Food and Drink

I’ll take the highlands, you take the neat fee… This is ridiculous and embarassing. A “neat fee”? You pay for the ounces of liquor poured, not the amount of room in the glass. Scotch drinkers who enjoy their malt neat (of which I am one) expect a smaller portion, an unassuming golden slip of elixer … Read more

And then there’s this…the most romantic, best way to show someone how much you love them is by cooking a meal together. Turn off the TV, put on some good music, pour a couple hefty glasses of wine, and roll up your sleeves. The converstations that happen while you’re chopping onions will never be the … Read more

ain’t happenin’ … Valentine’s Day is an odd holiday for the restaurant industry. Yes, it’s a money maker, but most of the reservations are two-tops. And you can bet that your walk-in traffic will be next to nothing. And then there’s the fact that you will be working the holiday, so your spouse, ahem, will … Read more

I have a semi-quiet Saturday ahead of me so I’m a little excited to park myself at the kitchen computer with a steamy cup of French Roast and a slice of pumpkin bread while I catch-up with my food writer reading… TONY rules, does he not? And thank goodness Michael Ruhlman allows him space to … Read more

Are you a land lubber or a sea lubber? Or do you actively lub both, as I do? Well, according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) even though there was a slight decrease in seafood consumption in 2005, we spent $65.2 billion on seafood products, a $3 billion rise over 2004. We were … Read more

Yesterday, I spent a few delicious hours as a judge for the Town Hall Brewery’s Chili Cook-Off. There were definitely interesting ingredients used in some of the dishes: zucchini, venison, curry, cocoa. Challenging the very definition of chili was one dish with a cream base and another that consisted solely of beef cubes and sauce, … Read more

So Ilan is Top Chef, Marcel is the fool. Meh. Each chef had to prepare their version of The Perfect Meal. The food looked tasty enough, most of it sounded yummy, and yet. Ilan touted his passion for food, his ability to cook from the heart but I just don’t believe him. He knows that … Read more

Maybe it’s because they’re just too McSkinny in Japan. Maybe it’s because they have a history of readily accepting improbable, huge monsters. Maybe it’s because they love restaurants with a toilet theme. Whatever it is, Japan is getting the Mega Mac. If that freaks you, wait until you find out what the hell Grimace actually … Read more

Today is my birthday. Looking back, the past year held various cooking victories: the ice cream follies of the summer (basil/lemon, chocolate/zinfandel, strawberry/balsamic, Guiness, sake/cucumber sorbet)…a few good looking loaves of ciabatta, and one really ugly but tasty boule … the perfect Stephanie pizza (pesto, prosciutto, arugula, and egg cracked on top) … a five … Read more