"The Best Martini in the World"

First in the series "Snack Tracks: Snacking Abroad" - Bina reporting from London, UK:

If you have about £13.50 to spare, consider hitting up the Duke Hotel Bar on St. James Place (off the Green Park tube stop), reputably home to the best martini in the world. According to our testers (Nilay & Emil), the vodka version is superiour to the gin.

My favourite part (other than finding the place after entering two dark narrow streets; after all it is Easter Monday) is the way the proper old bartender comes to your table to prepare it for you - in a frosted martini glass, he adds first a dash or two of vermouth, and very slowly and deliberately fills the glass to the brim with vodka (or gin). He then cuts a generous zest from a lemon, grasps the two ends carefully and gives it a quick twist. After slowly grazing the edges of the glass with the lemon zest, he drops it into the drink and serves.

My other favourite part is that two martinis later, Emil wants to buzz-dial friends in the States. Alas, we cannot wake them! It is only 5 PM in California.

Cheers!