favorite desserts of 2017…
– Plums, ashen from the hearth, bleeding into gauzy muslin. Figs, syrupy and charred, nestled in a flakey frame. Saffron suspended in a milky cloud glinting with gold. And apricots, fleshy and warm, hugged in a doughy crust, with ice cream beside; a slice of the great American songbook. These are just a few of […]
– Plums, ashen from the hearth, bleeding into gauzy muslin. Figs, syrupy and charred, nestled in a flakey frame. Saffron suspended in a milky cloud glinting with gold. And apricots, fleshy and warm, hugged in a doughy crust, with ice cream beside; a slice of the great American songbook. These are just a few of […]
favorite dishes of 2017…
– I took the lessons I learned in 2016 and applied them to 2017. Staying close to familiar quarters, I continued to bet on sure winners. They did not disappoint. And, although many of my travel destinations in 2017 were not chosen with great food in mind, I found some great food anyway. Let me […]
– I took the lessons I learned in 2016 and applied them to 2017. Staying close to familiar quarters, I continued to bet on sure winners. They did not disappoint. And, although many of my travel destinations in 2017 were not chosen with great food in mind, I found some great food anyway. Let me […]
favorites of 2016: the restaurant edition…
~ In the past, I’ve used this final, year-end blog post to marvel at just how well I’ve eaten in the preceding 12 months. Over the years, that emphasis has grown dull and unnecessary. By now, those who read this blog know that, when it comes to eating, I’m getting along all right. Explaining my process for evaluating meals and dissecting […]
~ In the past, I’ve used this final, year-end blog post to marvel at just how well I’ve eaten in the preceding 12 months. Over the years, that emphasis has grown dull and unnecessary. By now, those who read this blog know that, when it comes to eating, I’m getting along all right. Explaining my process for evaluating meals and dissecting […]
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 […]
favorite dishes of 2016…
~ In 2015, I yawned. So, in 2016 I did something about it. I took my foot off the culinary gas pedal, tuned out the lists and rankings, and returned to the basics. I’ve never been a conformist, but, more than previous years, I focused on eating where I had found joy before. And, when […]
~ In 2015, I yawned. So, in 2016 I did something about it. I took my foot off the culinary gas pedal, tuned out the lists and rankings, and returned to the basics. I’ve never been a conformist, but, more than previous years, I focused on eating where I had found joy before. And, when […]
best of 2015: the restaurant edition…
~ In 2015, quite a few tracks upon which I had been running slowly began to converge. While my destination remains unclear, my direction has become much more so. Rapidly disappearing is my desire to keep apace with the restaurant industry, as I watch food media disintegrating into a pile of clickbait and shallow memes, the overwhelming weight […]
~ In 2015, quite a few tracks upon which I had been running slowly began to converge. While my destination remains unclear, my direction has become much more so. Rapidly disappearing is my desire to keep apace with the restaurant industry, as I watch food media disintegrating into a pile of clickbait and shallow memes, the overwhelming weight […]
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 dishes of 2015…
– There was no runaway hit in 2015. There were quite a few of them. However, whereas in past years, canvassing through hundreds of dishes for my 25 favorite was a particularly difficult task – one that I was often unable to carry out successfully, forcing me to append a spillover list that often included just as […]
– There was no runaway hit in 2015. There were quite a few of them. However, whereas in past years, canvassing through hundreds of dishes for my 25 favorite was a particularly difficult task – one that I was often unable to carry out successfully, forcing me to append a spillover list that often included just as […]
the best of 2014: the restaurant edition…
~ The sheer splendor with which my year in dining unfolded made the task of identifying my ten favorite restaurant meals from 2014 an especially difficult one. However, forcing myself to narrow that “wide and rich field” (as I described it in an earlier post) – a process that at moments seemed merciless, requiring me to eliminate extraordinarily good meals that in any other […]
~ The sheer splendor with which my year in dining unfolded made the task of identifying my ten favorite restaurant meals from 2014 an especially difficult one. However, forcing myself to narrow that “wide and rich field” (as I described it in an earlier post) – a process that at moments seemed merciless, requiring me to eliminate extraordinarily good meals that in any other […]
best desserts of 2014…
– My parents, who immigrated to the United States over forty years ago, said that, when they first arrived on these shores, they had no concept of “dessert.” In Taiwan, where they had spent most of their lives until that point, there were bakeries that sold sweet pastries, and confectioners who made candy. But most of […]
– My parents, who immigrated to the United States over forty years ago, said that, when they first arrived on these shores, they had no concept of “dessert.” In Taiwan, where they had spent most of their lives until that point, there were bakeries that sold sweet pastries, and confectioners who made candy. But most of […]