Monocle Weekend
Edition: Sunday

Looking for a bar with great taste in tunes? Then listen up. This week we head to Paris to visit a taproom started by a barman and musician, meet the co-founder of a company making an eye-catching electric vehicle and head to a rustic farmhouse in sunny Marrakech that’s showing the local creative scene to the world. Plus: a rich tiramisù recipe to dazzle your dinnertime guests. But first, Tyler Brûlé goes with the flow...

Listening to music can be thirsty work (writes Claudia Jacob). The vision of barman Guillaume Castaignet and musician Benoît Coulomb (pictured, on right, with Castaignet), Mesures is the place for well made cocktails (their favourite is a old-fashioned with a Jura whisky) and wine served to a just-so soundtrack in Paris’s Marais neighbourhood. The pair, who met at the Hôtel Particulier Montmartre, modelled their intimate bar-cum-venue on Japan’s jazz cafés, which encourage a focused appreciation of music rather than using it as mere background noise.

The soundtrack at Mesures is decidedly analogue, delivered in the form of vinyl or tape, and attracts a discerning group of audiophiles from across the French capital. “Paris’s bar scene is becoming increasingly less niche,” says Coulomb. “Today, Parisians are looking for ambitious concepts with a wide range of well-sourced products. We don’t want to limit ourselves by calling ourselves a wine bar or a cocktail bar. Instead, we just want to see people having a good time.”
58 rue de Saintonge, 75003 Paris

In 2015, Swiss brothers Merlin and Oliver Ouboter launched automotive start-up Microlino. Its small electric vehicles (EVs) are designed to squeeze into tight urban spaces and prove that EVs can do many of the same things that their much larger, overengineered and gas-guzzling cousins can do. Here, Merlin tells us about his love for padel tennis, the news podcast that keeps him engaged and his tipple of choice on a Sunday evening.

Where will we find you this weekend?
I’ll be in the Swiss Alps, close to Flims Laax Falera, for a skiing weekend.

Ideal start to a Sunday? Gentle or a jolt?
A quick coffee and then off in my Microlino to a padel match with friends.

What’s for breakfast?
I’m not a breakfast person. I usually skip it during the week.

Lunch in or out?
On the weekends I love to grab something from the Markthalle in Zürich.

Walk the dog or downward dog?
Neither. I normally go to the gym.

Your Sunday soundtrack?
I’m a big fan of German electronic-music producer Parra for Cuva and The Prof G Pod podcast with Scott Galloway.

A Sunday culture must?
A visit to the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, one of Switzerland’s best museums for design and visual communication.

News or not?
I don’t listen to the news on a day-to-day basis but I like the NZZ Akzent podcast.

What’s on the menu?
Homemade spaghetti al ragù and a whisky sour.

Sunday-evening routine?
Dinner at my parents’ place.

Will you lay out an outfit for Monday?
Yes. It’s usually a white T-shirt, blazer, jeans and Chelsea boots.

The origins of this iconic Italian dessert aren’t clear – some claim that it was invented in Treviso, while others insist that it’s a Tuscan delicacy. Either way, the brandy-spiked dolce classic will round off your dinner party in style. This version from restaurateur, writer and broadcaster Russell Norman’s Brutto: A (Simple) Florentine Cookbook must be prepared at least four hours before serving.

Serves 8

Ingredients
500ml strong coffee
50ml brandy
4 large free-range eggs
150g caster sugar
10ml marsala wine
500g mascarpone
1 packet savoiardi sponge fingers
Cocoa powder, for dusting

Method

1
First, prepare the coffee using a strong espresso variety in a large stove-top coffee maker (such as a Bialetti Moka Express). Leave to cool in a large jug, adding the brandy and 100ml of cold water.

2
Divide the egg yolks and whites, putting them in separate large mixing bowls. Whisk the whites vigorously until they start to stiffen. Add half of the sugar and continue to whisk energetically until the mix is firm but still glossy.

