July 27, 2011
Italian ice cream, especially from Sicily, has this smooth, creamy texture which you can eat with a spatula. It’s gorgeous, sexy and slimy. In the best way. Ice cream in Danish is called “is” as in ice–meaning we call that slippery cold frozen water stuff for is as well. Meaning denotes from the colloquial, like […]
July 22, 2011
While it’s no Musso & Frank or Mateo’s, Umami Burger is quickly becoming a fixture in the LA culinary world. Seriously. Six locations have popped up since the original La Brea location opened in 2009 and the popularity doesn’t appear to be losing steam. Though it embraces the similar rapid expansion model that made the […]
July 20, 2011
Paystyle and Vanessa are in New Orleans this week for the annual cocktail fête of the year, Tales of the Cocktail–hands down the most important event in the world for cocktail heads, bar chefs, liquor companies, alcoholics, et al. I’m sure P + V have been trashed since they landed at Louis Armstrong airport yesterday […]
July 12, 2011
“Are we really doing this?†I asked, uncertainly nibbling on a grilled shiitake mushroom. Eriko paused before answering. “I know I was talking some pretty ambitious stuff the other night, but I think we should try it,†she replied. “We could end up pulling off something really cool.†I vividly recall the tipsy conversation that […]
We’ve been very lucky. Since last summer, we’ve had a bona fide udon-ya (shop) right here in London. Serving sanuki udon (a type of udon from the Kagawa region of Japan) that is prepared in-house, Koya boasts chefs that trained at the famed Kunitoraya in Paris. Proper udon and one even my extremely fussy Japanese […]
July 8, 2011
When I say Liguria, I’m talking about the Ligurian coast in the Italian Riviera. Topographically different from the rest of Italy, the coastline is scattered with mountainous cliffs that drop straight down into the ocean, and hidden beaches are nestled away in unspoiled coves. Idyllic Santa Margherita and Portofino were the two stops for us […]
July 6, 2011
The one and only Paystyle rolled into town a couple of weeks ago. Although he would be fully booked with personal engagements, I knew exactly how to get him to pencil me in. A few days before he was scheduled to land at SFO, I texted him, “Should we go on a SF cocktail crawl […]
July 5, 2011
Downtown Los Angeles is a special place–a part of town that still feels authentically gritty and big city-like. Even amongst the gentrification going strong in a few, piecemeal pockets, downtown LA is still pretty much what it was in Beverly Hills Cop 2. Sure, the crime rate and smog levels have dropped since the 80’s, […]
July 1, 2011
It’s getting colder here in Brazil and dry season is approaching. In the North, the crops have been harvested. Festa Junina (June Festival) was carried over from the Portuguese to celebrate and thank God for the rain by eating wonderful foods–and like any good Brazilian party it has mutated into one of the biggest parties […]
June 24, 2011
I’m really glad we made it to Florence before the Jersey Invasion dropped a gang of guidettes into the birthplace of Michelangelo. Although I’m sure they feel quite at home amongst the various Guess stores and Footlockers, I was disappointed that there is no legitimate shopping in this city. But I did have two of […]