Monocle Weekend
Edition: Sunday

Today’s bulletin finds us on the banquette of a brasserie in Los Angeles that’s bringing a touch of European flair to California’s hospitality scene. Plus: an Italian-inspired beachside bolthole in New South Wales, the Tunisian native exporting handmade harissa and the French winemaker promoting the fertile soils of the Polish region of Lubusz. Here to complete the look, Tyler Brûlé considers a wardrobe revolution for the West.

If you spend much time in the Gulf you might be familiar with this particular scene. It’s a Tuesday morning and you have a full day of meetings booked in. Given the traffic in Dubai, it’s likely that you won’t have time to zip back to the hotel before an evening of drinks and dinner, so you stand in front of the open suitcase that you’ve been travelling with for three weeks and try to plot the best get-up for the day ahead.

There’s breakfast with a hotel-group CEO, two meetings prior to lunch, time in the car before two more meetings, then a journey out to the desert for a gathering of ministers before it’s back to DXB for the flight home. Across the day there will be conversations with a couple of Westerners in assorted leadership posts but most will be with Emirati men looking immaculate in their kandoras, with laser-sharp beards and elegant headgear. In my daily Western life I feel like I have a bit of a uniform that works in most situations – JM Weston loafers or Paraboot oxfords, a couple of well-cut chinos, good knits, tab-collar shirts and a selection of blazers and work jackets. But settled among Emiratis under starry Arabian skies I feel like a rumpled, disjointed mess. Add to this that it’s freaking hot all the time and the Western “uniform” is simply not fit for working in the Gulf, nor many other corners of the up-and-coming and still-developing world.

In the October issue of Monocle we dissected the importance and revival of national dress and it’s clear there’s a need for a European nation or two to take the lead in defining a new standardised costume for situations both casual and formal. At a recent event at the Ritz in Paris, Monocle’s luxury commentator Sagra Maceira de Rosen predicted that we’re moving to a world where uniforms are going to be the height of desirability. She’s got a point. Why not define a new European vernacular that’s appropriate to varying climates, settings and spectacles? It’ll require a consortium of designers and craftspeople to define the codes of must-have garments that you’d be proud to wear at home and abroad. At the moment it’s only a small corner of Europe’s Alpine region where Tracht (think lederhosen and dirndls) can be worn in daily life without looking vaguely ridiculous. While I don’t need much of an excuse to throw on a janker and some deerskin shorts, it’s not quite what I have in mind for a form of 21st-century dress, let alone suitable for 40C mornings in Abu Dhabi.

On the flight back to Zürich, some time before I passed out, I was thinking that this new form of Euro-Western attire might borrow a few codes from traditional Veneto tailoring, French ateliers and Tyrolean workwear. From the bottom up I’m seeing a slightly heftier version of a Venetian slipper, a generously cut (yet tapered) trouser that’s slightly cropped and a boxy jacket with an officer’s collar. Beneath, there are merino-wool undergarments and knit shirts (long and short) in various weights. To top it off there’s a vest for cool days and a cape-style coat when things get chilly. There would be an emphasis on premium textiles from Europe’s finest mills. Much like the nations of the Gulf there’d be regional differences in fabrics and finishes but the overall look would be similar yet distinguishable – the French discernible from the Swedes and the Dutch from the Belgians while passing through any major airport. Over the coming months, Monocle will be expanding its collection of own-label garments, anyone up for joining the European costume project?

PS: In yesterday’s column Andrew Tuck set me up to tell you more about our little Bodrum weekend for Monocle’s Patrons, and while there is much to report (faultless service, adoring dogs, the best swimming set-up, a generous owner and a sunny group of our most dedicated readers), it’s better to convey the overall vibe with a few images captured in and around the Maçakizi hotel by our colleague Linard Baer. If you’ve not tried this superb property, you still have another two weeks to secure a bit of Mediterranean sunshine. And if you would like to become a Patron, my colleague Holly Anderson (han@monocle.com) will be happy to welcome you.

Los Angeles’ once-sleepy Melrose Hill neighbourhood is now buzzing with new businesses, cafés, restaurants and museums (writes Sarah Rowland). Artist and designer John Zabawa has added a European stamp in the form of Café Telegrama (he’s also behind the nearby Italian restaurant, Ètra).

“The design centres on the tables of Parisian cafés, Italian ceramics and flavourful coffee profiles,” Zabawa says, “as well as Denmark’s use of interior architecture crafted with natural elements.” And the restaurant’s name and aim? Zabawa likes that telegrams are used to communicate with friends and family from afar, while a café is a place where people come together.

The menu runs from breakfast plates such as ricotta toast with stracciatella and stewed cherries to delicious savoury salads (panzanella is best). The ham-and-cheese sandwich with prosciutto cotto, gruyère and dijon mustard is a must.
cafetelegrama.com

For more neighbourhood discoveries and gastronomical delights, pick up a copy ofMonocle’s October issue, which is on newsstands now.

Sam Lamiri launched Lamiri Harissa in 2021, putting his cherished condiment and Tunisian roots on the map (writes Gabrielle Grangié). He splits his time between Tunis and London, exporting artisanal harissa straight from the source to the best delis around the globe. Here he shares his penchant for the spicy paste, the market where he finds fresh produce in Tunis and his Sunday soundtrack.

Where will we find you this weekend?
Tunisia, specifically the port of Radès. You’ll most likely find me locked in a heated argument with a customs officer over some mind-numbing bureaucratic nonsense that’s holding up my two tonnes of harissa from being exported to the UK.

What’s for breakfast?
Coffee, a cigarette and a cold fig.

Lunch in or out?
Doesn’t matter, as I’m not cooking. Every time I decide to make a light lunch it spirals into some absurd, hours-long detour. I end up creating a dish so elaborate that, if it had a name, I wouldn’t be able to pronounce it.

