Seriously, this was a business trip. We HAD to find a quality slice of Black Forest Cake even though it was sought only by old-fashioned, German-language-less tourists like me. Most people seemed oblivious to the fact that this cake was born in Berlin. Where was its memorial? Where was its shrine? Susie@Berlin Wall We got distracted ...
If you've been on a dessert-tasting tour of central Europe for 2 weeks, the dress shops of Paris don't interest you. Over-crowded museums in summer heat are suddenly urgent on your agenda. Then I heard the siren song of this dress, vintage Herve Leger in nude, tags still on, swinging amid second-hand sequined tops and ...
To fully appreciate NYC, you need a person like Natalie as your guide. She ambles lightly to the fun places, asks directions quietly and fearlessly as needed, and her laugh is a chime. She is my daughter, so forgive the brag. She is nomading around the Upper West Side, Chelsea, Chinatown, Sag Harbor and the Berkshires. ...
31 years ago, I lived in a Kensington flat near here called Sunningdale Gardens. I worked temp jobs in the media, made friends I still consider important, suffered through some whomping big mistakes ('80's haircuts, anyone??), and frequented a shop with mile-high cheddar/lettuce/tomato-on-croissant sandwiches that still tower in my memory. These were my salad days. My ...
Los Angeles Flower Market-May 2015 Farmers' Market Razz-May 2015 Alma Rosa Wine-Santa Barbara-May 2015 This is strawberry season which gives way to gerber daisy season which gives way to raspberry season followed by tomato season. Thanks to a little fermentation, wine and chocolate are always in season. Chocolate & Cherry Blossom-Photo by Gina Sabatella ...
Jackie and I committed to our travels as logistics, children, dogs, finances, menfolk, work assignments and other forces challenged our resolve. Many times, as we shared the news of unexpected $5000 roof repairs, kid-driven car crashes or our own stupid car crashes, creative work picking up and slowing down then picking up again, we realized ...
Airplane cabins were thick with smoke in the 1970's. Everybody smoked - fat guys, ladies, nerds deeply immersed in the airline magazine, and me, a teenager on my way home from school. My parents noticed that I carried many (too many) little bags when I arrived one day, so they bought me a big set ...
The Hollywood Hills, among which I have lived for most of the last 25 years, are full of secrets. My favorite trail winds through sandy knolls and meadows down to a reservoir. It is the equivalent of a secret surf spot - we don't discuss it much. Beyond it is the jungle of LA, then ...
Panel on Sustainable Farming Praise and observations about Suzanne Goin's cuisine often include commentary on its stark simplicity and its Mediterranean roots. In this style, the quality of ingredients really, really matters. She has been a top California chef for over two decades, with cookbooks and the well-known restaurants A.O.C. in L.A., followed by Lucques, ...
American pastry chefs can make Chocolate Chip Cookies (CCCs) from recipes long committed to memory. Many of us started baking as children and took command of the sturdy Toll House recipe (below) as soon as we were allowed to approach the oven. We might have evolved beyond this humble beginning - through cakes and classes ...
The best mid-city, mid-day food truck hub in Los Angeles is an unmarked section of curb across Wilshire Boulevard from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Begs the question: are today's food trucks part of a cultural, urban, ethnic, wacko-cool art scene? Allow me to present the evidence: Kogi Korean/Mexican BBQ - early adapter of ...
Emile Zola describes Les Halles, the much-renovated and ever-changing central food market, as "the belly of Paris." Food halls (especially those like Zola's - full of characters and politics) remind us that for now, we are on top of the food chain; below us, blood and guts. In many parts of the world, you can ...