12 days of christmas: shieldses… (2019)
– In April of 2011, my friends and I arrived in the sleepy town of Chilhowie, Virginia. We had driven eight hours from Charleston to eat at John and Karen Shieldses’ restaurant Town House. The meal was as exciting and delicious as I had heard, and it was the beginning of a friendship that would […]
– In April of 2011, my friends and I arrived in the sleepy town of Chilhowie, Virginia. We had driven eight hours from Charleston to eat at John and Karen Shieldses’ restaurant Town House. The meal was as exciting and delicious as I had heard, and it was the beginning of a friendship that would […]
december dozen…
– The email I hope to get each year finally arrived. Christopher Kostow and The Restaurant at Meadowood will be hosting its eleventh annual Twelve Days of Christmas, which will benefit the St. Helena Preschool for All. And for the seventh year, I’m the lucky guy who gets to go to Napa Valley in December […]
– The email I hope to get each year finally arrived. Christopher Kostow and The Restaurant at Meadowood will be hosting its eleventh annual Twelve Days of Christmas, which will benefit the St. Helena Preschool for All. And for the seventh year, I’m the lucky guy who gets to go to Napa Valley in December […]
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 […]
best desserts of 2015…
– I started issuing a list of my favorite desserts in 2011 because I noticed something exciting happening in pastryland, and I wanted a record of it. At the time, many pastry chefs were branching out and exploring new territory, while others hunkered down to improve upon what was already there. And in just a few, short years, together, they have widened the borders of […]
– I started issuing a list of my favorite desserts in 2011 because I noticed something exciting happening in pastryland, and I wanted a record of it. At the time, many pastry chefs were branching out and exploring new territory, while others hunkered down to improve upon what was already there. And in just a few, short years, together, they have widened the borders of […]
best desserts of 2013…
~ Three years ago, I created a separate year-end list for desserts because I wanted to recognize and record the exciting strides that I noticed pastry chefs taking. In the short time since, the borders of dessert-making and dessert-eating have continued to expand. Speaking specifically as an American, our understanding of desserts has taken on a […]
~ Three years ago, I created a separate year-end list for desserts because I wanted to recognize and record the exciting strides that I noticed pastry chefs taking. In the short time since, the borders of dessert-making and dessert-eating have continued to expand. Speaking specifically as an American, our understanding of desserts has taken on a […]
travel: the well-preserved patina of yesterday…
~ You know those restaurants you’ve been meaning to visit for ten years? I have long lists of them. And none is longer or harder to maintain than my New York list. New York City is a high-volume situation. The sheer number of restaurants that open (and close) there each year, makes it one of […]
~ You know those restaurants you’ve been meaning to visit for ten years? I have long lists of them. And none is longer or harder to maintain than my New York list. New York City is a high-volume situation. The sheer number of restaurants that open (and close) there each year, makes it one of […]
travel: more dots to connect…
~ New York in May. It’s always a feast. I’ve attended the James Beard Awards, which is held annually the first Monday of the month, for the past six years. For the past two, I’ve had the privilege of photographing the event for All-Clad Metalcrafters (a sponsor), which was the primary purpose of my latest […]
~ New York in May. It’s always a feast. I’ve attended the James Beard Awards, which is held annually the first Monday of the month, for the past six years. For the past two, I’ve had the privilege of photographing the event for All-Clad Metalcrafters (a sponsor), which was the primary purpose of my latest […]
best of 2011: the restaurant edition…
Mood and mind, place and time: once recorded, they cannot be erased. Neither can company nor cast, nor the events that happened at table. To do so would be a pity anyway, for dining is theatre; every part a prop, everyone a role. And, as with life, in its unscripted scenes are often its finest […]
Mood and mind, place and time: once recorded, they cannot be erased. Neither can company nor cast, nor the events that happened at table. To do so would be a pity anyway, for dining is theatre; every part a prop, everyone a role. And, as with life, in its unscripted scenes are often its finest […]
best dishes of 2011…
(Crispy Pig Ears; Husk) * * * Another December, another set of listicles. Every year for the the past six, I’ve rounded up the best edibles of each and posted them here for posterity. They’ve included a list of my twenty-five favorite dishes, the best dozen desserts, and the top ten restaurant meals of each […]
(Crispy Pig Ears; Husk) * * * Another December, another set of listicles. Every year for the the past six, I’ve rounded up the best edibles of each and posted them here for posterity. They’ve included a list of my twenty-five favorite dishes, the best dozen desserts, and the top ten restaurant meals of each […]
review: you can’t get there quickly enough…
Seasalter, Laguiole, Baerenthal, Cala Montjoi, Honfleur, Fürstenau, Sluis, and Järpen: these are just a few of the far-flung places that people travel many hours – by planes, trains, automobiles, and, if you’re foolish and crazy like me, bicycles – to reach just to have a meal. There is not, unfortunately, the same tradition of traveling […]
Seasalter, Laguiole, Baerenthal, Cala Montjoi, Honfleur, Fürstenau, Sluis, and Järpen: these are just a few of the far-flung places that people travel many hours – by planes, trains, automobiles, and, if you’re foolish and crazy like me, bicycles – to reach just to have a meal. There is not, unfortunately, the same tradition of traveling […]