Arancini Brothers Risotto Balls

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Rai The shiny nut

So two men named Dave walk into a kitchen, sounds like the beginning of a hilarious joke but it’s what happens everyday at Arancini Brothers. The two owners, big Dave and little Dave, while in Australia were trained by Sicilian chefs to create ‘delizioso’ risotto balls, or Arancini for short, you just learnt something…you’re welcome.

Rice cooked with onions, garlic, herbs and vegetable stock are then flavoured with a variety of cheeses, parsley and lemon (vegan options available on request), then fried to perfection.

Once prepared the risotto balls can be order in wraps, burgers, stew bowls or by themselves as a tasty snack

With locations on Old Street, Kentish Town, Dalston and a food van that regular visits local food markets you have NO EXCUSE not to try them out.

The Time & Place:

115A Kentish Town Road, London NW1 8PB | Mon – Fri 8am -9.30pm, Sat – Sun 9.30am – 9.30pm

592 Kingsland Road, Dalston, London E8 4AH | Everyday including Bank Holidays 10am – 10pm

42 Old Street, London EC1V 9AE | Mon – Fri 9.30am – 10pm, Closed weekends.

Price: Start from £4

Contact: arancinibrothers.com

Images used from arancinibrothers.com, facebook.com & timeout.com
Info used from arancinibrothers.com

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London Improv Theatre

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Rai The shiny nut

I cannot act, there isn’t an inch of me that should be on stage or in front of a camera (unlike a friend of mine who is A brilliant actor, I hate her!), the thought of improv literally scares me into a sweaty panic attack, but there’re those crazy bastards who thrive on that type of adrenaline, step forward the London Improv Theatre.

Established in 2016 by Jake Lyons, the theatre plays host to Improv performances such comedy, sketches, music and even magic, oh how I love me a bit of magic.

A number of performances are on over September including an acoustic showcase (showcase performances are on the first Saturday of each month) , ‘Scared Scriptless’ where the participates improvise scenes based on audience suggestions and ‘The Magicians Showcase’ which I may well attend myself (love me a bit of magic).

If you’re after an evening of impromptu theatre, or in the mood to joy in yourself, pop on over to Swiss Cottage, it won’t disappoint.

The Time: Varies

The Place: London Improv Theatre, 104-A Finchley Road, Londnon, NW3 5JJ

Tickets: Prices vary but generally start from £5/6 in advance.

Contact: londonimprovtheatre.com

Images used from city-academy.com & twitter.com/beingsimprov
Info used from londonimprovtheatre.com

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Free Bike Fix-it

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Rai The shiny nut

Calling all Brent residents with broken bikes, get your backsides over to Queens Park Farmers Market at Salusbury Primary School on Sunday 18th Sept for some cycle-TLC.

Dr Bike’s maintenance team will be in Queens Park between 10am-2pm to provide some much appreciated, FREE, bike MOTs and advice on a first-come-first-serve basis…for FREEEeeeeeeeeee.

So if your bikes a wee bit of maintenance loving, them get it over to Salusbury School this Sunday, and while you’re then take a gander at the farmers market, you can find some rather tasty treats.

The Place: Queens Park Farmers Market at Salusbury School, Salusbury Road, Queens Park, NW6 6RG

The Time: 18th September 2016 from 10am to 2pm

Tickets: It’s free baby!

Contact: For more information click here

*Info used from brent.gov.uk

*Image used taken by the Pigeon

It’s a Kanye party

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Rai The shiny nut

An evening dedicated to the father of North West brings the people of North West to West London.

On Saturday 29th November 2014 celebrate the music and madness of Kanye in Paradise. For 6 quid (which in most bars will only buy you 1 shot) dance yourself silly to Mr West’s catchy beats.

Not much else to say except, get your glad rags on and don’t let Kanye down!

The Time: From 8pm – 2am, Saturday 29th November 2014

The Place: Paradise by way of Kensal Rise, 19 Kilburn Lane, Kensal Green, London W10 4AE

Contact & Further Details: www.theparadise.co.uk, email: clem@thecolumbogroup.com, Tel: 020 8969 0098

Images used from popsugar.com
Info used from theparadise.co.uk

Have fun…Disclaimer, Kanye West will not be there so please don’t shout at me tomorrow!

Time for the Tipple Taxi

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Rai The shiny nut

Welcome to the Tipple Taxi, brain child of Lucas Sinclair this converted black-taxi bar travels the country popping up at events and functions all over the gaff.

This vehicle of joy seats 5 people, plays music, has a screen for watching videos but most importantly serves cocktails for those seating inside the car, as well as those outside. The Tip Tax (that’s my nick name for it) can be seen at festivals, marketing & PR events, but between the 6th – 12th October can be found at Camden Lock as part of London Cocktail Week. Yes that is a thing, an amazingly wondrous thing.