Walk the dog or downward dog?
No contest. I’m taking my best bud, aka my 12-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier, on a good old stroll.

A Sunday soundtrack?
Sellers from the Sunday souk market below my window.

Sunday culture must?
Souk Bouselsla – the same one heard from my window. It’s where locals stock up on fresh produce and everything from electronics to second-hand T-shirts.

News or no news?
My housemate is a journalist, so I don’t really have a choice.

What’s on the menu?
Harissa arabi, slata mechouia [Tunisian salad], brik [stuffed pastries], jelbena [pea stew] and couscous osbane, a kind of stuffed sausage.

Sunday-evening routine?
Ignore all messages, emails and notifications.

Will you lay out an outfit for Monday?
No. If I have matching socks, I know it’s going to be a good day.

Our favourite Swiss chef has whipped up a light and fluffy cake with a subtle hint of orange. For an especially rich flavour, substitute the butter for some silky Fontclara olive oil from Girona.

Serves 6

Ingredients
4 medium-size eggs
120g cane sugar
90g melted butter
250g ground almonds
½ tsp baking powder
1 large orange, juice and zest

Method
1
Preheat the oven to 175C.

2
Grease a small springform pan with a diameter of 20cm and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of ground almonds. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Beat 100g of the cane sugar with the egg yolks until frothy. Beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff.

3
Stir the melted butter, orange zest and juice into the egg-yolk mixture. Mix in the rest of the ground almonds with the baking powder and stir carefully. Finally, fold in the beaten egg whites.

4
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth out. Bake the cake for about 35 to 40 minutes. If necessary, cover with aluminium foil halfway through to prevent it from getting too dark.

5
If desired, dust the finished cake with powdered sugar.

ralphschelling.com

In Yamba, a laid-back surf town a three-hour drive from Brisbane on Australia’s east coast, you’ll find Il Delfino, an inn with sweeping ocean views (writes Carli Ratcliff). The name, which means “dolphin” in Italian, is inspired by the pods that are often visible from the hotel’s sun terrace. Built in 1948, the building is one of the oldest original structures remaining on Yamba’s oceanfront.

Founder Sheree Commerford is a local and one of about 6,000 people who call the town home. She had long romanticised the property and dreamed of turning it into something that would show the area’s charms to new arrivals. While celebrating a birthday there, she decided to take the reins and revive it. “It might sound cheesy but I wanted the feeling of this place to be a permanent part of my life,” says Commerford, a fashion stylist, designer and founder of creative agency Canvs Bottega. “It’s one of those times when the reasons why you left home end up being the reasons why you return.”

She began renovations in 2021. Today most of the building’s original architecture and features remain intact, including large-picture windows and glass doors overlooking the Pacific. Each of the guest rooms bears the name of an Italian town or region: Cinque Terre, Ischia, Portofino, Scopello and Ravello. The Mediterranean-inspired interiors are by Commerford herself.

Every room includes a kitchen and features a mural by artist-in-residence Heidi Middleton. “As a child, I used to dream of living in the town rather than on the farm,” says Commerford, wistfully. “My love for the town started then.”
ildelfino.com.au

Pick up a copy ofMonocle’s latest issue, on newsstands now, for more on our chosen beachside boltholes and well-designed outposts.

Winnica Saint Vincent’s wine is a product of fertile soil in the Lubusz region of western Poland – but with a French twist (writes Julia Lasica). The label was founded by Normandy native Jean Mulot in 2008 after a visit to Poland’s historical winemaking region. Enlisting the help of Alsatian oenologist Christian Gresser, friends from Bordeaux and Burgundy, and a team of Polish wine specialists, Mulot has created some of the country’s most exciting and unusual tipples.

Saint Vincent takes its cues from the historical wine-making traditions that had been cut short in the turbulence of the 20th century. Matching Alsatian varieties including pinot gris and riesling with Lubusz’s sunny climate, Saint Vincent has recently added sparkling wines to their roster. “Our wines are special because they are a product of thoughtful winemaking,” says Saint Vincent’s Michał Popiołek. “We are precise about every variety of grape that we use, every example of maceration and blending. But playfulness also has an important role – just look at our labels.” winnicasaintvincent.pl

Monocle is celebrating the hospitality holdouts that have become stalwarts in their cities thanks to dependable menus, smart service and a determination to keep hold of cherished house recipes. This week we take a seat in a revered booth at Helsinki’s Savoy for some pan-fried Baltic herring.

Helsinki’s Savoy restaurant has been a figurehead of fine Finnish dining for more than 80 years (writes Rory Jones). Since opening in 1937, the iconic establishment initially designed by modernist architects Aino and Alvar Aalto has had one table that has stood the test of time. It was favoured by none other than Finland’s wartime leader, Marshal Mannerheim – making it not just the best seat in the house but perhaps the most famous table of any restaurant in the country. It’s a subtle corner booth upholstered in a fine-grey textile that sits gracefully to the side. The man himself remains in situ – his portrait hanging above the nook in a gold-bevelled frame.

As the story goes, the aristocrat and statesman entered the restaurant on the second day of its opening, took a seat at the aforementioned booth and promptly became a regular until his death in 1951 – but not without influencing the menu that still features his favourite pikeperch and Baltic herring. Today the table is prime real estate to enjoy a selection from the 600-bottle-strong wine list as well as panoramic views of the Eteläesplanadi park and the stately Helsinki Cathedral.
savoyhelsinki.fi

In ourlatest issue, Monocle’s style special, we propose a toast to tailoring and the designers who are a cut above the rest. Pick up a copy today orsubscribeso that you never miss an issue. Have a super Sunday.