
Miley Cyrus wants Billie Eilish collaboration
Miley Cyrus has admitted Billie Eilish is at the top of her wish list of people she wants to work with.
2023-10-29 17:22

Matthew Perry's 'eerie' final Instagram post leaves fans in tears
Matthew Perry, the actor best known for playing Chandler Bing in the beloved sitcom Friends, has died aged 54, according to numerous reports from the United States. Perry was reportedly found dead in a hot tub in his Los Angeles home on October 28th with police being called to his home at around 4pm. Although an investigation is ongoing there is said to be no signs of foul play. NBC, the network which aired all 10 seasons of Friends confirmed Perry's death in a statement. It read: "We are incredibly saddened by the too-soon passing of Matthew Perry. "He brought so much joy to hundreds of millions of people around the world with his pitch-perfect comedic timing and wry wit. His legacy will live on through countless generations." Tributes have since poured in for Perry from across the celebrity and media world as his admirers come to terms with his untimely passing. Elsewhere, fans have been flocking to the actor's final Instagram post which was shared just six days ago. Coincidentally the post features Perry in a hot tub at night with headphones on. The caption for the post reads: "Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I'm Mattman." Mattman was a reference to an apparent obsession that Perry had with the superhero Batman. The post has since been flooded with comments from heartbroken fans, with some pointing out the unfortunate connection between the image and Perry's death. One wrote: "This caption is so eerie now, 6 days later. So scary. Rest in Peace man." Another said: "His last post was in the same place he died. So devastating. Rest in peace." Others shared how much Friends and Perry had meant to them. One fan said: "Rest in peace Matthew. The show F.R.I.E.N.D.S was/is a huge part of my life. Thank you for being in it. I learned English watching it. Now watching the show will be a little sad knowing you are gone." Another added: "Your show was my safe show for many years and I will continue to watch it and appreciate every moment of laughter and brightness you brought to that show. My heart is with your family and friends." How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-10-29 16:53

Protesters shut New York's Grand Central, seeking Gaza ceasefire
(Reuters) -Hundreds of protesters demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas forced the closure on Friday of Grand Central Terminal,
2023-10-29 16:51

Ben Wheatley reflects on shooting Meg 2: 'It was like a wild fever dream!'
Ben Wheatley feels as if shooting 'Meg 2' was a "wild-fever" dream but admitted it was nice to have some "distance" from it between filming and release.
2023-10-29 16:25

Jacob Elordi learned about Elvis Presley from Lilo + Stitch
Jacob Elordi's only knowledge of Elvis Presley before signing up to play The King in 'Priscilla' came from 'Lilo + Stitch'.
2023-10-29 16:16

How This Israel-Hamas Conflict Is Like Nothing That’s Happened Before
The long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is filled with bloodshed, dislocation and trauma. But even by those
2023-10-29 15:24

BOE Likely to Highlight Recession Risk Ahead of Next UK Election
Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast. The Bank
2023-10-29 15:17

