year end: reality is a long game…. (2023)

Recently, La Tour d’Argent, a standard bearer of la grande cuisine since the 1500s – where kings and emperors have feasted, where the fork made its French debut – posted a horrifying video on Instagram of a soufflé being murdered at the table. It was scalped by the server, then disemboweled by the spoonful onto […]

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year end: reality is a long game…. (2023)

Recently, La Tour d’Argent, a standard bearer of la grande cuisine since the 1500s – where kings and emperors have feasted, where the fork made its French debut – posted a horrifying video on Instagram of a soufflé being murdered at the table. It was scalped by the server, then disemboweled by the spoonful onto […]

Continue

derbyshire: chatsworth… (2022)

Sixteen generations of Cavendish patriarchs – the earls, and subsequently dukes of Devonshire – stare across a grand staircase at the Acheson sisters – granddaughters of the wife of the eighth duke – who sweep across a sprawling canvas. The Cavendishes were painted by almost every notable portraitist in the last 400 years – from […]

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derbyshire: chatsworth… (2022)

Sixteen generations of Cavendish patriarchs – the earls, and subsequently dukes of Devonshire – stare across a grand staircase at the Acheson sisters – granddaughters of the wife of the eighth duke – who sweep across a sprawling canvas. The Cavendishes were painted by almost every notable portraitist in the last 400 years – from […]

Continue

troisgros: patrilineal… (2021)

As my taxi pulled into the gravel carpark, a smartly dressed woman from the front desk was already stationed and waiting for me outside, along with a valet.  I got out and greeted her, and, as a reflex, apologized for the amount of luggage I had with me (overpacking is a terrible vice; I don’t […]

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troisgros: patrilineal… (2021)

As my taxi pulled into the gravel carpark, a smartly dressed woman from the front desk was already stationed and waiting for me outside, along with a valet.  I got out and greeted her, and, as a reflex, apologized for the amount of luggage I had with me (overpacking is a terrible vice; I don’t […]

Continue

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 […]

Continue

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 […]

Continue

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 […]

Continue

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 […]

Continue

favorite dishes of 2021…

After nearly a year of eating at home during the pandemic, I was eager to get out and gobble up 2021. Thankfully, I found cooking alive and well in the re-opening world. I returned to some of my favorite places for my favorite things. So, you’ll find a few familiar names on this year’s list […]

Continue

favorite dishes of 2021…

After nearly a year of eating at home during the pandemic, I was eager to get out and gobble up 2021. Thankfully, I found cooking alive and well in the re-opening world. I returned to some of my favorite places for my favorite things. So, you’ll find a few familiar names on this year’s list […]

Continue

travel: reunions on the road… (2021)

If 2020 imparted any wisdom, it was a searing reminder not to sleep on opportunities when they present. Left behind, they can fester into regret, especially during dark times, when the opportunities that were seized can glitter, by comparison, in dazzling relief. So, as the scales started tipping towards a reopening in 2021, I leapt […]

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travel: reunions on the road… (2021)

If 2020 imparted any wisdom, it was a searing reminder not to sleep on opportunities when they present. Left behind, they can fester into regret, especially during dark times, when the opportunities that were seized can glitter, by comparison, in dazzling relief. So, as the scales started tipping towards a reopening in 2021, I leapt […]

Continue

travel: the city by the bay… (san francisco; 2018)

– According to the year-end travel summaries and stats issued annually by my airline of choice, San Francisco has been my most-frequent destination for the past four years.  And yet, I rarely mention the city on this blog. I’ve written about eating in cities like New York, Copenhagen, Paris, Kansas City (where I get my mail), […]

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travel: the city by the bay… (san francisco; 2018)

– According to the year-end travel summaries and stats issued annually by my airline of choice, San Francisco has been my most-frequent destination for the past four years.  And yet, I rarely mention the city on this blog. I’ve written about eating in cities like New York, Copenhagen, Paris, Kansas City (where I get my mail), […]

Continue

travel: an education… (2017)

– It has been over a dozen years since I started recording and reporting here.  Yet, despite my dwindling updates, I have not lost enthusiasm or eagerness for it. What little time I manage to devote to writing my blog remains exciting and important to me, because above all, it represents an incredible education. Since […]

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travel: an education… (2017)

– It has been over a dozen years since I started recording and reporting here.  Yet, despite my dwindling updates, I have not lost enthusiasm or eagerness for it. What little time I manage to devote to writing my blog remains exciting and important to me, because above all, it represents an incredible education. Since […]

Continue

travel: superpowers and force fields… (paris, 2017)

_ My first few trips to Paris lap at the borders of my memory. In those nascent corners, images of pigeons and fountains flicker faintly, and the hollow shuffling and shushing in the gilded halls of kings echo, where the austere and grand stare down from the canopies above. Etched deeper are the emotions: the […]

Continue

travel: superpowers and force fields… (paris, 2017)

_ My first few trips to Paris lap at the borders of my memory. In those nascent corners, images of pigeons and fountains flicker faintly, and the hollow shuffling and shushing in the gilded halls of kings echo, where the austere and grand stare down from the canopies above. Etched deeper are the emotions: the […]

Continue