12 days: on the tenth day of christmas: tanaka…. (2015)

~ He speaks Japanese, of course.  But he also speaks Spanish, French, and more English than I speak in any of those languages.  His name is Atsushi Tanaka, and I ate at his Restaurant A.T. in Paris last year (here are the photos from that dinner in September of 2014).  At the time, I had […]

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12 days: on the tenth day of christmas: tanaka…. (2015)

~ He speaks Japanese, of course.  But he also speaks Spanish, French, and more English than I speak in any of those languages.  His name is Atsushi Tanaka, and I ate at his Restaurant A.T. in Paris last year (here are the photos from that dinner in September of 2014).  At the time, I had […]

Continue

the best of 2014: the restaurant edition…

~ The sheer splendor with which my year in dining unfolded made the task of identifying my ten favorite restaurant meals from 2014 an especially difficult one. However, forcing myself to narrow that “wide and rich field” (as I described it in an earlier post) – a process that at moments seemed merciless, requiring me to eliminate extraordinarily good meals that in any other […]

Continue

the best of 2014: the restaurant edition…

~ The sheer splendor with which my year in dining unfolded made the task of identifying my ten favorite restaurant meals from 2014 an especially difficult one. However, forcing myself to narrow that “wide and rich field” (as I described it in an earlier post) – a process that at moments seemed merciless, requiring me to eliminate extraordinarily good meals that in any other […]

Continue

best desserts of 2014…

– My parents, who immigrated to the United States over forty years ago, said that, when they first arrived on these shores, they had no concept of “dessert.”  In Taiwan, where they had spent most of their lives until that point, there were bakeries that sold sweet pastries, and confectioners who made candy. But most of […]

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best desserts of 2014…

– My parents, who immigrated to the United States over forty years ago, said that, when they first arrived on these shores, they had no concept of “dessert.”  In Taiwan, where they had spent most of their lives until that point, there were bakeries that sold sweet pastries, and confectioners who made candy. But most of […]

Continue

travel: leapfrogging…

~ Another year is gone, and I’ve barely written about it.  This is especially sad to me, since so many wonderful things happened. Every year, I pause at calendar’s end to record and remember the anxieties and adventures that made the preceding months memorable, including an accounting of all the restaurants I visited, and my favorite meals and dishes among […]

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travel: leapfrogging…

~ Another year is gone, and I’ve barely written about it.  This is especially sad to me, since so many wonderful things happened. Every year, I pause at calendar’s end to record and remember the anxieties and adventures that made the preceding months memorable, including an accounting of all the restaurants I visited, and my favorite meals and dishes among […]

Continue

travel: one day more…

~ In January of 2011, I went to Lyon a spectator, expecting little more than a fun detour on a two-week break from life. It turned out to be the start of the most incredible adventure I’ve known yet. It’s hard to believe, but one more day and one day more has turned into two […]

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travel: one day more…

~ In January of 2011, I went to Lyon a spectator, expecting little more than a fun detour on a two-week break from life. It turned out to be the start of the most incredible adventure I’ve known yet. It’s hard to believe, but one more day and one day more has turned into two […]

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review: rule of thumb…. (château eza)

~ As I sped along the coast to Nice from Monte-Carlo for dinner one night, a page out of paradise popped up: Eze. This Medieval town, preserved almost to the stone, juts out on the Corniche Moyenne, a rocky rise with a breathtaking view of the Côte d’Azur, which sprawls at its feet. I pulled […]

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review: rule of thumb…. (château eza)

~ As I sped along the coast to Nice from Monte-Carlo for dinner one night, a page out of paradise popped up: Eze. This Medieval town, preserved almost to the stone, juts out on the Corniche Moyenne, a rocky rise with a breathtaking view of the Côte d’Azur, which sprawls at its feet. I pulled […]

Continue

travel: what i did for food…

– I was 27, and I was crazy. Two years of imprisonment in the ivy halls of law school begged for an adventure. So off to the Netherlands I went for a change of scene, under the pretense of studying law in the Dutchmen’s ivy halls. Don’t tell anyone, but I was really there to […]

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travel: what i did for food…

– I was 27, and I was crazy. Two years of imprisonment in the ivy halls of law school begged for an adventure. So off to the Netherlands I went for a change of scene, under the pretense of studying law in the Dutchmen’s ivy halls. Don’t tell anyone, but I was really there to […]

Continue

review: spectrum… (mirazur)

I first learned of Menton, a small resort town on the French Riviera, through a dessert. It was a cold December night in Paris, and the biscuit molleux I ordered at Michel Rostang was kissed with the sunny scent of lemons from that city on the Côte d’Azur. I remember that meal in the 17eme […]

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review: spectrum… (mirazur)

I first learned of Menton, a small resort town on the French Riviera, through a dessert. It was a cold December night in Paris, and the biscuit molleux I ordered at Michel Rostang was kissed with the sunny scent of lemons from that city on the Côte d’Azur. I remember that meal in the 17eme […]

Continue

review: atonal…

Statistics alone would suggest that, of the twenty-plus meals I had in Europe earlier this year, there would be at least one dud. I just didn’t expect it to be l’Astrance. Perennially celebrated by chefs and “lists,” Pascal Barbot’s restaurant in Paris’s upper-crust 16eme is considered by many to be one of the best in […]

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review: atonal…

Statistics alone would suggest that, of the twenty-plus meals I had in Europe earlier this year, there would be at least one dud. I just didn’t expect it to be l’Astrance. Perennially celebrated by chefs and “lists,” Pascal Barbot’s restaurant in Paris’s upper-crust 16eme is considered by many to be one of the best in […]

Continue

review: cave à manger…

The last time I saw my friend LaTache, I was in my running clothes eating porchetta out of a food truck. In the months since, he had moved to France and made it his home. So, on my recent trip to Paris, we met for dinner at Saturne, Sven Chartier’s upwardly trending cave à manger […]

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review: cave à manger…

The last time I saw my friend LaTache, I was in my running clothes eating porchetta out of a food truck. In the months since, he had moved to France and made it his home. So, on my recent trip to Paris, we met for dinner at Saturne, Sven Chartier’s upwardly trending cave à manger […]

Continue