Category: restaurant review

12 days: geese a-laying (merges)…

~ On the sixth of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me one of my favorite chefs in the country right now, Matthias Merges. Formerly the chef de cuisine of Charlie Trotters for more than a decade, Merges now owns his own restaurant, Yusho, in the Logan […]

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12 days: geese a-laying (merges)…

~ On the sixth of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me one of my favorite chefs in the country right now, Matthias Merges. Formerly the chef de cuisine of Charlie Trotters for more than a decade, Merges now owns his own restaurant, Yusho, in the Logan […]

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12 days: golden rings (franey)…

~ On the fifth of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me Jason Franey of the storied restaurant Canlis in Seattle. Kostow and Franey first met in the kitchen at Campton Place in San Francisco, where both cooked under then-executive chef Daniel Humm.  Franey moved on with […]

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12 days: golden rings (franey)…

~ On the fifth of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me Jason Franey of the storied restaurant Canlis in Seattle. Kostow and Franey first met in the kitchen at Campton Place in San Francisco, where both cooked under then-executive chef Daniel Humm.  Franey moved on with […]

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12 days: colly birds (brioza and krasinski)…

~ On the fourth of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of State Bird Provisions in San Francisco, the second husband and wife team to cook at this year’s event. At a question and answer session at the Culinary Institute of […]

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12 days: colly birds (brioza and krasinski)…

~ On the fourth of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of State Bird Provisions in San Francisco, the second husband and wife team to cook at this year’s event. At a question and answer session at the Culinary Institute of […]

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12 days: french hens (foss)…

~ On the third of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me Phillip Foss of the restaurant ELideas in Chicago. When Phillip Foss left Chicago to come to St. Helena for the event, his ten-seat restaurant (which only serves one-seating each night), was under renovation.  When he […]

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12 days: french hens (foss)…

~ On the third of the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me Phillip Foss of the restaurant ELideas in Chicago. When Phillip Foss left Chicago to come to St. Helena for the event, his ten-seat restaurant (which only serves one-seating each night), was under renovation.  When he […]

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12 days: turtle doves (shields)…

~ On the second day of the Twelve Days of Christmas at the Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me two turtle doves, one named John, the other, Karen. Husband and wife, John and Karen share the last name Shields.  Not only are they two of the most exciting and forward-thinking chefs in America […]

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12 days: turtle doves (shields)…

~ On the second day of the Twelve Days of Christmas at the Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me two turtle doves, one named John, the other, Karen. Husband and wife, John and Karen share the last name Shields.  Not only are they two of the most exciting and forward-thinking chefs in America […]

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12 days: partridge in a pear tree (anderson)…

~ On the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas at the Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me Scott Anderson from the restaurant elements in Princeton, New Jersey. Our day started early and ended late, especially for Kostow, who boarded a plane in New York yesterday morning after cooking at the Bon […]

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12 days: partridge in a pear tree (anderson)…

~ On the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas at the Restaurant at Meadowood, Christopher Kostow gave to me Scott Anderson from the restaurant elements in Princeton, New Jersey. Our day started early and ended late, especially for Kostow, who boarded a plane in New York yesterday morning after cooking at the Bon […]

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review: sensationalist success… (lady & sons)

~ I solicited nearly a dozen of my most well-traveled friends for dining suggestions in Savannah. Without exception, every one of them – including a friend who forwarded me a fairly long list – told me I’d find very little there worth the effort. Go to Charleston instead, they urged. But I had already been […]

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review: sensationalist success… (lady & sons)

~ I solicited nearly a dozen of my most well-traveled friends for dining suggestions in Savannah. Without exception, every one of them – including a friend who forwarded me a fairly long list – told me I’d find very little there worth the effort. Go to Charleston instead, they urged. But I had already been […]

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travel: between bike rides and barbecues…

~ Does the sun set more colorfully in South Carolina?  Do flavors speak more honestly the closer you get to Mississippi?  Does time slow as you approach Georgia?  Is this love? In an exchange I had with a Southern chef recently, I wrote: “Even though I have spent my entire life outside of the South, […]

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travel: between bike rides and barbecues…

~ Does the sun set more colorfully in South Carolina?  Do flavors speak more honestly the closer you get to Mississippi?  Does time slow as you approach Georgia?  Is this love? In an exchange I had with a Southern chef recently, I wrote: “Even though I have spent my entire life outside of the South, […]

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review: mobilizing… (port fonda)

~ It’s probably fair to criticize me for not writing more about Kansas City. Although I have spent most of the last two years traveling and eating around the world, Kansas City is still the city I call home. And it remains, as I wrote earlier this year in a fairly comprehensive post about it, […]

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review: mobilizing… (port fonda)

~ It’s probably fair to criticize me for not writing more about Kansas City. Although I have spent most of the last two years traveling and eating around the world, Kansas City is still the city I call home. And it remains, as I wrote earlier this year in a fairly comprehensive post about it, […]

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review: realm of intuition… (addison)

~ The drive up to The Grand Del Mar, a resort in the hills above San Diego, is particularly beautiful at sunset, when the sprawling estate, with its peachy, hacienda-styled buildings, glows intensely. Outside, the grounds are immaculately manicured. Inside, the rooms are richly decked, lined with marble, dark wood paneling, thick fabrics, and gushing […]

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review: realm of intuition… (addison)

~ The drive up to The Grand Del Mar, a resort in the hills above San Diego, is particularly beautiful at sunset, when the sprawling estate, with its peachy, hacienda-styled buildings, glows intensely. Outside, the grounds are immaculately manicured. Inside, the rooms are richly decked, lined with marble, dark wood paneling, thick fabrics, and gushing […]

Continue