As there is only 1 more day of this event left (I’m sorry, I know I’m crap), on Sunday 12th The Tip Tax will be in Camden from 11am – 6pm, if you have a London Cocktail Week wristband you can buy drinks at a discount, I believe you can also order a signature “£4 cocktail” as part of the event too. However if you don’t have a wristband I would recommend heading over to the taxi anyway, as there will be a photo booth, music and the opportunity to brag to your friends about having a cocktail made for you in the back of a taxi. Not bad for a Sunday.

P.S. The taxi is stationary while serving drinks, please do not think that you’ll have a personal cocktail maker creating drinks during the journey home, you won’t. Sorry to burst your bubble.

The Place: Middle Yard, Camden Lock, Camden High Street, NW1 8AB

The Time: Sunday 12th October 2014 from 11am – 6pm

Further Details: www.thetippletaxi.com or www.londoncocktailweek.com,

Images used from facebook.com
Info used from thetippletaxi.com, twitter.com, londoncocktailweek.com

It’s boring to hear but important to say, DRINK RESPONSIBLY you lunatics!

The best way to save your local

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Rai The shiny nut

The act of shopping has become far to easy now-a-days. You want a table, go online to Ikea, they’ll deliver one in 5-14 days. Looking for some glasses, check Argos or Ebay, they have thousands and sellers will ship within 3 days, no hassle…or at least minimal hassle, you never no with Ebay. The majority of us have forsaken our local shops for online conveniences, we should all be ashamed of ourselves, me included.

So what can we do to resolve this, start shopping in our locals again of course, and what if you could grab a drink or 2 while you’re at it?

Well guess what, you can, ta da welcome to The Shop NW10.

This lovely little establishment sells all your favourite beverages & cocktails, plus chairs, art, furniture and just about everything else you can get your hands on, except the walls, bar and the staff (I’m guessing). What a bloody brilliant way to keep your local economy thriving, go to the shop grab a bottle of wine for later, some chairs for your mates and a beer while your at it, shopping is hard work after all.

It’s also a lovely place to go for a date or a night out, especially if you’re on a budge as the cheapest cocktail on offer is £3.50 called the ‘Size Zero’, great if your date is afraid of those pesky calories.

The quirkiness continues as the cocktails are served up in jam jars, except the ‘Shop Credit’ (great name) which comes in an old school milk bottle, and has a touch of wormwood vodka, topped with Prosecco, that genuinely sounds amazing I don’t care what else is in it!

We should all be more mindful of our shopping chooses, especially if they come with a beer bonus.

The Time: They open from 5pm-12am Monday – Thursday & 11am-12am Friday – Sundays

The Place: The Shop NW10, 75 Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise, London, NW10 3ND

More details and contact: Check www.theshopNW10.com, Tel: 020 8969 9399, Email: bookings@theshopnw10.com

Images used from societeperrier.com & poppyloves.co.uk
Info used from theshopnw10.com & thenudge.com

P.S. the beer bonus is not free!

Working your way around the building

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Rai The shiny nut

Kids, how quickly they grow up, going from your cute little cherubs playing dress up, to young adults starting their careers, scary times for everyone especially you (unfortunately you can’t protect them forever).

So your little peanut (that’s what my family called me as a child…but never stopped) decides that they want to do something creative, they’re not sure what exactly but do know that that is the path for them, they just need to narrow down the options. The best way to do this is to test the waters, but as a ‘grown up’ you know nothing is that simple, nobody wants to give you a chance without first having some experience, but you can’t get that experience without someone giving you a chance, the irony is laughable unless you’re living it. Enter the Round House to the rescue.

This wonderfully round building offers a bunch of courses and workshops in creative writing, interactive theatre, music production, web design and practically every other creative field you can think of.

If you, or your child, are between 11-25 – sorry old people – and want to explore the many creative realms, I strongly urge you to have a looky here. You’ll get advice and tips from industry professionals, meet new people with similarly mad hair, but most importantly you’ll receive experience in the field you later hope to work in. It may not be a job but colleges, universities and employers love to see evidence of your dedication, so go for.

It’s never easy choosing a career path, hopefully the Round House will help making that decision sightly more bearable.

The Time: The workshops times and start dates vary, check the website for more details.

The Place: RoundHouse, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8EH

Further Details: Check out www.roundhouse.ork.uk for full course & workshop details.

Images used from facebook.com & tender.org.uk
Info used from roundhouse.org.uk

Don’t run around the RoundHouse, you’ll get dizzy!

Wrestling with Progress

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Rai The shiny nut

Joke time:

What can you achieve if you cross a comedian with an events producer?…Progress, you’ll get it in a moment.

