#49: September by the Spoonful

Mango sticky rice, martinis, and bánh cuốn.

I ate out a lot this month, even by my standards. And what a month of eating it was: spicy, saucy, and with plenty to drink alongside as we savoured the tail end of a long hot summer.

I’m at my desk in a Kermit-green turtleneck (before Charli there were the muppets), convinced that fall, after eluding us for weeks, is finally clicking into place. This week I’ve been cooking and eating my way to that inevitability, as if summoning it, witch-like over a cauldron — soba in a dashi broth, a fish swimming in tomatoes, a piquant chicken stew Ivan made over the weekend.

It helps that I love the kitchen in our new space, though I’m still erratically finding new homes for various trays and our small collection of tiny mismatched plates. In my old flat I ended up at the kitchen island regardless, because it was also our living room and dining area; now I buzz around it excitedly rearranging spices and cans of beans and dog-earing cookbook pages for cassoulet in anticipation of meatier meals ahead.

Or rather, September by the handful.

But first, a look back on my favourite restaurant meals of September. Scroll on for:

• Faultless feasts at my favourite Thai and Cantonese restaurants in London

• Primi in unlikely places

• Bánh cuốn cravings, satisfied

• Martinis and mezcal

• Pie!