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Cheerio from Europe! Last week I gave you part one of my trip to London, where I stayed at the prestigious Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair. This week we move across town to Chelsea and check in to an intimate and very English hotel called the Draycott. On my way over I got a glimpse of the Queen leaving Buckingham Palace, and later I hit a brand-spanking new restaurant in Soho that felt like a private club.

Did You Know: Yesterday (Tuesday, July 27) marked the two-year countdown to one of the world's biggest events: the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

THE QUEEN
I forgot to mention last week that I saw a glimpse of the Queen of England as she left her residence! I was walking down Piccadilly and thought it would be disrespectful if I didn't walk through Green Park and at least take a Twitpic (a photo to upload to my Twitter account), and lo and behold, the gates were open and a Royal motorcade was about to leave. I figured it had to be the Queen, so I crossed the street to get as close as I could. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good photo because I got caught up in watching a bobby (police officer) who was yelling at an Italian tourist who wasn't obeying his commands, and next thing you know the Queen cruised by. It was just five motorcycle police, followed by a Bentley (I think) and a green Range Rover. I saw her head from behind and it was nothing as exciting or extensive as President Obama's motorcade that I stumbled upon last April in Washington, D.C. Here's that 30-second video.



GAUTHIER RESTAURANT
I also failed to mention that I had dinner one night in Soho with two of my friends from the British Tourism Board. They took me to a new restaurant called Gauthier (21 Romilly Street, Soho W1D 5AF). Gauthier is down a quiet side street only a few steps away from the Palace Theatre, where Priscilla is presently playing. I thought I arrived to the wrong address, because to enter the Georgian townhouse required ringing a doorbell. A tall, well-dressed Italian maitre d' who reminded me of Lurch (from the Addams Family) answered. He was definitely much better looking than Lurch, but he had the same calming and odd gestures-or it might have been the restaurant's minimalistic decor that was giving off an eerie vibe.

SERVICE
There were only a few tables in the room we were in, which felt empty-there were no paintings, just sterile white walls. The restaurant had just opened a couple weeks ago, so the service was patchy at times. The waiters were in dark suits and the Belgian bus boy wore a crisp white jacket. I quickly learned that this is not the place to come if you are in a hurry or pre-theater, as the table next to us kept telling the waiter they were going to be late for their show if the food didn't come out soon. It didn't. It took 25 minutes between our courses, so make sure you are not pressed for time and have good company like I did.

PRICES
The prices are very reasonable for an upscale white-linen-tablecloth experience. Like most places, lunch is the best deal, as two courses costs just £18 ($27) and three courses at dinner go for £35 ($54). What's nice is that they offer free still and sparkling water to all guests. They also come around with complimentary crudités and a wide selection of bread: tomato and basil, brown, French baguette, parmesan, black olive, and chorizo. Patrons also get to choose their own olive oil: fruity or peppery. Salted or unsalted. So many choices.

AMUSE-BOUCHE
One thing we didn't choose was a complimentary amuse-bouche of duck foie gras in a port reduction, which was served before our dinner appetizers.

SURPRISE
There were some surprises too. One was that just after taking our seats, the bus boy poured water on dime-size tablets that turned into refresher towels. My hosts really got a kick out of that.

FOOD
For my appetizer I had herb and ricotta ravioli with broad beans and parmesan. It was delish, just like my main dish, summer truffle risotto chicken with jus reduction and brown butter. I went out with a bang by getting the Golden Louis XV: dark chocolate and praline. In between the appetizer and main came grapefruit sorbet with Campari jelly, which cleaned our palates nicely.

GREAT BRITAIN
Since I was with my friends from the government, I decided to have them finally explain to me the difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom. They told me that Great Britain and the United Kingdom refer to different areas. Great Britain is a political term that refers to England, Scotland, and Wales, the three nations which together include all the land on the island. If you look at the full name of the UK, you will see that the UK includes Great Britain AND Northern Ireland. Now you know.

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