Created in Philadelphia, the Bronx cocktail dates back to 1905 when visitors to the Bronx Zoo spoke of the many ‘animals’ they saw after a few too many libations

50ml Tanquery gin
40ml orange juice
20ml Martini Rosso
20ml Martini Dry
Add to boston shaker, sake and double strain into Martini glass

This really is a meal in a bowl, but it’s very quick to put together and with no seasonal ingredients you make it with a clear conscience at any time of the year.

You can use whatever bacon you have in the fridge for this dish. If it is smoked so much the better, because it will enhance the smokiness of the fish, but if it’s unsmoked don’t worry. I think bacon is a very personal thing, so use whichever you prefer. What i would say, though, is try to find a good, traditional, dry-cured bacon. Mass-produced bacon is often pumped up with injections of water or brine, sometimes containing preservatives, in order to increase its weight, and when you fry it the liquid leaches out again into milky-white puddles.

Ed Wilson, executive chef and co-owner of Brawn (pictured) on Columbia Road, on what makes Hackney great. For a full list of his favourite hang-outs in the area, see the next issue of London Evening Standard Food magazine, out early 2012.

Homeslice Pizza – Netil Market – homeslicelondon.com
The best pizza in London. Full stop. It’s run by some New Zealand guys who have got this mobile wood-fired oven, and they drag it into the car park come rain or shine. They do really simple pizzas – try the Margarita with a bit of chilli oil on – but they are just fantastic. They are in Netil Market every weekend.