On August 1st we’re kick starting a new campaign and Antwerp is becoming our City of the Month. We spent most of June and July following Show2009, the graduation shows of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, running 2 fashion shoots, commissioning local artists and putting together 2 fantastic poster magazines for distribution in the UK. I don’t want to give too many details but I can’t resist the urge to share the 2 covers… We’ll introduce you to all our contributors – and to what makes Antwerp so special – throughout August. Meanwhile a preview of our covers, courtesy of Parisian photographer Donatien Veismann and New Models.

Preview - Antwerp Street

Preview - Antwerp Fashion

Something more visual for today but quite impressive. The Beijing Olympics made all of us familiar with OMA architect Ole Scheeren’s work but there’s something amazing about this current project in Bangkok. It is the standard architecture porn – a vertical city of offices, retails, boutique hotels and high-rise penthouses, a skybar blablabla – but the pixelating ribbon circling the building (designed to enclose inhabitants and protect the inner life of this sky-high city) is really puzzling, as if the tower was slowly being eaten away… maybe I’ve watched Madonna’s 4 minutes video a bit too much on Youtube!

Ole Scheeren - Mahanakhon

The mood is very intellectual at Turnleft today. Interesting debate via Twitter – here’s the first tweet:

@turnleftguides: “Curator of new Martin-Gropius-Bau xibit argues that Ikea is a legacy of bauhaus! thoughts?”

Thanks to Daniela for a great contribution, via Facebook:

“I agree: the production of functional and affordable design (and architecture, as well) was one of the most important issues introduced by the Bauhaus architects and designers”

Followed by:

“Ikea was originally born (in 1943) as a company that sold whatever could be purchased at a reduced price and sold at a competitive price; only later on it focused its production on low-cost wood furniture, just because it seemed the best deal in cost and earnings. So, the basic idea was more [...] a commercial strategy, which exploited the idea of a good, affordable and functional design, idea that was already present in many European countries and diffused in Germany even before the birth of the Bauhaus”

It won’t get us Ikea as an advertiser – although our new collection of poster magazines fits their clip frames perfectly – but it makes Modell Bauhaus, the current exhibition at the Martin Gropius Bau all the more interesting. It started 2 days ago and finishes 4 October. Then it moves to New York.

Modell Bauhaus

So it looks like we’ve made our point – we’re not total snobs: we can go to a fashion show at 3pm and binge on salt beef bagels at 3am. A global guide to 4am fast food is under way but in the mean time here are a few addresses we can’t live with after too many Malibu Pineapple (yes it’s back).

Send us your suggestions for other cities.

Amsterdam
Febo Leidsestraat 94 (automate snack)
Febo Nieuwendk 220 (automate snack)
Febo Oudezijds Voorburgwal 35 (automate snack)
Snackbar de Dijk Haarlemmerdijk 145 (sandwiches, kebab)

Antwerp
Frituur Number One Hoogstraat 1 (chips)
Frietkot Max Groenplaats 12 (chips)
Mama’s Garden Oude Koornmarkt 41 (kebab)

Berlin
Curry36 Mehringdamm 36, Kreuzberg (sausages)
Fritiersalon Boxhagenerstraße 104, Friedrichshain (chips)
Konnopkes Schönhauser Allee 44a, Prenzlauer Berg (sausages)
Mustafas Gemuese Kebap Mehringdamm 32, Kreuzberg (kebab)
W Imbiss Kastanienallee 49, Mitte (sausages)

Bruxelles
Friterie de la Barrière 5 avenue du Parc, Saint-Gilles
Friterie Tabora 2 rue de Tabora
Fritkot Flagey Eglise Sainte-Croix
Fritland 49 rue Henri Maus
L’express 8 rue des Chapeliers (pitta)

Helsinki
Eerikin Pippuri Eerikinkatu 17 (kebab)
Metro Fast Food Hämeentie 6 B (kebab)
Big Mama’s Iso Roobertinkatu 26 (pizzas)
Jaskan Grilli Dagmarinkatu (hot dogs & sandwiches)

