There's something happening in Soho, something of a food invasion. Lucky Chip's Slider Bar is (fingers crossed) imminently upon us, Honest Burgers and Burger & Lobster are finding their second home here, and ramen is the new udon. If that's not enough table talk for your liking, we have street food at Red Market, whisky and dogs at Dach & Sons, and a ceviche summer pop up. With a bit of art and opera thrown in for good measure. And whether you're partying it up at Wireless or Bloc, watching the tennis, or joining us for the Belvedere brunch, get in the mood with Jeffrey's latest mod-electro mix. See you on the other side! This Weekend’s Picks • FRI CitizenM • SAT Dach & Sons • SUN Saskia Pomeroy CONVERSE REPRESENT Sponsored Listing If you haven’t applied for tickets yet, what are you waiting for? Converse is bringing music moments past, present and future to the legendary 100 Club, hosting a series of free live gigs with a line up of 45 diverse artists who’ve shaped the musical landscape. Confirmed acts so far include Plan B, Nas, Paul Weller, Santigold, SBTRKT, Toots & The Maytals and more. We’re there. Converse Represent, 100 Club, July 30 - August 10 For more information on artist line-ups, free ticket access and live streaming click here TONIGHT International Party: Jamie Jones at DC10 Starting tonight, DC10 will be hosting the hottest residency on the Balearic island. Man of the moment Jamie Jones, and his label Hot Creations, will welcome some of the best names in electronic music every Thursday at his new club night Paradise. Kicking off tonight, JJ will be joined by the likes of Art Department, Benoit & Sergio, Miguel Campbell and Richy Ahmed for a night of underground house techno. Hop on a plane now and you'll be there for nightfall. 11pm-7am €30 Carretera de las Salinas KM1, Ibiza FRIDAY PARTY: RED MARKET SLEEPOVER: CitizenM London's original night market returns for a second summer of music, street food, urban beach parties, film… and pétanque. Grab a snack from Tongue 'n Cheek, laze on a hammock, or check out the bands, comedians and poets on stage. Heads up: park yourself in front of the giant custom-made screen during the Olympics for sporting fun without the crowds. From Amsterdam via Glasgow (with NY and Paris coming soon), citizenM has hit London. Bankside, to be precise. Promising a sleek design, seamless self-check in, and rooms that can be customized according to your mood, it's a jetsetter's dream. And it's right next to the Tate Modern: weekend culture fix sorted. 12pm – 11pm Free 288-299 Old St, EC1V 9DP Check in from 2pm Rooms from £99 20 Lavington Street, SE1 0NZ MIXTAPE Bloc's the festival we've got our eye on this weekend, both for the location and niche headliners. If you've got tickets already or are still thinking about it, here's a warm up from Jeffrey: a whirlwind of electro, with a splash of Snoop. Get ready! Play BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Imaginative ‘Learn How to be a Film Director’ Workshop Evenings Sponsored Listing Calling all film lovers! Bombay Sapphire has teamed up with London film director and lecturer Justin Trefgarne to host a series of fun and interactive evenings, providing an introduction to the world of film directing, with plenty of hints and tips and industry insights. Guests will also hear more about the Bombay Sapphire Imagination Series competition and have fun creating a treatment for a film script, all whilst enjoying Bombay Sapphire cocktails. Bombay Sapphire Blue Rooms at Zenna Bar, 77 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 3SH July 16 and July 18, 6pm – 8.30pm, £15 Reservations through info@zenna-bar.co.uk or 020 7437 2525 SATURDAY EAT: Dach & Sons OPERA: Peroni Opera Purl is heading north. But this time there are dogs and sliders involved. Hotdogs that is. NY-style Dach & Sons will be serving up American whisky, craft beer and more than a few mint juleps along with Big Apple inspired snacks. But if you're looking for a more creative cocktail, Purl NW3 will be just up the stairs. Hampstead just got a little bit cooler. Inspired by the Arena di Verona summer season of operas and the Italian love of all things al fresco, Peroni Nastro Azzurro have teamed up with renowned electronic artist Kwes and innovative producers GO Opera to create contemporary productions of authentic Italian operas. With a few beers and aperitivo thrown in for good measure, of course. 