Remember that pesky kid at school who used to get top marks on every piece of work she turned in? Come on, every class has one. Well, at Tech High, Apple is that kid. The boys and girls at Cupertino so rarely put a foot wrong that – although their achievements are incredibly impressive – we tend to take them for granted a little bit. Writing about them in The Prodigal Guide would get real dull real fast because we invariably prefer the Apple product over the competition every time. There simply wouldn’t be any suspense in it. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Computers, Gadgets, Phones , Apple, Apple iMac, Apple iPhone, Apple iPod touch, Apple MacBook, Apple MacBook Pro
There is a very particular blue that haunts the watch world, folks.
While many brands proffer dull and dim shades of predictable blues, there is one interpretation that stands head and shoulders above the crowd: rich, penetrating and oh-so inviting, we are speaking of the lapis-lazuli dials created by our old friend, Rolex. It is also known as an ultramarine, a fitting descriptive indeed. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Vintage watches, Watches , Rolex, Rolex Submariner, wannabuyawatch.com
Nokia clearly thinks that the N97 represents some sort of comeback against the likes of the iPhone and Pre – see the ad below in case you were in any doubt – but now that the N97 is shipping and the first lacklustre reviews are coming in, we have to ask: has Nokia done enough? Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Gadgets, Phones , Apple, Apple iPhone, LL Cool J, Nokia, Nokia N97, Palm, Palm Pre
Here’s our monthly roundup of what we’ve been writing about and what you’ve been reading. The top ten most popular posts of April were: Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: (Site news) , Byron, Hereford Road, Nokia, Nokia Communicator, Nokia E55, Nokia E71, Nokia E75, Nokia E90, Rolex, Rolex Sea-Dweller, Rolex Submariner, Rolex Submariner 5513, Samsung, Samsung OmniaHD, Toyota, Toyota Prius
An Englishman, a Scot and two Sicilians walk into a bar. “Is called Blanket Beach Babylon, very Nottin’ ‘ill”, Sicilian No.1 declared proudly. The welcoming committee consisted of a heavily made up waitress in 7-inch heels and a stuffed white poodle with a feather boa around its neck. In the corner, sat a Russian billionaire surrounded by leggy blondes. Why? Who knows but that is what this place is – once the epitomy of cool, now London trash at its best. We scrambled around for four chairs (swiping them from the reserved tables when the 7-inchers weren’t looking) and sat down. The “Porn Star Martinis” (aka passion fruit Martinis with a shot of Champagne on the side) were delicately done and the atmosphere here is intriguing, if a little odd. But after an hour, Sicilian No.2 became restless and hungry,”how is English food?” Enter the exquisite Hereford Road.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Cocktails, Food & drink, Restaurants , Hereford Road, Tom Pemberton
A perfect Martini is a rare beast. Trust us – we know what we’re talking about. Dirty, naked, we’ve tried them most ways and we know what we like. So, imagine our delight when the barman at Eight Over Eight produced two perfect Martinis straight up: one for the lady (made with Bombay Sapphire) and one for the man (Tanqueray). Things were looking good and we were only 10 minutes into the evening. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Cocktails, Food & drink, Restaurants
Here’s our monthly roundup of what we’ve been writing about and what you’ve been reading. The top ten most popular posts of April were: Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: (Site news) , Byron, Gilmour's, Jake's Rolex Watch Blog, Mercedes, Mercedes E-class coupe, Nokia, Nokia E75, Rolex, Rolex Sea-Dweller, Rolex Submariner, Rolex Submariner 5513, Samsung, Samsung OmniaHD, Toyota, Toyota Prius, Village East
If John Wayne wrote a blog, we know he’d keep it short and to the point. So will we: The Guide is a big fan of the Western and – in our view – Westerns don’t get any better than John Ford’s The Searchers.
