those ‘hood’ boys as they got closer to inspect what they thought was a girl/tomboy, then wait for their horrible reaction when on closer inspection they realized I was a boy. It only became logical to me when the opportunity presented itself in the form of a group of transgendered friends I had met.

Living as a female for me in particular has been far easier, practical and logical in my day to day.

After around a year on hormone therapy, I began to notice some substantial physical changes. Skin thinning, I was bruising easily, softer muscles and repositioned body fat. Fortunately for me I was pre-warned about the emotional consequences of reducing testosterone. It is emotionally an awful process for an MTF, I kind of think in this instance our FTM counterparts have an advantage. Testosterone is man’s Prozac – NO JOKE. I don’t think I’ve emotionally experienced any more or any less than any other transgender female, I do think that it’s imperative that people know that emotionally their going to feel like absolute shit when they begin HRT.

I’m eagerly awaiting my post-operative life as a woman.

Leiomy Maldonado

I was born on April 28th, 1987 in the Bronx, New York City. I never really had a normal childhood, When I was around 7/8 my dad was diagnosed with HIV so I had to take care of him, we eventually moved in with my grandma but I still had to take care of him.

My days would generally consist of going to school and coming straight home to care for my dad, he wasn’t the most loving person either and my femininity really bothered him. I always felt, since the age of 5/6, that I was different; but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Growing, up I was always called gay or a homo, so eventually that’s what I thought I was. I remember telling my family that I was attracted to guys around the age of 15 and I began to cry; not because I was telling my family how I felt, but because I didn’t feel gay – I felt like a girl. That same year I met Tiana, who was transgender and that’s when I began realizing that I wasn’t gay, and instead was transgender. It wasn’t until the year after that I started living my life as Leiomy at the age of the 16.

I started throughout the summer at my Aunt Sylvia’s house and she was very supportive. I wasn’t aware of hormones yet, so I just wore women’s clothing given to me by a neighbour. After that summer I went back to living with my grandma, she wasn’t aware that I had begun transitioning. She was shocked to see me in clothes so tight and wearing a bra and thought it was a phase and I’d eventually get over it. I went back to High School to start my second year, and I went back as a woman. I dealt with a lot of verbal abuse and got into plenty of fights and was eventually kicked out of school. I didn’t actually begin taking hormones until I was 19 when I was given hormone pills from an older transwoman I met. After a few weeks of taking the hormones, I started seeing changes in my face and my chest was beginning to become sore as I developed breasts. I felt even more complete every day and the hormones made me more serene and calm. However, I started to notice that whenever I didn’t take my hormones, I would be extremely moody.

Living at home wasn’t the easiest task either, my eldest brother stopped talking to me and my older brother would always call me names, so I would attack him physically. I can say that between my dad, my grandma and my second oldest brother I was verbally abused often and when I’d get into an argument with my grandma, she would scratch my face knowing that I was always looking at myself in the mirror and she would kick me out at times. It got to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore so I left home and began living with a friend. I began competing in the underground Ballroom Scene Voguing, which is a style of dance, and I found that it was a great way to relieve stress. I eventually went go back to my grandma’s house, but after a few weeks I’d be kicked out and at my friend’s house.

After a few years I eventually got on America’s Best Dance Crew along with some friends (Vogue Evolution) to compete against other crews on MTV and that’s when my family really began to see what my life was about and what I had been up to. It also helped them understand and realise that I am a woman from the inside and out. About a year after that I received a call to be a part of Willow Smith’s Whip My Hair video which was amazing to shoot and lots of fun. The love I received on set was epic, and meeting the Smith family is something I’ll never forget. I’ve been able to travel the world and go to places to share my talent and also teach classes as well. I’ve been to London, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Sweden, Austria, France, Switzerland and Germany. This past year I was yet in another video, this time for Icona Pop’s All Night video. My most recent accomplishment has been performing at the Museum of Modern Art where I showcased Voguing and talked about where it came from.

I can honestly say throughout my transition I haven’t had many transwomen who I can say have helped guide me that much. However my gay Mother Tyhierry, who’s a gay male, has actually helped and guided me to become the woman I am today. He’s introduced me to his trans friends whom have given me tips on hormones and surgeries. Being a part of the ballroom scene, the transwomen are subjected to getting silicone butt injections and I often see they’ve rushed through their transition. I have yet to undergo any surgeries due to not having the funds, but I want to have my sex reassignment surgery along with facial feminization surgery ASAP.

My love life sucks though, it’s hard to find a man who is comfortable enough to be with a woman of trans experience without worrying about what society thinks of him. I want to eventually be married and adopt kids as well. I feel that if the world would separate trans from LGBT it would help people understand what being trans is. LGB stands for lesbian, gay and bisexual which all fall under sexual orientation where the T for transgender is about gender identity, which is a totally different ballgame. People of trans experience deal with a lot even from the LGB community. Were often mis-gendered and disrespected within the community and often misunderstood.

I want to be able to wake up and feel 100% complete just for myself. Being loved and respected as an open transwoman has been amazing so far, and I feel like my confidence brings hope to younger trans people all over the world and that’s what keeps me motivated.