11am-11pm Dogs from £8 68 Heath Street, NW3 1DN 7pm–10pm £7.50 Regents Place, NW1 3HF COMPETITION Courvoisier They've rowed across ballrooms flooded with punch, eaten dinner inside a dinosaur, explored Dickensian history on the streets of London and been on tour with White Mink. What could Courvoisier possibly do next? Behold the Courvoisier Institute of Grand Cocktails – an immersive theatrical experience to explore a world of classic cocktails. From champagne cocktails in a derelict Rococo ballroom to a nightcap in a New Orleans-style apothecary, this is cocktail making on a grand scale. We have 10 pairs of tickets to The Courvoisier Institute of Grand Cocktails on July 14 to give away. To win, tweet us @urbanjunkies quoting #courvoisier by July 9 SUNDAY ART: SASKIA POMEROY EAT: Asia de Cuba Pop Up Screen-printing darling of the fashion world (she's produced work for Vogue, Harvey Nics and H&M to name a few), Saskia Pomeroy's bold prints are hard to miss. Catch her solo exhibition at the Wayward Gallery, where you'll find hand drawn, hand cut stencils as well as digitally rendered compositions – all in her signature bright colours. Or if you fancy wearing one of her creations, check out the Torres/Pomeroy collaboration. Jumping on the South American bandwagon, UJ fave St Martins Lane is hosting a summer ceviche pop up this month. Expect classic SA dishes with a modern twist (Scottish salmon and salted avocado helado, curry kingfish and passionfruit) and cooling cocktails (mini Mojitos here we come). Round it all off with Asia de Cuba's signature Mexican doughnuts with butterscotch sauce. 12pm-6pm Free 47 Mowlem Street, E2 9HE 11.30am-7.30pm Dishes from £5 45 St Martin's Lane, WC2N 4HX PRODUCT PICK Polpo Cookbook For a little taste of Venice at home, pick up the new cookbook from London's very own bácaro. We dare you to flick through it and not start planning your next five dinner parties. POLPO A Venetian Cookbook (of sorts), Bloomsbury, £25 INTERVIEW RUSSELL NORMAN Russell Norman has opened some of the hottest restaurants in London over the last few years (Spuntino is a UJ fave). With the release of the new Polpo cookbook, we decided to catch up with the man himself and get the lowdown on the book, his new restaurant, and why he's keen to take up rambling. The Polpo cookbook is out this week. For the avid collector, how is this cookbook different? The Polpo book certainly looks different - we have stripped it back as far as we can so that it looks raw and exposed (like the restaurant). The spine reveals the beautiful green stitching holding the book together and the luminescent photographs are so evocative of Venice and Polpo's dishes that you'll be torn between wanting to go immediately to Italy or immediately to your kitchen to start cooking. The contents follow the theme of simplicity too - no recipe has more than three or four basic ingredients. Just like at the restaurant, the ingredients speak for themselves. Do you cook any of the recipes at home or are you a restaurant man through and through? I do cook some of the recipes, yes. They are mostly traditional northern Italian dishes re-interpreted as small plates for our London restaurant by our brilliant chef Tom Oldroyd. But as much as I love the restaurant, there really is no place like home. With a new Polpo opening in Smithfield and others being renamed, are you concerned your growing restaurant empire will be seen as a chain? I don't think of our restaurants as a chain because they grow and open organically. They are born of our passions and interests, not in a sterile boardroom. For our newest restaurant in Smithfield, I have personally bought all the furniture, fittings, door knobs, sinks, taps, mirrors, lights and so on. Our group general manager Luke Bishop and I were sitting on the floor in the Smithfield building site cutting tiles for the loos on Friday. We're not Nandos (and before you ask, there's nothing wrong with Nandos occasionally…). We just like opening places that we'd like to go to. If you had to pick, which of your restaurants would you go to? Are you crazy? That's like asking a parent to choose a favourite child! What are your plans for the future? That's it. No more restaurants. I'm planning to take it easy and find a nice hobby like rambling. WEEKEND GUIDE by MY LIKE SHARE FORWARD *|SHARE:TWITTER, FACEBOOK, STUMBLEUPON, LINKEDIN, DELICIOUS|* *|GOOGLE:PLUSONE|* PREVIOUS EDITION (c) 2012 Urban Junkies. All rights reserved. Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free daily mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.