The former Komo restaurant near Port Hercule has been transformed into Beefbar Naro’s, offering Levantine cuisine and prime meats, and spearheaded by local food guru Riccardo Giraudi.
What happens when two great foodie worlds collide? In the case of Monaco, the fusion becomes Beefbar Naro’s, a new eatery located in the Komo Monaco Concept Store space on Rue de Millo, serving up the best of the Levantine alongside some the finest beef in the world.
Levantine cuisine is from the Levant region of the Middle East, compromising Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, and Syria.
Beefbar Naro’s combines Riccardo Giraudi’s passion for world food and his expertise in fine produce, with the emblematic dishes of the Near East executed by Nariné Attarian of Naro’s Caterings.
In this new collaboration, the duo claim to offer “sun on a plate” with a lovely selection of hot or cold mezze dishes which include an inspired spicy Wagyu beef hummus, cheese sambousek, labné topped with nigella seeds and mint, and the famous Beefbar staple – the Mini Big K burger, served with an oriental twist.
Spicy Wagyu beef hummus, photo by Fabbio Galatioto
For mains, there are salads with spinach, fresh za’atar and grilled halloumi, or couscous made with grilled peppers and smoked aubergine. For heartier fare, there are tasty dishes such as steak frites with za’atar and Beefbar sauce, and salmon filets with corriander and lemon.
The cocktail menu is just as inventive, with the restaurant’s signature cocktails being the ones to beat. Called the Leaf Garden, this refreshing drink is a subtle blend of gin, bianco Vermouth, fresh lemon, basil and coriander; or the Love Spreads, made with vodka, homemade jasmine syrup, fresh lime, mint, ginger beer and maraschino cherry.
Beefbar Naro’s is open every day for lunch and dinner.
Princess Charlene continues her whirlwind of official duties, this time visiting new mothers at Princess Grace Hospital, bearing gifts and spreading smiles.
Who doesn’t love a newborn baby? It’s hard to resist those tiny little bundles wrapped tight in fresh blankets with sleepy eyes and rosebud mouths.
It was clear on Monday that Princess Charlene is not immune to the charms of a newborn as well, as she took time to visit the new parents at Prince Grace Hospital Centre, spending time with Monaco’s newest residents.
The Princess, who traditionally visits the local maternity ward in late May for Mother’s Day, was unable to do so then as she tested positive for Covid, but she made up for it in spades, coming laden with flowers, chocolates and other goodies. The gifts, which were prepared in conjunction with the Red Cross Monaco, who also organises the event and whom the Princess is vice president of, may have been later than normal, but were no less appreciated.
Frédéric Platini, Secretary General of the hospital, Dr Mathieu Liberatore, member of the Board of Directors and Guillaume Benoist, Deputy Head of Department, accompanied the Princess on her rounds.
In the end, the relaxed and smiling Charlene, who was dressed in a chic and sporty black and white dress, visited five rooms, creating a special moment for these new families.
Last week, Princess Charlene attended her Foundation’s Water Safety Day event, welcoming 40 children for a day of rescue training workshops and lifesaving courses.
All too often for Charles Leclerc in recent weeks, the chequered flag has heralded commiserations rather than champagne. Ferrari’s latest strategic error at Silverstone leaves the Monégasuqe in a precarious position.
Leclerc headed into the British Grand Prix declaring that he needed a “perfect weekend” to get his title challenge back on-track. With just over 10 laps remaining on Sunday, it looked like Leclerc would get just that. Despite suffering front-wing damage to his single-seater Ferrari on the first-lap, his race pace was unparalleled.
Meanwhile, further back, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull was limping its way to just a smattering of points. Having run over debris after snatching the lead from Carlos Sainz, the reigning world champion damaged his floor and received a puncture.
