Month: February 2010

review: no echo…

“Pink Grapefruit” coi, San Francisco, California In 2006, I asked David Kinch of Manresa which restaurants were moving and shaking in the Bay Area. He told me about a small, fledgling start-up that a former Manresa cook was opening that week. That restaurant was coi. The chef-patron, as you probably know, is Daniel Patterson. Regrettably, […]

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review: no echo…

“Pink Grapefruit” coi, San Francisco, California In 2006, I asked David Kinch of Manresa which restaurants were moving and shaking in the Bay Area. He told me about a small, fledgling start-up that a former Manresa cook was opening that week. That restaurant was coi. The chef-patron, as you probably know, is Daniel Patterson. Regrettably, […]

Continue

rumination 7: the little gold statue…

When I’m not indulging at the table, you’ll find me in absorbed in screenland: I love movies. Last week, I completed my tour of the Oscar Best Picture nominees for 2010, a silly exercise (especially so, since the majority of the films highlighted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are nothing more […]

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rumination 7: the little gold statue…

When I’m not indulging at the table, you’ll find me in absorbed in screenland: I love movies. Last week, I completed my tour of the Oscar Best Picture nominees for 2010, a silly exercise (especially so, since the majority of the films highlighted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are nothing more […]

Continue

review: untethered…

Blue Hill at Stone Barns Pocantico Hills, New York On one side, you have those who would look at it and say, “It’s just a salad.” On the other side, you’ll find those who would argue, “It may be just a salad, but that’s not the point.” I have to admit, I expected more than […]

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review: untethered…

Blue Hill at Stone Barns Pocantico Hills, New York On one side, you have those who would look at it and say, “It’s just a salad.” On the other side, you’ll find those who would argue, “It may be just a salad, but that’s not the point.” I have to admit, I expected more than […]

Continue

review: three sisters and a chef…

Brigtsen’s, New Orleans, Louisiana … walk into a bar. Kidding. Sandra, Rhonda, and Marna. Those are three names you should have in your pocket when you arrive at Brigtsen’s.* These three women opened the restaurant in 1986 with Marna’s husband, Frank Brigtsen. It was Marna’s night off on my recent visit to the restaurant.  But […]

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review: three sisters and a chef…

Brigtsen’s, New Orleans, Louisiana … walk into a bar. Kidding. Sandra, Rhonda, and Marna. Those are three names you should have in your pocket when you arrive at Brigtsen’s.* These three women opened the restaurant in 1986 with Marna’s husband, Frank Brigtsen. It was Marna’s night off on my recent visit to the restaurant.  But […]

Continue

review: six blocks to elysian fields…

Lobster, Egg, and Caviar Stella!, New Orleans, Louisiana Coincidence is a curious thing.  Sometimes, it can be a b*tch. Just before dessert, the sommelier arrived with a bottle of Champagne, a gift from the chef, Scott Boswell. To explain how this happened, let me rewind to the beginning of our meal at his restaurant, Stella! […]

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review: six blocks to elysian fields…

Lobster, Egg, and Caviar Stella!, New Orleans, Louisiana Coincidence is a curious thing.  Sometimes, it can be a b*tch. Just before dessert, the sommelier arrived with a bottle of Champagne, a gift from the chef, Scott Boswell. To explain how this happened, let me rewind to the beginning of our meal at his restaurant, Stella! […]

Continue

review: galatwahs…

Oysters Rockefeller Galatoire’s, New Orleans, Louisiana As with the “The Quartah,” “oystahs,” and “Chartah Street,” the locals drop the “r” and call it “Galatwahs.” Founded in 1905 by French immigrant Jean Galatoire, over the last century, this unassuming restaurant on Bourbon Street has become New Orleans’s most beloved institution. This is where the city celebrates. […]

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review: galatwahs…

Oysters Rockefeller Galatoire’s, New Orleans, Louisiana As with the “The Quartah,” “oystahs,” and “Chartah Street,” the locals drop the “r” and call it “Galatwahs.” Founded in 1905 by French immigrant Jean Galatoire, over the last century, this unassuming restaurant on Bourbon Street has become New Orleans’s most beloved institution. This is where the city celebrates. […]

Continue

review: extra schmaltzy…

Wild Shrimp & Grits Commander’s Palace New Orleans, Louisiana “He’ll play it extra schmaltzy,” said the leader of the jazz trio, nudging the trumpet player. Indeed, he did.  He played my song real nice like, smooth and sassy. There’s nothing like eating brunch in the Garden Room at Commander’s Palace with your friends while being […]

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review: extra schmaltzy…

Wild Shrimp & Grits Commander’s Palace New Orleans, Louisiana “He’ll play it extra schmaltzy,” said the leader of the jazz trio, nudging the trumpet player. Indeed, he did.  He played my song real nice like, smooth and sassy. There’s nothing like eating brunch in the Garden Room at Commander’s Palace with your friends while being […]

Continue

review: call ahead, the wait might kill you…

Mahoney’s New Orleans, Louisiana At Mahoney’s, you stake your own table and wait. And, wait. And wait. And wait. They take their time making po’boys here.  Having just experienced the machine-like efficiency of the Parkway Bakery & Tavern, our half-hour wait at Mahoney’s seemed like an unreasonably long time.  We thought they forgot our order. […]

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review: call ahead, the wait might kill you…

Mahoney’s New Orleans, Louisiana At Mahoney’s, you stake your own table and wait. And, wait. And wait. And wait. They take their time making po’boys here.  Having just experienced the machine-like efficiency of the Parkway Bakery & Tavern, our half-hour wait at Mahoney’s seemed like an unreasonably long time.  We thought they forgot our order. […]

Continue

review: po’boy crawl…

Parkway Bakery & Tavern New Orleans, Louisiana Good, fried chicken you can get in many places. The same is probably true for po’boys. But, whereas fried chicken claims its home all over the South (and in a few, isolated pockets around the country, including Stroud’s, which is in my backyard), an authentic po’boy, like a […]

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review: po’boy crawl…

Parkway Bakery & Tavern New Orleans, Louisiana Good, fried chicken you can get in many places. The same is probably true for po’boys. But, whereas fried chicken claims its home all over the South (and in a few, isolated pockets around the country, including Stroud’s, which is in my backyard), an authentic po’boy, like a […]

Continue