– Before I get on with telling you about my favorite whatnots from 2018, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you. What follows is partly an explanation, partly an admission, and all of it a disclaimer. –
– Before I get on with telling you about my favorite whatnots from 2018, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you. What follows is partly an explanation, partly an admission, and all of it a disclaimer. –
– Some of my happiest moments in 2018 were spent waist-high in cold water. On especially good days, the sun glinted off the rushing stream, and glistened at the seams of the slow-moving eddies and pools into which my mind swirled. In those peaceful afternoons, tiny flies hung in the air like a thousand points […]
– Some of my happiest moments in 2018 were spent waist-high in cold water. On especially good days, the sun glinted off the rushing stream, and glistened at the seams of the slow-moving eddies and pools into which my mind swirled. In those peaceful afternoons, tiny flies hung in the air like a thousand points […]
~ 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 […]
~ 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 […]
~ The title of this blog post is misleading. Superlatives, like the word “best,” are dangerous. They’re almost always misused for profit. I have been critical of lists that claim authority over the designation “the best in the world.” The absurdity of such declarations was captured brilliantly in the movie Elf, when Buddy discovers the “world’s […]
~ The title of this blog post is misleading. Superlatives, like the word “best,” are dangerous. They’re almost always misused for profit. I have been critical of lists that claim authority over the designation “the best in the world.” The absurdity of such declarations was captured brilliantly in the movie Elf, when Buddy discovers the “world’s […]
~ Last year, I quit the firm and lept into a brave new world. Landing, unexpectedly, in an amazing suitcase party, I traveled, photographed, and ate around the globe, visiting nearly a dozen countries, and just as many states. I thought I’d never have a year like it again. I was wrong. 2012 has been just as […]
~ Last year, I quit the firm and lept into a brave new world. Landing, unexpectedly, in an amazing suitcase party, I traveled, photographed, and ate around the globe, visiting nearly a dozen countries, and just as many states. I thought I’d never have a year like it again. I was wrong. 2012 has been just as […]
Some whelks, served cold with a side of garlicky vinaigrette. Espardenyes – those curiously striated cucumbers from the sea, tender with bounce and bite – langostas, gambas, chiparones, and a baby turbot not much larger than my hand, all grilled on the plancha. These are the simple pleasures of Rafa’s, an unassuming little eatery that has all but become […]
Some whelks, served cold with a side of garlicky vinaigrette. Espardenyes – those curiously striated cucumbers from the sea, tender with bounce and bite – langostas, gambas, chiparones, and a baby turbot not much larger than my hand, all grilled on the plancha. These are the simple pleasures of Rafa’s, an unassuming little eatery that has all but become […]
I’ve never tasted terroir as intensely or unequivocally as I did in Dénia, Spain earlier this year. Eating at Quique Dacosta is like doing a faceplant on the shoreline not a hundred yards from the restaurant’s door.* It is a dynamic experience, where prehistory meets the future, where the land meets the sea, and where […]
I’ve never tasted terroir as intensely or unequivocally as I did in Dénia, Spain earlier this year. Eating at Quique Dacosta is like doing a faceplant on the shoreline not a hundred yards from the restaurant’s door.* It is a dynamic experience, where prehistory meets the future, where the land meets the sea, and where […]
Good chefs tell stories. They convey a sense of time and place. Great chefs tell fairytales. They create time and place. Carme Ruscalleda is a great chef. And at her restaurant by the sea, a meal unfolds like a storybook, full of romance and wonder. It is a capsule, a world unto itself, Sant Pau […]
Good chefs tell stories. They convey a sense of time and place. Great chefs tell fairytales. They create time and place. Carme Ruscalleda is a great chef. And at her restaurant by the sea, a meal unfolds like a storybook, full of romance and wonder. It is a capsule, a world unto itself, Sant Pau […]
There are three rocks on every table at el Celler de Can Roca, presumably one for each of the brothers Roca. There’s Joan, the chef; Josep, the sommelier; and Jordi on pastries. Together, they’ve built upon their family’s restaurant, where all three worked as youths, and made it one of the world’s most acclaimed dining […]
There are three rocks on every table at el Celler de Can Roca, presumably one for each of the brothers Roca. There’s Joan, the chef; Josep, the sommelier; and Jordi on pastries. Together, they’ve built upon their family’s restaurant, where all three worked as youths, and made it one of the world’s most acclaimed dining […]