Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image credit: congerdesign via pixnio I assumed that like in any fairytale, from the moment I met you, you’d be the one I could count on—whenever I needed you, you’d always be there. Before we were officially together—I remember the date, December 12, 2018—you would answer my messages even during the odd hours of the night […]
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Image credit: CC0 by George Hodan There was more to Ancient Greece than Gerard Butler in a leather thong indulging in some vigorous male bonding; indeed, there was more to Ancient Greece than war. It was a land of philosophers, playwrights and poets, and, arguably more importantly, it was a land of high quality ingredients. Some […]
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Image credit: Pauline Blanchet By quarter-to-five, a large queue had already started to form on Great Russell Street as I was talking to Jisu Kim, the manager of Seoul Bakery. He was sitting across from me at one of the tables inside the restaurant as we discussed the words and drawings left behind by past […]
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Image credit: Louis Thomas “This were all glaciers back in my day”, my fictional Neanderthal great grandfather grunts, racistly. “Of course, it’s not like that now – all these Homo sapienses comin’ over ‘ere, taking our flint”. The Palaeolithic diet has recently witnessed something of a resurgence, with its followers believing that a pre-agrarian diet […]
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Coming from a French family, I was looked at in befuddlement when I announced my transition to vegetarianism two years ago. In a country where meat is the centre-piece of a meal, the question my grandparents asked me was ‘So what will you eat then?’ Yet within those two years, I have observed some – […]
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Image credit: Dominique Fortes Despite my excitement at the mere thought of the challenge, it took many weeks of back and forth to determine whether I should or shouldn’t participate, but in early December, I finally decided. I would do it. I would take on “El Criminal.” Mission Burrito’s website refers to the challenge as […]
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Image credit: Louis Thomas In 2016, Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, was listed by Yahoo as the best international city for food. Levantine cuisine is, factually speaking, healthy, and this is a factor which contributes to the life expectancy of a Lebanese person being approximately 77.22 years, as of 2014, (though demographic statistics concerning Lebanon […]
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Image credit: Gresa Rustemi From November the 17th to December 22nd 2018, Oxford’s famous ‘dreaming spires’ provide one of the more atmospheric backdrops of any of the country’s free Christmas markets. Set in the heart of Oxford on historic Broad Street – surrounded by the Sheldonian Theatre and historical Oxford University buildings, the opening of […]
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Image credit: Louis Thomas. Description: a roasted ox heart with a Christmas hat on it. The ox was dead, to begin with. I know this because I bought its heart on the Internet. The festive season is closing in and if, like me, you are a disgusting glutton, then this provides the perfect opportunity to […]
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Image credit: Pixabay. Description: an Italian butcher’s shop. It will be no secret to anyone who has read this section or spoken to me this term (though that’s not exactly a high number of people) that I am passionate about, or perhaps bewitched by, offal. It seems that there are two sorts of people in […]
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Image credit: Louis Thomas. Description: pork crackling, fresh out of the oven. “As a youth, I used to weep in butchers’ shops”, as Uncle Monty remarks in Withnail and I, is a statement which strangely resonates with me. I’m clearly not particularly sensitive when it comes to seeing an animal being sliced up on a […]
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Image credit: Andrew Foo After a recent fieldtrip, I and a group of friends spent a few days resting in the city of Kota Kinabalu, in Malaysian Borneo. It’s one hell of a place. Firstly, a number of bars provide all the liquid refreshment you may require. Secondly, the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park provides […]
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Image credit: Gresa Rustemi. Description: a salmon fillet salad. Cafe CoCo is a quirky place; indeed, I’d say it has character. Some of the art in the cafe borders a little on scary, like the big sculpture of a clown in a bathtub. That I could do without, but hey, how many other cafes have […]
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Image credit: Louis Thomas. Description: a dome of jelly around which lies various USSR-related items. One hundred and one years ago, the world was changed forever: the Russian Revolution would sweep aside the Tsar, and the empire he reigned over, replacing it with a new society, one which promised peace, bread and land. However, not […]
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Image credit: Serena Millen. Description: a mushroom-topped pizza. Situated at the Iffley Road end of Marston Street, you would be forgiven for walking straight past the little blue brick building which houses The Oxford Blue Pub. This newly renovated edition to East Oxford’s food scene is hidden away from the bustle of Cowley Road on […]
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Image credit: Louis Thomas. Descripton: Louis Thomas doing an impression of Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather while holding a liver sandwich. A man who doesn’t spend time frying innards in lard can never be a real man. Few offal dishes have quite the same reputation as the Sicilian spleen sandwich, “pani cà meusa”, the quintessential […]
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Image credit: Gresa Rustemi. Description: a wide variety of colourful French chocolates and desserts on display. Pierre Marcolini, five different locations Pierre Marcolini is the sheer embodiment of luxury. Often one finds they have trouble reviewing a whole chocolate box, even if it’s only twelve or so, because they’re just so large and rich. Here […]
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Image credits: Louis Thomas. Description: a pig’s liver in a bowl with a bottle of wine. Ancient Roman Emperors, before they were dulled by the influence of Christianity, used to have a haruspex to inspect the entrails of a sacrificed animal in order to predict the future. Checking for blemishes and the like. It would […]
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Recently I was bestowed the honour of visiting Shoryu Ramen, the Hakata ramen noodle specialists. This season they were welcoming one of Japan’s most popular characters, Gudetama – a lazy egg-based mascot in the vein of Hello Kitty – to Oxford for the first time by launching an exclusive autumnal egg-themed pop up menu for two […]
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