Category: dessert

collaboration: friends of lysverket 5… (qui)

– If the clouds are just so, and if you happen to look at the right time – just before midnight in a mid-calendar month – the skies over Bergen, Norway will appear as if they’re on fire. Summer had arrived on the northern brow of the world, and the sun had become restless, lingering well past bedtime. But I wasn’t in […]

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collaboration: friends of lysverket 5… (qui)

– If the clouds are just so, and if you happen to look at the right time – just before midnight in a mid-calendar month – the skies over Bergen, Norway will appear as if they’re on fire. Summer had arrived on the northern brow of the world, and the sun had become restless, lingering well past bedtime. But I wasn’t in […]

Continue

travel: cinnamon and midnight toasts… (helsinki)

~ My first trip to Finland was in 2005, when I took an overnight cruise from Stockholm to the ancient capital of Turku on the country’s west coast.  That day-stop – which only gave me enough time to run through a museum (the copy of the haunting, self-portrait of Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck that I bought there still […]

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travel: cinnamon and midnight toasts… (helsinki)

~ My first trip to Finland was in 2005, when I took an overnight cruise from Stockholm to the ancient capital of Turku on the country’s west coast.  That day-stop – which only gave me enough time to run through a museum (the copy of the haunting, self-portrait of Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck that I bought there still […]

Continue

review: cooking is back… (kong hans kælder)

– It used to be that people talked about dishes.  Now, they talk about names. Those of you who read this blog or follow me on social media know that I have been fairly critical of the way the restaurant industry has shifted the focus away from the diner, and has, in general, devolved into a […]

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review: cooking is back… (kong hans kælder)

– It used to be that people talked about dishes.  Now, they talk about names. Those of you who read this blog or follow me on social media know that I have been fairly critical of the way the restaurant industry has shifted the focus away from the diner, and has, in general, devolved into a […]

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 […]

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 […]

Continue

review: geishas in the gion… (ifuki)

~ Kyoto’s ancient Gion district is famous for its geishas.  Full of theaters, where geishas perform, the Gion also offers some of Kyoto’s best, and judging by the hoards of tourists who visit, worst dining.  This is where my friend and guide Tomo and I had our first dinner in Kyoto – at Ifuki, a one […]

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review: geishas in the gion… (ifuki)

~ Kyoto’s ancient Gion district is famous for its geishas.  Full of theaters, where geishas perform, the Gion also offers some of Kyoto’s best, and judging by the hoards of tourists who visit, worst dining.  This is where my friend and guide Tomo and I had our first dinner in Kyoto – at Ifuki, a one […]

Continue

travel: flemish fling…

~ All of the international flights from the Americas dumped into Aéroport Paris–Charles de Gaulle within minutes of each other, as they usually do, when I arrived in the early morning a few months ago.  I shuffled into the immigration hall along with the deplaning masses, a shapeless hoard that defied order, especially since very little […]

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travel: flemish fling…

~ All of the international flights from the Americas dumped into Aéroport Paris–Charles de Gaulle within minutes of each other, as they usually do, when I arrived in the early morning a few months ago.  I shuffled into the immigration hall along with the deplaning masses, a shapeless hoard that defied order, especially since very little […]

Continue

travel: until tonight becomes tomorrow…

~ When a volley of pink blossoms overtakes Gramercy Tavern and the big, picture-windows on Fifth Avenue begin blushing with brighter, bolder colors; when chefs get grabby for ramps and peas at the Union Square greenmarket, and the walls at casa mono finally swing open to seduce those turning the corner of 17th and Irving with the smell of pork and clams; […]

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travel: until tonight becomes tomorrow…

~ When a volley of pink blossoms overtakes Gramercy Tavern and the big, picture-windows on Fifth Avenue begin blushing with brighter, bolder colors; when chefs get grabby for ramps and peas at the Union Square greenmarket, and the walls at casa mono finally swing open to seduce those turning the corner of 17th and Irving with the smell of pork and clams; […]

Continue

travel: scatter my ashes at isetan…

~ My friend Tomo knows I have a hard time finding clothes that fit.  So, she took me to Isetan. Isetan is a high-end department store in Tokyo’s hyper-commercialized Shinjuku ward (the department store is located next to Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station in the world).  The leather and laces lining the walls of its shoe section, alone, […]

Continue

travel: scatter my ashes at isetan…

~ My friend Tomo knows I have a hard time finding clothes that fit.  So, she took me to Isetan. Isetan is a high-end department store in Tokyo’s hyper-commercialized Shinjuku ward (the department store is located next to Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station in the world).  The leather and laces lining the walls of its shoe section, alone, […]

Continue

review: heart of tartness… (willows inn)

~ Is there a happier summer soundtrack than the splash of cannonballs accompanied by the reckless hoot of youth? My friend and I arrived at the ferry slip on a warm summer afternoon to the sight of children hurling themselves off the headworks into the cool waters of the sound.  We got out of the car and cheered […]

Continue

review: heart of tartness… (willows inn)

~ Is there a happier summer soundtrack than the splash of cannonballs accompanied by the reckless hoot of youth? My friend and I arrived at the ferry slip on a warm summer afternoon to the sight of children hurling themselves off the headworks into the cool waters of the sound.  We got out of the car and cheered […]

Continue