From the now infamous opening shot (which bookends the film with its near-identical closing shot) of the harsh, untamed West as seen from inside the family home, you know you’re watching something special. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Film reviews, Films , John Ford, John Wayne, The Searchers, Westerns
As recently as the 1990s, getting your grubby, hung-over mitts on a really good hamburger in the UK was a genuine challenge. In the US, any local diner seemed to be able to serve you up a juicy, tender one with all the right trimmings. But here in the UK, no one seemed to be able to replicate it. How hard could it be to grind up a cow, chuck it on a hot grill for the right amount of time and then serve the resulting patty on a fresh soft bun with some crunchy lettuce, juicy tomato, flavoursome cheese and some crispy bacon? Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Food & drink, Restaurants , American cuisine, Automat, Big Easy B-B-Q and Crabshack, Burger, Byron, Ed's Diner, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Hamburger, Little Chef, McDonald's
We desperately wanted to like Benihana. Having sampled a branch of these pseudo Japanese/American, ‘dinner as theatre’ hybrids in Florida a few years back, we had a fair idea of what to expect. Yes, it was going to be tacky, no the food wasn’t going to have anything to do with real Japanese cooking but, if taken in the right spirit – or if taken with enough spirits – Benihana could be great fun we thought. So, we descended into the cavernous Kings Road branch one Saturday afternoon fully open to embracing the kitsch and going with the flow. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Food & drink, Restaurants , Benihana, Japanese cuisine
We’ve said it before – if you like beautiful and fun Rolex photography, there’s no better site on the web than Jake’s Rolex Watch Blog. And this proves true once again this Easter Weekend as Jake publishes this shot from John Golberger. Goldberger wrote 100 Superlative Rolex Watches and took the photos of his Exotic Dial Paul Newman (Reference 6263) to wish everyone a happy Easter. Head on over to Jake’s Rolex Watch Blog for more.
Filed under: Vintage watches, Watches , 100 Superlative Rolex Watches, Jake's Rolex Watch Blog, John Goldberger, Rolex, Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, Rolex Paul Newman
We’re hesitating to even write this review. You see, a gem like Gilmour’s is the sort of place you want to keep to yourself. The last thing we’d want is for the place to get drunk on its own success, start putting on airs and graces or, worse, be fully booked when we call to book again – which will be soon and often. This is simply a fantastic local restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Cocktails, Food & drink, Restaurants , Christopher's, Gilmour's, Martini, Vodka Martini
The Guide loves food & drink and films. So, is it any surprise that we’re looking forward to Randy Miller’s upcoming Bottle Shock? Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Films, Upcoming films , Alan Rickman, Bill Pulman, Bottle Shock, Dennis Farina
Harden’s and Zagat tend to be your first thought when looking for a reliable restaurant guide (we’d love to think The Prodigal Guide was on a par but we know our place) and they’re both dependable companions for sure. But plucky little newcomer Urbanspoon brings something completely new to the party: the power of Web 2.0 and social media. Where the old-school guides gather input from readers in one annual survey and then distil it down to a short summary review of each restaurant, Urbanspoon uses the web to aggregate opinions on a continual basis, from a broad variety of sources, and gives you access to all of it. And very well it works too. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: (Site news), Food & drink , Urbanspoon
“God, it’s like Nappy Valley in here” we complained grumpily – and without a hint of irony – as we parked our two baby carriages next to our table and sat down. Yes, Carluccio’s is very ‘child friendly’ as they say. But that’s OK; it’s perfectly in keeping with the ethos of the place. This is honest Italian food, at very reasonable prices, delivered with a smile. And we’re certainly not going to turn our noses up at that. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: Food & drink, Restaurants , Carluccio's, Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White
Here’s our monthly roundup of what we’ve been writing about and what you’ve been reading. The top ten most popular posts of March were: Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: (Site news) , Jake's Rolex Watch Blog, Mercedes, Mercedes E-class coupe, Nokia, Nokia E55, Nokia E75, Nokia WH-700, Palm, Palm Pre, Pioneer, Pioneer PDP-436, Rolex, Rolex Sea-Dweller, Rolex Submariner, Rolex Submariner 5513, Sushinho, Toyota, Toyota Prius
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