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 […]
_ 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 […]
le cinq: tragic triptych… (2017)
~ The British restaurant critic may be one of the few species that deserved to board Noah’s ark. Equipped with endless wit and flare for hyperbole, they have gifted the world with some of the best food writing I have ever read.* However, their reports provide little evidence of discriminating taste, and rarely, if ever, a serious analysis of […]
~ The British restaurant critic may be one of the few species that deserved to board Noah’s ark. Equipped with endless wit and flare for hyperbole, they have gifted the world with some of the best food writing I have ever read.* However, their reports provide little evidence of discriminating taste, and rarely, if ever, a serious analysis of […]
favorite desserts of 2016…
– What is happening in pastryland? In 2015, I described a slow-down and a top-off, as the energy and excitement that I first noticed propelling dessert-making into a new era half a decade ago began to level. And as that unbridled sprint into the unknown, which had charted new and exciting territory, suddenly slowed, the language and form of pastry in this new era seemed to […]
– What is happening in pastryland? In 2015, I described a slow-down and a top-off, as the energy and excitement that I first noticed propelling dessert-making into a new era half a decade ago began to level. And as that unbridled sprint into the unknown, which had charted new and exciting territory, suddenly slowed, the language and form of pastry in this new era seemed to […]
bocuse d’or…
Thanks to an amazing group of people, whom I thank below, I was afforded a rare, behind the scenes look at the final days of Team U.S.A.’s year-long journey to the Bocuse d’Or competition in Lyon, France. Although I arrived a spectator, with hope of little more, I was unexpectedly welcomed and included by the […]
Thanks to an amazing group of people, whom I thank below, I was afforded a rare, behind the scenes look at the final days of Team U.S.A.’s year-long journey to the Bocuse d’Or competition in Lyon, France. Although I arrived a spectator, with hope of little more, I was unexpectedly welcomed and included by the […]
travel: brave new world…
When the clock struck 2011, I quit my job and lept into a brave new world, vast and endless. Scared? Out of my mind. Excited? Brimming. Unfettered, a free agent to the world, I shrugged off responsibility and began my adventure in Europe, grabbing life by the cheeks and squeezing as hard as I could. […]
When the clock struck 2011, I quit my job and lept into a brave new world, vast and endless. Scared? Out of my mind. Excited? Brimming. Unfettered, a free agent to the world, I shrugged off responsibility and began my adventure in Europe, grabbing life by the cheeks and squeezing as hard as I could. […]
review: through the looking glass..
Blanc de Turbot Ledoyen, Paris, France From the first time I read about it years ago to the very last crumb of my meal there in December of 2008, Pavillon Ledoyen has struck me as a curiously magical place. Like Wonderland, the unassuming Michelin three-star restaurant seems to defy many odds and good senses. Nothing […]
Blanc de Turbot Ledoyen, Paris, France From the first time I read about it years ago to the very last crumb of my meal there in December of 2008, Pavillon Ledoyen has struck me as a curiously magical place. Like Wonderland, the unassuming Michelin three-star restaurant seems to defy many odds and good senses. Nothing […]
best of 2008, the restaurant edition…
Milk Chocolate Tree Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road Boy, people sure do love lists. Since publishing the “best dishes of 2008,” I’ve received numerous emails inquiring about my best restaurant meals of 2008. As I said in that post, this year I have been blessed with many very good meals. But a few float to […]
Milk Chocolate Tree Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road Boy, people sure do love lists. Since publishing the “best dishes of 2008,” I’ve received numerous emails inquiring about my best restaurant meals of 2008. As I said in that post, this year I have been blessed with many very good meals. But a few float to […]
best dishes of 2008…
Softball-Size White Truffle l’Ambroisie, Paris, France Gastronomic self one-upsmanship was not my intention when 2008 began. But it happened quite unexpectedly. For the past three years, I’ve recapped the top 25 dishes in a year-end review (click here for 2005, here for 2006, and here for 2007). Annually, I announce with certainty that my lucky […]
Softball-Size White Truffle l’Ambroisie, Paris, France Gastronomic self one-upsmanship was not my intention when 2008 began. But it happened quite unexpectedly. For the past three years, I’ve recapped the top 25 dishes in a year-end review (click here for 2005, here for 2006, and here for 2007). Annually, I announce with certainty that my lucky […]
travel: crossing back over the puddle…
Lyon on Christmas Night I’ve been playing hooky. Jumping the Puddle, I recently struck out on my ugliest streak of gluttony to date. In fourteen days I pocketed 30 Michelin stars, cleared well over a hundred plates of food, consumed enough cheese to keep half of France employed, and sampled so many macarons that the […]
Lyon on Christmas Night I’ve been playing hooky. Jumping the Puddle, I recently struck out on my ugliest streak of gluttony to date. In fourteen days I pocketed 30 Michelin stars, cleared well over a hundred plates of food, consumed enough cheese to keep half of France employed, and sampled so many macarons that the […]