3
Clean the whisk and do the same to the yolks, adding the rest of the sugar when the volume starts to increase. Continue whisking until the yolks have doubled in volume. Add the marsala and whisk for about 3 minutes. Add half of the mascarpone and whisk for 2 minutes. Now add the other half and whisk for a further 2 minutes until firm.

4
Using a wooden spoon, gently and slowly fold the egg whites into the yolks without beating or stirring. A folding action from bottom to top and from the sides to the centre is very important to avoid overworking the mixture.

5
Place a large, high-sided ceramic or glass tray – ideally about 30cm by 20cm – on your work surface and begin to dip the sponge fingers in the cold coffee mixture (no more than 3 seconds each). Make sure that they don’t disintegrate. Lay the soaked sponge fingers in a single layer on the bottom of the tray.

6
Cover the fingers generously with the egg and mascarpone mixture, so that there’s a 2cm-thick coating on top. Do the same again with another layer of sponge fingers, then top those with a final layer of the remaining mixture. Don’t worry if you haven’t used all of the sponge fingers from the packet; you can keep what’s left until next time. Finally, dust it all liberally with the cocoa powder, completely covering the tiramisu, and place the tray in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

7
Cut the tiramisù into large squares and serve on individual plates. penguin.co.uk

When Morocco’s borders were closed at the peak of the pandemic, entrepreneurs Fred and Rosena Charmoy (pictured, top) believed that people’s yearning for connection and sanctuary would come back stronger than ever after the restrictions were lifted (writes Liam Aldous). In 2021 they discovered late French artist Patrice Arnaud’s run-down former residence on a plain between the Atlas and Jbilet mountains, and converted the property’s two front-facing buildings into a four-key lodging called Farasha Farmhouse. The refurbishment of another building will add six more suites later this year. The opening’s staggered pace reflects the owners’ desire to savour the process.

Set among a deep-rooted olive grove, the property’s oasis-like garden was designed by landscape architect Marius Boulesteix, who moved to Marrakech after leaving a career in the Paris fashion industry. The regenerative farm grows many of the vegetables and herbs used in the kitchen. The drought-resistant plants, butterfly-attracting lantanas and winding pathways layered with argan-nut shells are gentle reminders of the thought and care that have gone into the project.

For more inspiring stays and sunny destinations, pick up the newest issue of ‘The Escapist’.

Berlin-based chef Mattia Risaliti spent his childhood in Tuscany, where food is a way of life and the focus of long, joyous family gatherings (writes Hanna Pham). His beautifully photographed new cookbook, Si Mangia (“Let’s Eat”), is a loving tribute to the Tuscan culinary philosophy of cucina povera: cooking done by ordinary people using inexpensive ingredients. It presents authentic recipes passed down the generations alongside Risaliti’s family photographs and reflections on his childhood.

Among the dishes included here are pappa al pomodoro (bread and tomato soup), which Risaliti remembers his great-grandmother Zita whipping up; hearty mains such as bracioline alla livornese (veal schnitzel in tomato sauce), his father’s favourite; and desserts that champion Tuscany’s summer produce, such as ricotta fichi e miele (ricotta with figs and honey). The book is an ode to food as a unifying force and a heartfelt celebration of the pleasures of coming together as a family.
penguinrandomhouse.com

Stepping off a frenetic main street in central Istanbul and into the Zeyrek Cinili Hamam feels like discovering a portal to the city’s distant past (writes Hannah Lucinda Smith). The din outside fades instantly to a hushed calm in a space where every sound echoes between the marble floor and high dome. The original tiled hammam was completed between the 1530s and 1540s and eventually fell into ruin – but a new renovation has brought it back to life.

The rebooted hammam has kept the layers that had been slapped on top over the centuries, while some spaces that were decorated with tiles are now covered with marble. The heating was switched on in December 2023; by spring, the hammam will be steamy enough to welcome bathers. Some practices stand the test of time, even if the places where they’re conducted do not. But it is often better to revamp past glories than build anew – and a trip to the spa is the best way to be revived.

If you’re a fan of independent publishing and pristine print, pick up a copy of Monocle today. Or subscribe so that you never miss an issue. Have a super Sunday.