London
Bar Italia 22 Frith Street, Soho (sandwiches)
Beigel Bake 159 Brick Lane, Shoreditch (bagel)
Beigel Shop 155 Brick Lane, Shoreditch (bagel)
Café Helen 105a Edgware Road, Marble Arch (kebab)
Kurz & Lang 1 St-John Street, Farringdon (sausages)
Marathon 87 Chalk Farm Road, Camden (kebab)
Maroush II 38 Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge (kebab)
Tinseltown 44-46 St-John Street, Farringdon (burgers)

Melbourne
Supper Inn 15-17 Celestial Ave (fried ice creams)
Stalactites 177-183 Lonsdale St (souvlaki)
Lord of the Fries 9a 2-26 Elizabeth Street (chips)

Montréal
Fairmount Bagel Bakery 74 avenue Fairmount Ouest (bagel)
La Banquise 994 rue Rachel Est (poutine)
Montreal Pool Room 1200 boulevard Saint-Laurent (hot dogs)
Schwartz’s 3895 bld Saint-Laurent (bagel, sandwiches)
St-Viateur Bagel Shop 263 St. Viateur (bagel)

New York
Anytime 93 N 6th Street, Brooklyn
Bamn! 37 St Marks Place, East Village (automat)
Bereket Turkish Kebab House 187 E Houston Street
Cafeteria 119 7th Avenue
Crif Dogs 113 St Marks Place, East Village (hot dogs)
El Idolo 14th Street & 8th Avenue (tacos)
Gray’s Papaya 539 8th Avenue (hot dogs)
Gray’s Papaya 2090 Broadway (hot dogs)
Gray’s Papaya 402 Avenue of the Americas (hot dogs)
Rosario’s Pizza 173 Orchard Street, Lower East Side
Yaffa Café 97 St Marks Place, East Village (falafel)
Yatagan Kebab House 104 MacDougal St, West Village

Reykjavik
Bæjarins Beztu Tryggvagata / Pósthússtræti (hot dogs)
HabiBi Hafnarstræti 18 (kebab)
Hlölla Bátar Ingólfstorg (snacks)

Rotterdam
Febo Binnenwegplein 35 (automate snack)

Tel Aviv
Dabush 64 Iben Gvirol Street
Hakosem 1 Shlomo Hamelech
Orna and Ella The Queens of Falafel 33 Shenkin Street

Vienna (Würsttstand – sausages)
Albertina Albertinaplatz, Vienne 1
Hoher Markt Hoher Markt / Marc-Aurel-Straße, Vienne 1
Nußdorfer Straße Nußdorfer Straße, U6 station
The Kiosk Schleifmühlgasse 7, Vienne 4

Here’s a beautiful one of FEBO, fine purveyor of lukewarm kroketten to inebriated Amsterdamers since…

Image: Michael Pelletier

I’m a big fan of Aperos Urbains – Friday night garden parties. It starts around 5pm and it’s a great way to start the weekend. It’s quite stylish but not too pretentious, the outdoor locations are always amazing and the crowd is more local (and not too Eurotrash) – it beats Place du Luxembourg hands down. Tonight (17 July) for the first time, drinks will take place in Bois de la Cambre, Chemin du Croquet in front of Jeux d’Hiver.

Aperos Urbains has been around for 5 years and a big birthday bash will take place Monday 20 July at the Atomium – it starts at 16:30 and it will go on until 3am.

I’m not ashamed to admit an addiction to Currywurst and Kartoffelsalat. Berlin’s finest is clearly Curry36 -a bit far if you’re out in Mitte but worth a taxi Kurzstrecke (short strectch – €3.50, don’t forget to notify the driver) if you’re partying around Oranienstrasse in Kreuzberg.

Images: Kristian Bischoff

Say hello to Helsinki’s Kannibal sandwich: 3 meat patties, a fried egg, a sausage, bacon, minced meat, a choice of 14 sauces and white bread. Don’t ever accuse us of being too sophisticated!

Image: www.notquitenigella.com

A tribute to Brussels’ tolerant ways… this exhibition was turned down by the Venice Biennale. Belgian artist Jacques Charlier exhibits 100 posters depicting the imaginary sexual organs of international artists. No censorship here – the mayor also insisted to display 25 posters throughout the city until 22 November!

BOZAR, 23 rue Ravenstein – 100 Sexes d’Artistes, 16 June-13 September

100 Sexes d'Artistes - Jacques Charlier