January 12, 2011
Did you know that Greenland is part of the Royal Danish Kingdom? Well, neither do most Danes actually (they’re busy watching American TV shows instead). But it is, along with the Faroe Islands– and we used to own Iceland too. Since 2009 Greenland has gained 99% self control although Denmark is still supporting the island […]
January 7, 2011
What does a cheesemonger do on Christmas vacation? If that holiday involves traveling to Boston, then it means paying a first-time visit to South End Formaggio. In my estimation, South End Formaggio and its parent store Formaggio Kitchen (in Cambridge, Mass.) are among the finest purveyors of cheese, wine, charcuterie, condiments, and the like in […]
December 30, 2010
Matsutake are to Japan as truffles are to France. They are hard-to-find, fragrant, expensive and coveted. “Matsu” means pine and “take” means mushroom. Matsutake are harvested in the fall, the earliest occurring in September from pine forests in diverse locations around the world including Korea, China, British Columbia, Morocco, Sweden, California and Japan. The matsutake […]
October 27, 2010
I love mushrooms. They’re strange, beautiful, alien creatures and usually a common motif in my own work. They are such a contrast– cute, but deadly; delicate, but powerful. I also love eating them although that happens not so commonly. In contrast to the Tokyo supermarkets being full of many different freshly wrapped shrooms ready for […]
October 19, 2010
*Mercadão = Big market The Mercado Municipal took four years to build and, once completed in 1932, was used by rebels in the “civil constitutionalist revolution†to hold and store weapons. It finally had its grand opening in 1933 as a market. It was built by the river (which is paved nowadays) to allow the […]
August 2, 2010
As if little $1 yogurt cups of vodka to-go weren’t amazing enough, I have also found oversize ketchup type packets of vodka at corner stores in Tel Aviv! These are also $1 and will fit in by beach bag even easier. I just pick up a bottle of cold seltzer on my way down to […]
July 23, 2010
My very first apartment in NYC was in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, in 2002. Although the exact area has been redubbed today by developers as “South Park Slope”, it was pretty grimy back before the hipsters swarmed in. The famous Greenwood Cemetary is up the street (where Basquiat, among other important Americanos, are buried), sex shops […]
July 19, 2010
A shouk is a big outdoor market that sells not only produce but meat, cheese, bread, spices, housewares, clothes, shoes and pretty much anything you can think of. The shouk in Tel Aviv is amazing and much cheaper than a grocery store. Israel is a tiny country– only 260 miles at its longest, 60 miles […]
July 16, 2010
Mortadella, prociutto cotto, and prociutto crudo slices… in a CONE. This is how we’ll be eating meat in the future. How about steak (medium rare please!) in a cone? Hot dog in a cone? Slab bacon in a cone? Hmmm… I think I’m onto something. This reminds me of… this. Anyway, LOVE THIS. Look at […]
July 12, 2010
One of the many funny little things I love about Israel is that in almost every convenient or corner store, you can find little cups of vodka to go. In the same place you would find your diet coke in the mini-fridge near the check-out, you will find these portable quadruple shots of vodka for […]