Good Blue / July 25, 2018 by shane eaton

eco-friendly fish :: €15 for bowl and beer

Good Blue is a healthy fast food fish restaurant in Via Volta in Moscova. The opening was a couple weeks ago and I got the chance to talk with Maia Moratti about her new project.

Maia told me that Good Blue aims to provide a 'sustainable' gastronomic experience, providing healthy and gourmet fish dishes, while adhering to environmentally friendly practices throughout. Good Blue sources only fish caught with sustainable fishing, and is the first restaurant in Milano to be plastic free, both in terms of food packaging and restaurant interior. Most of the furniture is made of recycled plastic and even recycled sponges, which turn out it to be very comfortable as seats!

Good Blue's menu is mainly focused on poke and rice bowls, the hot trend which has now arrived in Milano. However I must admit that other than Botanical Club, I've been disappointed with the poke I've tried around the city, either being made with sad rice or odd ingredient combinations.

I'm happy to report that Botanical Club now has some stiff competition - Good Blue's "Rosso e Tonno" with red rice, tuna, olives, lentils, flax seed, songino, seaweed and tomatoes is my new favorite bowl in Milano. The salmon poke is also delicious!

In addition to bowls, you will also find tasty tacos, with the highlights being the taco with tuna or shrimp. Good Blue also offers aguachiles, a type of Mexican ceviche classically made with fresh raw fish, cucumber, red onion, lime juice, and chilies that have been mellowed with water. At Good Blue they offer four great recipes for aguachiles, with either sea bass, kingfish, tuna or vegan.

For dessert, order the semifreddo with lime and celery. Although it sounds odd, the flavor combination is phenomenal.

I urge all foodies to check out Good Blue for an easy, healthy and environmentally conscious meal.

BackDoor43 / July 19, 2018 by shane eaton

il whisky bar più piccolo al mondo :: voto 9/10 :: €11 per cocktail

Il MAG, un cocktail bar in Ripa di Porta Ticinese creato da Flavio Angiolillo e Marco Russo, mi ha ispirato di creare questo blog. E’ un locale bellissimo che ricorda un cafè parisien. Il MAG ti fa sentire a casa tua grazie all’atmosfera accogliente: bella musica, staff simpatico, clienti cool e buon bere. Serenità.

Con gli anni le cose sono un po’ cambiate. L'esperienza magica del MAG ha attirato tanti nuovi clienti. Sabato sera, non c'è più la possibilità di sederti al banco e chiacchierare con i barman. Rispetto a prima, i barman del MAG non hanno lo stesso tempo per crearti un cocktail a misura. Ma questo purtroppo è la realtà. Un locale dovrebbe farti stare bene, ma deve anche guadagnare. Per risolvere questo dilemma Flavio e Marco hanno aperto lo speakeasy 1930, un cocktail bar privato per gente che vuole bere un ottimo cocktail senza nessuna fretta. E’ un locale eccezionale ma senza una tessera, non puoi entrare.

E quindi i ragazzi del MAG hanno deciso di creare un nuovo genere di cocktail bar. Il BackDoor43 è uno speakeasy nel senso che bisogna prenotare e la location è un segreto. Ma qualsiasi persona può chiamare il loro numero, e se ha un po’ di fortuna, può trovare un posto al BackDoor43. Ci vuole fortuna perché il BackDoor43 è il locale più piccolo al mondo. Se non becchi un posto, non ti preoccupare – fanno anche un servizio takeaway, dove puoi scegliere fra i drink più richiesti del MAG. Ti passeranno il cocktail attraverso una specie di cassetta della posta, servito in un bicchiere di carta per portare via.

Se invece riesci ad entrare, beato te! Berrai da Dio in un’atmosfera unica. Anche se il BackDoor43 è il cocktail bar più piccolo al mondo, non ti soffoca grazie al soffitto altissimo e l’aria buona (e condizionata!). Flavio, sei un genio!

N.B. Tanti dettagli nel BackDoor43 sono grazie alla bravissima artista Simona Cozzupoli. Date un'occhiata al suo sito web.

MAG first opened its doors back on the 13th of October 2011. From the beginning, I fell in love with the great cocktails, beautiful and relaxed atmosphere and friendly faces of Elena, Francesco, Andrea, Mirko, Pischello, Marco, Katerina and Frank. I shared my love of MAG with many. Probably every guest I've hosted in Milano has been to MAG. I've even held my birthday at MAG several times.

Recently, many people have discovered MAG meaning that the place is packed every night, making it difficult to recreate the magical experience of 4 years ago. To address this problem, Flavio and Marco opened the speakeasy 1930, a members-only cocktail bar for ther best customers and friends of MAG. Luckily for them, this brought in even more business to MAG, with many hoping to get their hands on the coveted membership card for 1930.

To avoid sending customers away, Flavio had another brilliant idea: take over the small space next to MAG and use it as a take-out cocktail service. Simply walk up to the window and order from the list of excellent cocktails. But that's not all there is to BackDoor43. Call the number on the business card and you may gain access to the hidden space behind the wooden door.

Inside, you will find dim lighting, rare whisky bottles, high ceilings and two bar stools. You can reserve the space for 2 hours, granting you your own private bartender and the music of your choosing. The cockail menu inside BackDoor43 designed by Marco Russo changes regularly, but is always inspired by whisky. The cocktails are superb - easily at the same level of 1930. Of course you will need to book well in advance to gain access to the smallest cocktail bar in the world.

N.B. Many design elements at BackDoor43 are thanks to the talented Simona Cozzupoli. Check out her web site.

Mirror photo courtesy of Zdenek Kastanek of 28 HKS.