Restaurant menus are ruining eating out: ‘They’re supposed to seduce you, not humiliate you’
What does a “smacked cucumber” look like? What is a “rutabaga”? Why does a “spiny caldereta” sound so threatening? Is “blackened” just a fancy word for “burnt”? These are some of the many questions diners have to grapple with when they look at a menu in some restaurants these days. But Britons are a shy bunch who would rather curl up in a ball and disappear than actually have to utter these queries out loud to a waiter. I would know – my husband is one of 41 per cent of diners who would choose to google an unfamiliar menu term under the table instead of asking for clarification, according to recent research from reservation service Resy. Whenever me and my husband come across an obscure word on a menu, my suggestion of asking the waiting staff to explain is swiftly shot down by the appearance of his phone, followed by a muttered definition from a search engine. Navigating a menu has become harder in recent years. It’s not just the use of lesser-known techniques, nor the use of alternative words for common ingredients (a rutabaga is a turnip and a cep is a porcini or pennybun mushroom, by the way). With Covid came menus only available via QR code, a development that’s now the bane of eating out – some restaurants still use them. It means having to point our stupid camera phones at stupid, alien-looking squares and scroll through the menu in stupid silence, as if we need to be even more enslaved to our devices than we already are. And then, if menus do get printed, they’re impossible to see because restaurants insist on turning their lights down lower and lower. Or they print the text in smaller and smaller typeface, making it a struggle to read even with 20/20 vision – which I haven’t had since I was 10. I’ll never forget trying to read the menu at the ever-trendy Smoking Goat in Shoreditch in 2019, me and five of my companions sat squinting in the dark with our phone torches on. Going to a restaurant should be a relatively easy endeavour, an experience free of stress and embarrassment. But recent menu trends might be off-putting to the customer, says Gavin Rankin of the Mayfair-based French brasserie restaurant Bellamy’s. “Restaurant menus are supposed to seduce you, to persuade you,” he tells me. “There’s a tendency now to list vegetables or ingredients nobody’s ever heard of, but I don’t like it and people don’t like having to ask questions about what something is because it makes them feel foolish. Restaurants aren’t out to humiliate the diner.” Descriptors that give an idea of texture or flavour are important, but they don’t have to be complicated. It’s definitely possible to achieve a balance between having your menu be stylish and still informative Hugh Richard Wright, restaurant PR But could it be a good thing for menus to spark conversation between a diner and the restaurant? When I ask Rankin this, he blows a raspberry down the phone line, though not rudely – just in exasperation. “There’s something a bit… aggressive about it,” he says. “You can see on some menus they are deliberately choosing to list things that will force people to ask. Keep it simple, in my opinion. It’s different if you’re trying a really unfamiliar cuisine, but not when you go to an English or French restaurant. You should be able to look at a menu and be happy to eat 90 per cent of it with pleasure.” I’m someone who’s quite happy to have a chinwag with the waiter and ask questions about a menu. I also like it when a menu provides the opportunity to learn something new. But Rankin is right in pointing out that many diners don’t like asking questions at all, and menus shouldn’t force a diner into having to enquire about every single item. Hugh Richard Wright, leading restaurant PR and man-about-town with years of eating and consulting experience under his belt, says restaurants need to be mindful of striking the right balance with their menus. “A menu is more than just a list of dishes,” he says. “It should tempt you and excite you, so the descriptions should be tantalising. A menu that makes you want to have a conversation with your server is nice but it’s a balance. You don’t want to have everything explained to you and to go through every dish asking, ‘What’s this, what’s that’. That’s what a lot of places get wrong.” He adds that a menu should give the diner a “realistic impression of what you’re getting on your plate” – a reasonable enough expectation that some restaurants have foregone in favour of just listing ingredients. “For example, ‘pork, leek, kumquat’. It should describe how the pork is cooked. Is it pulled pork? Or roasted? Descriptors that give an idea of texture or flavour are important, but they don’t have to be complicated. It’s definitely possible to achieve a balance between having your menu be stylish and still informative.” David Paw, international editor at Resy, advises that we shouldn’t be put off by a sparse menu. “It may be deliberate,” he says. “The restaurant is setting up the chance for a guest and the front of house staff to engage in a dialogue. I lean into these moments as opportunities to have a chat about ingredients, techniques, and the kitchen’s creative process. I’d encourage diners to always try to ask for more information. Even frequent diners are always learning and expanding their food vocabulary.” It comes down to what kind of experience we’re looking for when we dine out. For some, like Paw and myself, it’s fun and exciting to come across new things on a menu. But for many, given that eating out nowadays is much more of a pricey indulgence than it used to be, relaxation is key, not being challenged. This isn’t to say that every single restaurant should acquiesce to simplicity, but it would be no small potatoes to consider ways to make a diner feel less like they need a thesaurus before sitting down. It doesn’t diminish a fine restaurant to make its menu more accessible – instead, it would make it so much more appealing, bringing incredible food to the many instead of the few. That said, we go to restaurants to eat food we wouldn’t normally cook ourselves, and often food that we’re not familiar with. There is so much joy to be had in allowing new flavours and textures to colour your palate, and the culinary world has never been more creative or diverse than it is right now. So in a time where suspicion of anything unfamiliar is rife, perhaps it would do us all some good to try something new on our plates. Next time you’re stuck, ask your waiter for assistance. I promise they won’t bite. Read More Best burgers in London: Where to eat top patties in the city Why ‘chain’ restaurant shouldn’t be a dirty word Three ramen recipes to change your life Best burgers in London: Where to eat top patties in the city Why ‘chain’ restaurant shouldn’t be a dirty word Three ramen recipes to change your life
2023-10-29 14:52

Hurricane Otis: Mexico troops tackle looting in devastated Acapulco
Thousands of soldiers and police go into the Mexican resort city ravaged by a powerful hurricane.
2023-10-29 14:17

Rob Manfred reveals his next horrible decision at the World Series
Fresh off a wave of positive rule changes, MLB is considering reducing the pitcher limit from 13 to 12, according to Rob Manfred.
2023-10-29 13:23

Athletics-Marathoners in Beijing go maskless, unfazed by smog
By Liz Lee BEIJING Runners undeterred by thick smog engulfing the Chinese capital ran the Beijing Marathon maskless
2023-10-29 13:16

3 reasons Ohio State was able to hold off potential Wisconsin upset
Ohio State was able to beat a Wisconsin offense that was unable to function at times. Ohio State didn't play amazing but they were able to pull of the dub
2023-10-29 12:49