Destination: Cala Montjoi

review: cooks turned curators… (next elbulli)

– When I last left our hero, David Beran, he was in Belle Époque Paris rescuing Auguste Escoffier from growing obscurity. I never wrote about that meal at Next Restaurant in late May of 2011, which took my friends and me back to 1906 in a duck press. But I’ll tell you now: it was […]

Continue

review: cooks turned curators… (next elbulli)

– When I last left our hero, David Beran, he was in Belle Époque Paris rescuing Auguste Escoffier from growing obscurity. I never wrote about that meal at Next Restaurant in late May of 2011, which took my friends and me back to 1906 in a duck press. But I’ll tell you now: it was […]

Continue

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 […]

Continue

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 […]

Continue

best desserts of 2011…

(Frozen Sake; elBulli) Is pastry having a “moment?” Judging by the desserts I’ve had this year, I’d say it is. In the past, I’ve tacked on a dozen or so desserts to my annual “best dishes” post in a section at the bottom called “just desserts.”  While their inclusion was far from an afterthought, even […]

Continue

best desserts of 2011…

(Frozen Sake; elBulli) Is pastry having a “moment?” Judging by the desserts I’ve had this year, I’d say it is. In the past, I’ve tacked on a dozen or so desserts to my annual “best dishes” post in a section at the bottom called “just desserts.”  While their inclusion was far from an afterthought, even […]

Continue

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 […]

Continue

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 […]

Continue

suitcase party…

Eleven months ago, I took a tremendous leap of faith. I quit my job. Life will catch you, my friends reassured. I wasn’t so convinced. I went to Europe soon thereafter, to think, to eat, to explore, and to spectate. Certain that it was my last hurrah for a while, I was thankful for the […]

Continue

suitcase party…

Eleven months ago, I took a tremendous leap of faith. I quit my job. Life will catch you, my friends reassured. I wasn’t so convinced. I went to Europe soon thereafter, to think, to eat, to explore, and to spectate. Certain that it was my last hurrah for a while, I was thankful for the […]

Continue

review: anthology… (elbulli)

My wish came true. I got to have lunch on that patio by the sea after all.* Having already had the extraordinary fortune of getting a seat at elBullí in February, I was invited back in early July, last-minute, by my friend Adam of A Life Worth Eating, who, having eaten there last fall, found […]

Continue

review: anthology… (elbulli)

My wish came true. I got to have lunch on that patio by the sea after all.* Having already had the extraordinary fortune of getting a seat at elBullí in February, I was invited back in early July, last-minute, by my friend Adam of A Life Worth Eating, who, having eaten there last fall, found […]

Continue

review: fugue…

John Shields, the chef of Town House, was unnaturally familiar with the forty-two dishes that were recently set down before us at el bulli. Having tried unsuccessfully for years to get a reservation at the restaurant, he had spent a considerable amount of time reading about and canvassing the internet for pictures of Ferran Adria’s […]

Continue

review: fugue…

John Shields, the chef of Town House, was unnaturally familiar with the forty-two dishes that were recently set down before us at el bulli. Having tried unsuccessfully for years to get a reservation at the restaurant, he had spent a considerable amount of time reading about and canvassing the internet for pictures of Ferran Adria’s […]

Continue

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. […]

Continue

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. […]

Continue