Category: restaurant

travel: regroup and return (2022)…

Just as the world seemed to be galloping away from the pandemic, it was abruptly unhorsed by Omicron. As the new Covid variant – by far, the most infectious yet, we were told – raced around the globe in late 2021 and early 2022, spreading like glitter among preschoolers, I was on my way to […]

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travel: regroup and return (2022)…

Just as the world seemed to be galloping away from the pandemic, it was abruptly unhorsed by Omicron. As the new Covid variant – by far, the most infectious yet, we were told – raced around the globe in late 2021 and early 2022, spreading like glitter among preschoolers, I was on my way to […]

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favorites of 2021: the restaurant edition…

For many, especially in the hospitality industry, 2021 was like drinking out of a firehose, wasn’t it? As pandemic restrictions lifted, it became quickly apparent that the pent up demand for travel and dining far exceeded expectations. The world didn’t just reopen, it busted open. Yet, whatever relief that eager spending might have brought was […]

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favorites of 2021: the restaurant edition…

For many, especially in the hospitality industry, 2021 was like drinking out of a firehose, wasn’t it? As pandemic restrictions lifted, it became quickly apparent that the pent up demand for travel and dining far exceeded expectations. The world didn’t just reopen, it busted open. Yet, whatever relief that eager spending might have brought was […]

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travel: in dazzling relief… (2019)

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travel: in dazzling relief… (2019)

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12 days of christmas: kostow (2019)

The last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a tangle of excitement and exhaustion that is well-documented in previous years on this blog (a complete, hyperlinked list of every single dinner since 2012 can be found at the bottom of this post).  For the cooks there’s the afterglow of having hosted eleven guest […]

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12 days of christmas: kostow (2019)

The last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a tangle of excitement and exhaustion that is well-documented in previous years on this blog (a complete, hyperlinked list of every single dinner since 2012 can be found at the bottom of this post).  For the cooks there’s the afterglow of having hosted eleven guest […]

Continue

12 days of christmas: cantu… (2019)

– It seems only a short while ago that Val Cantu was hosting a pop-up in San Francisco.  Those early previews of Cantu’s modern, but studied approach to Mexican cooking generated considerable excitement.  Before I knew it, he had opened a small restaurant in the Mission and earned a Michelin star.  It was in those early […]

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12 days of christmas: cantu… (2019)

– It seems only a short while ago that Val Cantu was hosting a pop-up in San Francisco.  Those early previews of Cantu’s modern, but studied approach to Mexican cooking generated considerable excitement.  Before I knew it, he had opened a small restaurant in the Mission and earned a Michelin star.  It was in those early […]

Continue

12 days of christmas: lee… (2019)

– On the recommendation of a friend during a three-day layover in Singapore, I had the pleasure of eating at Candlenut.  That was the summer of 2016, just before the Michelin Guide arrived in Singapore, where it would award chef Malcolm Lee and his Peranakan cooking a worthy star later that year. Lee brought his […]

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12 days of christmas: lee… (2019)

– On the recommendation of a friend during a three-day layover in Singapore, I had the pleasure of eating at Candlenut.  That was the summer of 2016, just before the Michelin Guide arrived in Singapore, where it would award chef Malcolm Lee and his Peranakan cooking a worthy star later that year. Lee brought his […]

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favorites of 2018: the restaurant edition…

– Last year, I got pretty worked up about an insultingly bad meal I had in 2017. This year I have no barns to burn; only good news to share.

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favorites of 2018: the restaurant edition…

– Last year, I got pretty worked up about an insultingly bad meal I had in 2017. This year I have no barns to burn; only good news to share.

Continue

kansas city: talking food…

– Did you know that salmon not only find their way up rivers to spawn, but they’re able to find the specific feeder branch, upstream, where they hatched?   It’s amazing. But in Norway, scientists have noticed that wild salmon are struggling to find their home streams. Wild salmon that have been tagged and tracked […]

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kansas city: talking food…

– Did you know that salmon not only find their way up rivers to spawn, but they’re able to find the specific feeder branch, upstream, where they hatched?   It’s amazing. But in Norway, scientists have noticed that wild salmon are struggling to find their home streams. Wild salmon that have been tagged and tracked […]

Continue

12 days of christmas: atsumi… (2018)

– I’ve had two excellent meals at Clown Bar, and my enthusiasm for that restaurant has been recorded on this blog (here, and here, and here again). This beautifully preserved bistro is in the 11eme of Paris, just next to the Cirque d’Hiver.  I regret not having gone earlier, as I’m sure I missed many […]

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12 days of christmas: atsumi… (2018)

– I’ve had two excellent meals at Clown Bar, and my enthusiasm for that restaurant has been recorded on this blog (here, and here, and here again). This beautifully preserved bistro is in the 11eme of Paris, just next to the Cirque d’Hiver.  I regret not having gone earlier, as I’m sure I missed many […]

Continue

12 days of christmas: ros… (2018)

– Slovenia is a small country, she told me. You can go from the beach to skiing in less than an hour. Wedged between Italy, Austria, Croatia, and Hungry, it’s a dynamic crossroad for wildly different cultures and culinary traditions.  And Ana Ros, chef of the Hiša Franko in Kobarid near the Italian border, is […]

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12 days of christmas: ros… (2018)

– Slovenia is a small country, she told me. You can go from the beach to skiing in less than an hour. Wedged between Italy, Austria, Croatia, and Hungry, it’s a dynamic crossroad for wildly different cultures and culinary traditions.  And Ana Ros, chef of the Hiša Franko in Kobarid near the Italian border, is […]

Continue