Restaurant review, John Salt, 131 Upper Street, London.

It's easy, when reporting on restaurants rather than, say, politics, to get a false perspective on what makes a big story. Apart from the adventures of a few telly chefs, our 'news' seems fairly parochial stuff to the wider world. A restaurateur poaching a prized site from under a rival's nose won't generally push global events off the front page, though it might just make it if a chef were to cut off a rival's nose and poach it.

But take it from me, the goings-on at John Salt at the end of last year were EPIC. In restaurant terms, it was Berlusconi getting caught nude wrestling with Putin while ordering air strikes on Susan Boyle.

To summarise: pub company opens casual bar-restaurant in Islington and puts it on the map by hiring brilliant young chef for six-month residency. BYC creates instant sensation, with crazy tasting menus involving 45-ingredient salads and caramel-coated house bricks. National critics line up to lavish praise and five-star reviews. Waiting list of customers desperate to lick lingonberries from caramel-coated bricks grows officially longer than the Islington electoral register.

Read more at http://www.independent.co.uk/