When he emerged from his emergency pit-stop, it was clear that the Dutchman wouldn’t be competing for the podium places. Prior to the late safety car, brought out by a mechanical failure to Esteban Ocon’s Alpine, Verstappen was clinging onto ninth position. At that point, the points swing in Leclerc’s favour would have been 23, but after the latest chapter in Ferrari’s novel of strategic hiccups, the Monégasuqe driver only closed the gap by a mere six points. Leclerc therefore remains third in the championship and 43 points adrift of Verstappen.
It is another opportunity missed, and with a performative Red Bull and an improving Mercedes, he can’t count on having too many more. For his part, Leclerc can hardly do much more. Since errors in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and then a litany of errors whilst attempting to catch Verstappen in Miami, Leclerc has driven impeccably.
However, that hasn’t manifested itself in race wins. As it stands, Leclerc hasn’t stood upon the top step of the podium since the Australian Grand Prix in April, whilst he hasn’t touched the podium since Miami in April. That record isn’t a reflection on Leclerc, but on the reliability of his machinery and the incompetence of the strategists.
Arguably, Leclerc is producing the best racing of his career. In the dying laps at Silverstone, having been left a sitting duck on his worn hard tyres, Leclerc defended impeccably from Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton, who had the pace on their fresh sets of softs. Even when he looked defeated, Leclerc pulled off one of the overtakes of the season on Hamilton as he went around the outside of the Brit at Stowe corner.
Although it will likely make the highlights reel of Leclerc’s greatest overtakes, it was ultimately in vain. There was no resisting the charging Mercedes. To have held onto fourth position was an achievement in itself. The blame, as it did in Monaco, rests solely on the shoulders of his Ferrari team.
Charles Leclerc with Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, photo courtesy Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
Post-race, Leclerc was pictured in discussion with Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto; from the photographic evidence, it was seemingly a frank, intense discussion. Such conversations should have looked very different and should have taken place just prior to the Monégasque driver making the journey up to the podium. Instead, Leclerc and Binotto crossed paths on their way back to the paddock, the latter once again offering commiserations, whilst the former should have been savouring the champagne-flavoured taste of victory with another winners’ trophy added to his cabinet.
Rumours surrounding the nature of the discussion proliferated upon the release of the images. Leclerc put them to bed, revealing, “He wanted to get my morale back up”. Race victories have a greater effect than words in achieving that goal.
But Leclerc hardly needs a pep-talk, rather it is on his team to deliver. Asked about his team’s mistakes in recent races, he replied, “It’s not good. I have to say that I feel like I’m showing that every race it’s not affecting me too much. But I would rather not have these problems.”
As the season has progressed, there has been a reversal in doubt. Leclerc’s performances in Spain, Canada and England in particular have extinguished doubts as to whether he is world champion material. Blessed with the best car on the grid, it is now the pit wall that is being called into question. Can they capitalise on the great work done in the factory to deliver their lead driver a title for the first time since Kimi Räikkönen in 2007?
Charles Leclerc at the British GP, photo courtesy Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
With increasing regularity, Binotto’s post-race comments accrue greater importance and attention, and Silverstone was no different. On Sunday he said, “I knew that he (Leclerc) was disappointed and frustrated, which is understandable as he clearly led the race and was at ease at the moment at which the safety car was deployed. What I told him is that: you did a great race once again because you had a fantastic first lap where you battled. Then after the restart of the race following the safety car, the way that he drove and protected his position was surprising and exceptional. So, I told him to stay calm because his driving was fantastic.”
A sign of a healthy team situation is one where the team principal’s comments aren’t scrutinised, mediatised or just generally so significant. Whilst it is easy to ask Leclerc to “stay calm”, the act itself is being made more and more difficult, as the title slips out of reach due to circumstances beyond his control.
However, it isn’t too late to arrest the slide. Binotto said that Leclerc was “once again unlucky” on Sunday. But the sooner the team accepts its own agency in manufacturing that misfortune, the sooner Ferrari can learn from the mistakes made in past races and endow their lead driver with the strategic nouse befitting a driver of such talent. Should they do so, Leclerc could yet chain together a string of those elusive “perfect weekends”, claw back those lost points and posit himself once more as a genuine title-contender.