This is Progress is a strong-style professional wrestling promotions company based in South East London, founded by comedian Jim Smallman and events producer Jon Briley, later joined by actor Glen Joseph. It is also the only British organisation running regular shows in central London.

Through their love of the sport they have hosted more than 13 matches since 2012, with the majority of them being sold out in days. Their Chapter 11 show selling out in just 24 hours, that is pretty damn impressive. Thanks to high demand the gentlemen have begun hosting events every few months, the next one being on 28th September…however this too is sold out, so the next accessible show will be on Sunday 30th November.

The company also run a training school called The Projo (amazing name), for aspiring wrestlers of all ages.

Although the world of wrestling is often not taken seriously, it’s fan base in the capital is growing rapidly. Perhaps those of us who associate wrestling with the madness of WWE should consider giving the sport another chance.

And for the record my favourite wrestler back in the day was Stone Cold Steve Austin, I loved that guy.

The Time: Sunday 30th November, doors open at 2pm show starts at 4pm

The Place: Electric Ballroom 184 Camden High Road, NW1 8QP

Tickets: For the event ‘Chapter 16: Very Very Very Breaky Breaky Breaky Bishi Bishii’ can be purchased from here!

Further info & contact details: www.progresswrestling.com. email: progresswrestling@gmail.com

Images used from wrestlingslasthope.blogspot.com & wlhdvdreviews.wordpress.com (robbraziephoto.com also credited for both images)
Info used from progresswrestling.com

Muscularly men in tight clothes, the sport can’t be all bad!

The age of Capaldi begins at the Tricycle Theatre

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Rai The shiny nut

It’s happening, it’s finally happening, Carnival hits the capital this weekend…I’m joking, although it’s true, Peter Capaldi finally comes to the small screen as the twelfth Dr. I know a number of people who are losing their s*** over this, what they might not know is that they can also watch his first feature length episode on the big screen too.

The good people at the Tricycle Theatre have agreed to air ‘Deep Breath’ in their very cosy cinema, from 7.35pm on Saturday 23rd Aug, god bless peer pressure.

Any die hard fan, or “whovian” (I believe that is the semi-accepted term), should get themselves down to the cinema as, not only will they be showing the 80 min long episode, they will also be showing the exclusive Q&A session live from Leicester Square afterwards, and a never seen before, 5 min video from a future Dr Who DVD release. Pretty damn snazzy huh!

For more info have a nosy at www.tricycle.co.uk

The place: Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Rd, London, NW6 7JR

The time: 7.35pm sharpe, no dawdling

Contact: info@tricycle.co.uk, 020 7372 6611, Box Office 020 7328 1000

The (time) Travel:

Jubilee Line to Kilburn station then a 5min walk down the high road.

Overground to Brondesbury station (from Clapham Junction, Richmond and Stafford) then a 2min walk down the high road.

Overground to Kilburn High Road Station (from Euston and Watford) then either a 20 min walk up the high road, or jump on the 16, 32, 316 or 332 bus for 3 stops.

Bakerloo Line to Kilburn Park then either a 25 min walk up the high road, or jump on the 32 or 316 bus for 5 stops.

Image used from digitalspy.co.uk
Info from tricycle.co.uk

Come everyone sing it with me ‘Dr Who-oo, yeah Dr Who, Dr Who-oo…oh wait, crap I forgot!

Dolce and Amaro, Willesden Lane North West London

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Rai The shiny nut

Spring has finally reared it’s beautifully, cherry blossomed head, and you find yourself in North West London in serious need for a properly made, Italy Cappuccino but also need to pick up some pasta for dinner…what do you do?

You head over to Dolce & Amaro in Kilburn, that’s what. The new (and very lovely) comers to the area, having opened in late Jan 2014, offer a wide array of delectable yummies such as homemade hot and cold food, PROPERLY made coffees and teas, cakes, some pre-packaged foods for instance pasta (hence the comment above), all available to eat-in or take away, including the CAKE.

Bless their entrepreneurial hearts they open from 8am – 8pm Monday – Saturday, and 8.30/9am – 6.30/7pm on Sundays, those kinds of hours would kill me so I wish them every success!

Also I have it on good authority (the horse’s mouth, so to speak) that the owners, Dolce and Amaro, are quite found of people popping in for a chin-wag, so if you happen to be on Willesden Lane and are in need of some friendly banter, I personally recommend stopping by. The Cappuccino is also pretty damn good too.

Open hours:

Mon – Sat: 8am – 8pm

Sunday: 8.30/9am – 6.30/7pm

Address:

98 Willesden Lane,

London, NW6 7TA

Info received first hand from the Co.Owner of Dolce & Amaro

Damn fine Italian coffee makers revealed

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Category Archives: north west london