best desserts of 2012…

~ Last year, I asked: “Is pastry having a ‘moment?’” The question was clearly rhetorical. And in the paragraphs that followed, I cited dozens of examples of why I thought it was so. In 2012, pastry sustained its “moment” because chefs kept redefining and expanding its borders. They continued to explore uncharted territory, questioning tradition, […]

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best desserts of 2012…

~ Last year, I asked: “Is pastry having a ‘moment?’” The question was clearly rhetorical. And in the paragraphs that followed, I cited dozens of examples of why I thought it was so. In 2012, pastry sustained its “moment” because chefs kept redefining and expanding its borders. They continued to explore uncharted territory, questioning tradition, […]

Continue

best dishes of 2012…

~ Seven years ago, I surveyed all of the dishes I had eaten in that year and compiled a list of my favorites, more for my own record than for posterity.  Since, it has become an annual tradition. 2012 marked another spectacular year of eating for me.  Once again, I traveled the world, visiting restaurants […]

Continue

best dishes of 2012…

~ Seven years ago, I surveyed all of the dishes I had eaten in that year and compiled a list of my favorites, more for my own record than for posterity.  Since, it has become an annual tradition. 2012 marked another spectacular year of eating for me.  Once again, I traveled the world, visiting restaurants […]

Continue

review: rainbow of moles… (yu ne nisa)

~ Forty-eight hours is not enough time to see, much less eat Oaxaca. Considered one of the two “kitchens of Mexico” (the other being Puebla), Oaxaca is one, giant, walkable culinary encyclopedia, every corner a page, every meal a story. The thought of mastering even a slice of its culinary variety is dizzying. And yet, […]

Continue

review: rainbow of moles… (yu ne nisa)

~ Forty-eight hours is not enough time to see, much less eat Oaxaca. Considered one of the two “kitchens of Mexico” (the other being Puebla), Oaxaca is one, giant, walkable culinary encyclopedia, every corner a page, every meal a story. The thought of mastering even a slice of its culinary variety is dizzying. And yet, […]

Continue

travel: addendum…

~ My December dining report is more of an addendum than a postscript to the preceding eleven months (which, together, I summarized and surveyed on this blog in an earlier post).  Warning: it is voluminous. I spent nearly the entire last month of 2012 away from home, leading an unrealistic, fantasy life of eating Michelin […]

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travel: addendum…

~ My December dining report is more of an addendum than a postscript to the preceding eleven months (which, together, I summarized and surveyed on this blog in an earlier post).  Warning: it is voluminous. I spent nearly the entire last month of 2012 away from home, leading an unrealistic, fantasy life of eating Michelin […]

Continue

rumination 27: tyranny of the masses…

In the February, 2013 issue of Vanity Fair, Corby Kummer issued a long-winded, cynical, and, in my opinion, rather narrow-minded, criticism of tasting menus (“Tyranny – It’s What’s for Dinner“). Here is my response to Mr. Kummer’s article.

Continue

rumination 27: tyranny of the masses…

In the February, 2013 issue of Vanity Fair, Corby Kummer issued a long-winded, cynical, and, in my opinion, rather narrow-minded, criticism of tasting menus (“Tyranny – It’s What’s for Dinner“). Here is my response to Mr. Kummer’s article.

Continue