Photo courtesy Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
CSM study points to migration of Mediterranean fish
A new report by the Scientific Centre of Monaco shows that global warming will impact the number of fish living in the Mediterranean over the next century, sending many of the most common species consumed locally to northern EU waters.
The United Nations Ocean Summit has just wrapped up in Lisbon, with sustainable fishing taking front and centre at many of the debates. At the same time, the Scientific Centre of Monaco (CSM), in partnership with the ECOSEAS laboratory of the Côte d’Azur University, the Oceanographic Laboratory of Villefranche-sur-Mer, the National Museum of Natural History and the University of Littoral Côte d’Opale at Wimereux, released a scientific study highlighting the need to look at the impact of global warming on the distribution of fish being caught in local waters.
The report found that temperature is a major factor when it comes to regulating where species live and proliferate. As the seas grow warmer, many species common to the local waters of the Med, in particular those consumed for food, will start to migrate to cooler waters. This may not seem to be a huge deal, but for local fisheries, this shift will need to be taken into account in order to adapt.
The study, financed by the Prince Albert II Foundation, looked at the most likely evolution of the food fish of the Mediterranean, namely red mullet, common hake, white hake, sole, the common pageot, monkfish, sea bass, and gilthead seabream.
These fish represent just over 30% of the value of Mediterranean fisheries. The study used a modelling approach to estimate the current and future range of these eight economically viable fish species.
Using projections of changes in the climate under three scenarios over the course of the 21st century, it is likely there will be far fewer of these types of fish found in local waters as the models show them migrating to northern European coasts.
Of course, nothing is certain on this front, but the report does give fisheries a chance to rethink their way of working and anticipate the changes to mitigate the negative economic impact.
This report, the Scientific Centre says, will soon be followed by an economic impact study.
Photo by Alex Voulgaris on Unsplash
Arthur Leclerc wins at Silverstone to join championship hunt
Whilst Charles Leclerc suffered another frustrating afternoon at the wheel of his single-seater Ferrari on Sunday, Arthur Leclerc succeeded where his brother failed by winning the F3 British GP.
Victory for Arthur takes him to second and within just six points of F3 championship leader Victor Martins. Post-race, the young Monégasque was congratulated by his brothers (Charles and Lorenzo), who both watched Arthur take the chequered flag at the iconic circuit.
Arthur looked racey from the offset. Having got a less than ideal launch, he was forced to defend his second position during the opening corners, but having done so, he immediately launched an assault on Zak O’Sullivan’s Carlin.
The Prema driver attempted an audacious move around the outside of Stowe corner, but after pulling it off, he was forced to give the position back as the safety car had been brought out midway through the move.
Leclerc did then take the lead on lap six with a move around the outside of Brooklands, which gave him the inside line heading into Luffield, allowing the move to stick.
Whereas a late safety car undid Charles’ race in the afternoon, as the Monégasque moved from a race-winning position to outside the podium places, Arthur remained unfazed. As he had since the beginning of the race, he held position with good pace and zero errors.
Behind him, O’Sullivan and Prema team-mate Oliver Bearman, both hoping to clinch second place in their home grand prix, had a spectacular late tussle all the way to the line. As the two went side-by-side into the final corner, it was O’sullivan who held position by just 0.051’s of a second.
Post-race, Arthur Leclerc said, “I’m really happy about the win, we gave everything. Finally, a good weekend from beginning to end. We had a good qualifying and started on the front row. It was a hard race to keep it in front, we had a lot of degradation with the rear tyres. I was struggling quite a lot with the tyres but in the end, we made it to P1. Now on to Austria.”
With wind in his sails, Leclerc will hope to carry his form into Austria next weekend, where the Prema and Ferrari academy driver could very feasibly take the lead of the F3 championship.
U Sciaratu, the summer carnival, is back on the Rock for its 10th edition, and this year it has an African theme! Get set for parades, musical troupes and other fun attractions, followed by a DJ in the Place de la Mairie.
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