Destination: Chicago
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 […]
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 […]
– 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 […]
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 […]
travel: hemispheres and horizons…
– The calendar has turned for the twelfth time on this blog, and once again, I find myself nearly immobilized by the daunting task of gathering the previous year in one post. What has proven perennially to be one of my most challenging exercises, pausing to regroup, reflect, and record at year-end has turned out to be one of the most […]
– The calendar has turned for the twelfth time on this blog, and once again, I find myself nearly immobilized by the daunting task of gathering the previous year in one post. What has proven perennially to be one of my most challenging exercises, pausing to regroup, reflect, and record at year-end has turned out to be one of the most […]
travel: fairytale…
~ Five years ago today, I walked out of the law firm and into the unknown. What began as a shapeless but exciting restart on life quickly formed into an unexpectedly self-guided and fulfilling journey flooded with amazing people, places, lessons, and adventures. Year after year, life has exceeded my wildest expectations. While I’ve enjoyed getting lost in the busyness of my new […]
~ Five years ago today, I walked out of the law firm and into the unknown. What began as a shapeless but exciting restart on life quickly formed into an unexpectedly self-guided and fulfilling journey flooded with amazing people, places, lessons, and adventures. Year after year, life has exceeded my wildest expectations. While I’ve enjoyed getting lost in the busyness of my new […]
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 […]
12 days: on the eighth day of christmas: achatz… (2014)
~ Of this year’s twelve dinners, I was most anxious about the eighth one: the night that Grant Achatz cooked. Early in alinea’s life, I was one of the very few, if not alone, in my criticism of that restaurant – or, more accurately, that style of dining. Now, eight years and four meals at alinea later, the […]
~ Of this year’s twelve dinners, I was most anxious about the eighth one: the night that Grant Achatz cooked. Early in alinea’s life, I was one of the very few, if not alone, in my criticism of that restaurant – or, more accurately, that style of dining. Now, eight years and four meals at alinea later, the […]
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: blurred lines…
~ At the end of each of the last two years, I’ve looked back in awe at a calendar filled with adventures. At the same time, I’ve stared nervously into the new year, wondering how it might fill up, if at all. We are at the bottom of December, once again. And, once again, I […]
~ At the end of each of the last two years, I’ve looked back in awe at a calendar filled with adventures. At the same time, I’ve stared nervously into the new year, wondering how it might fill up, if at all. We are at the bottom of December, once again. And, once again, I […]