Category: dessert

review: the asian laundry…

“You’ll feel like you’ve left the city,” someone told me when describing their experience at benu. I didn’t understand what he meant by it then, but I understand it now. You’ll see benu’s kitchen through the big, picture-windows on a quiet stretch of Hawthorne Street in San Francisco’s SoMa district.  If you arrive after nightfall, […]

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review: the asian laundry…

“You’ll feel like you’ve left the city,” someone told me when describing their experience at benu. I didn’t understand what he meant by it then, but I understand it now. You’ll see benu’s kitchen through the big, picture-windows on a quiet stretch of Hawthorne Street in San Francisco’s SoMa district.  If you arrive after nightfall, […]

Continue

review: powder puff…

I’m not a Southerner, and I won’t claim to be an expert on Southern food. So I can’t tell you how the beignets at Café du Monde measure up to what a Southerner expects from a beignet. But if the beignets at Café du Monde are representative of the Southern ideal (and, judging by their […]

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review: powder puff…

I’m not a Southerner, and I won’t claim to be an expert on Southern food. So I can’t tell you how the beignets at Café du Monde measure up to what a Southerner expects from a beignet. But if the beignets at Café du Monde are representative of the Southern ideal (and, judging by their […]

Continue

are you being served…

Pull up your knickers and call me Captain Peacock. I don’t know how many countless childhood hours I spent musing over the antics of the staff of Grace Brothers, a fictional department store in London and the setting of the impossibly absurd British television comedy, “Are You Being Served?” While most kids my age were […]

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are you being served…

Pull up your knickers and call me Captain Peacock. I don’t know how many countless childhood hours I spent musing over the antics of the staff of Grace Brothers, a fictional department store in London and the setting of the impossibly absurd British television comedy, “Are You Being Served?” While most kids my age were […]

Continue

dinner: linger a little, laugh a lot…

What do you serve to Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, and Jerome Bocuse when they arrive together at your restaurant for dinner? That’s a question that Scott Boswell recently had to answer. The night before the B.I.R.D.S./Bocuse d’Or dinner, Chef Boswell and his team hosted a small, private dinner for the guest chefs, their sous chefs, […]

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dinner: linger a little, laugh a lot…

What do you serve to Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, and Jerome Bocuse when they arrive together at your restaurant for dinner? That’s a question that Scott Boswell recently had to answer. The night before the B.I.R.D.S./Bocuse d’Or dinner, Chef Boswell and his team hosted a small, private dinner for the guest chefs, their sous chefs, […]

Continue

travel: epic dinners and secret breakfasts…

I don’t know what this East Coast v. West Coast culinary pissing contest of late is about (a silly, media-driven phenom, for sure). Both coasts have talented chefs serving fantastic food. San Francisco, especially, is an ever-more exciting place to eat.  In the year since my last trip, many new restaurants have opened, including Joshua […]

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travel: epic dinners and secret breakfasts…

I don’t know what this East Coast v. West Coast culinary pissing contest of late is about (a silly, media-driven phenom, for sure). Both coasts have talented chefs serving fantastic food. San Francisco, especially, is an ever-more exciting place to eat.  In the year since my last trip, many new restaurants have opened, including Joshua […]

Continue

photo of the week 8: rodeo truck driver…

One year ago this week, I had the honor and pleasure of inviting Johnny Iuzzini, the executive pastry chef of Jean Georges (and co-host of the upcoming BravoTV show “Just Desserts“), to cook at a special dinner here in Kansas City.   The American Restaurant agreed to host the dinner, a benefit for the James Beard […]

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photo of the week 8: rodeo truck driver…

One year ago this week, I had the honor and pleasure of inviting Johnny Iuzzini, the executive pastry chef of Jean Georges (and co-host of the upcoming BravoTV show “Just Desserts“), to cook at a special dinner here in Kansas City.   The American Restaurant agreed to host the dinner, a benefit for the James Beard […]

Continue

photo of the week 3: i scream, you scream…

I must be a long-lost member of the Munster clan.  A little dark cloud perpetually hovers over me, following me wherever I go.  I thrive in the cool and overcast corners of the world.  Seattle, San Francisco, and London – in their foggier months – beckon.  Sweaters, thunderstorms, snow, and air conditioning are my friends. […]

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photo of the week 3: i scream, you scream…

I must be a long-lost member of the Munster clan.  A little dark cloud perpetually hovers over me, following me wherever I go.  I thrive in the cool and overcast corners of the world.  Seattle, San Francisco, and London – in their foggier months – beckon.  Sweaters, thunderstorms, snow, and air conditioning are my friends. […]

Continue

review: embarrassment of riches…

Café Boulud, New York, New York Chanel No. 5 in the dining room, Yemen No. 10 in the spice pantry. This is the dichotomy you’ll find at Café Boulud. Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just there. That was Gavin Kaysen’s reaction too when he saw my name pop up on the books.* A return? […]

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review: embarrassment of riches…

Café Boulud, New York, New York Chanel No. 5 in the dining room, Yemen No. 10 in the spice pantry. This is the dichotomy you’ll find at Café Boulud. Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just there. That was Gavin Kaysen’s reaction too when he saw my name pop up on the books.* A return? […]

Continue

review: batman and robin…

The Menu wd~50, New York, New York There’s a culinary dynamic duo in Gotham. Their names are Wylie and Alex. Their ways are mysterious, their synergy, great. This stealthy team, comprised of an eccentric rebel maverick and his boyishly handsome sidekick, champions a culinary movement that the city has, for some inexplicable reason, largely resisted. […]

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review: batman and robin…

The Menu wd~50, New York, New York There’s a culinary dynamic duo in Gotham. Their names are Wylie and Alex. Their ways are mysterious, their synergy, great. This stealthy team, comprised of an eccentric rebel maverick and his boyishly handsome sidekick, champions a culinary movement that the city has, for some inexplicable reason, largely resisted. […]

Continue

review: this little piggy…

Misticanza Maialino, New York Though I be wee, I’m fairly certain that my cheeks haven’t seen a booster chair in twenty-some years. A recent brunch with a friend gave us both the opportunity to revisit our infancy. The booths at Maialino look normal, and the benches well-cushioned and soft. Indeed, they are. But settle down […]

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review: this little piggy…

Misticanza Maialino, New York Though I be wee, I’m fairly certain that my cheeks haven’t seen a booster chair in twenty-some years. A recent brunch with a friend gave us both the opportunity to revisit our infancy. The booths at Maialino look normal, and the benches well-cushioned and soft. Indeed, they are. But settle down […]

Continue