26 Feb 2013
by scolgin
in Beverages, Food, Humor
Tags: beer, cocktails, drinks, food, Pliny the Elder, Russian River Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada, Stella Artois
The third in the author’s three part series about his all-consuming obsession with locating and purchasing at any cost Russian River Brewing Company’s Pliny the Elder beer.
* * *
Driving home with my big game prize — six bottles of Pliny the Elder — I began contemplating the grand ordeal that had been my barely one-month relationship with the beer.
A few days before, I’d called my favorite wine store, which was listed on the Russian River Brewing Company’s distribution list, but where I’d never actually seen Pliny before. I asked the gentleman if they carried Pliny.
Pliny, crowding out the other beers in my fridge
“We get it sometimes, usually on Tuesdays.” This was a Monday. “The delivery usually comes around 1 p.m. Why don’t you call sometime after that and see if we got any. It sells out fast.” More
19 Feb 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Humor
Tags: Cherry council, crab, Crab-stuffed flounder, flounder, food, halibut, humor, National food holidays, pizza
Browsing the news items on yahoo.com, I was surprised to discover that today, February 18th, is National Crab-Stuffed Flounder Day.
Can you spot the flounder?
Not only did I not realize it was a holiday, but I’ll admit I didn’t even know people stuffed flounder with crab. Not that I’m against the idea, mind you — I’ve been known to stuff everything from sushi rolls to artichokes with crab. Why not a flounder? More
15 Feb 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Humor
Tags: 1000-year duck eggs, Anthony Bourdain, century eggs, China, Chinese cuisine, congee, cooking, fermented black beans, Taiwan, tofu
Our friend Jon has a new girlfriend. Actually, she’s not all that “new” — they’ve been dating about a year now. But it took six months for him to introduce her to us. Before that, the only evidence of her existence was dumplings. And by that measure, things weren’t looking good.
“Do you want some dumplings?” Jon said one day at the kids’ school. “Priscilla dropped them by my house.” He led me down to his truck and opened the back. It felt illicit, like it was high school and we were going to drink a beer or smoke some pot. He pulled out some big bready bao and a couple cold pork dumplings whose steamed wrappers were crumbling off. More
12 Feb 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Observations
Tags: American Beauty, food, Manchego cheese, shishito peppers, Van Morrison
It’s one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies. The kid in “American Beauty” is video-taping a plastic grocery store bag, floating gracefully on a breeze:
“Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”
It’s one of my favorite scenes and quotes because I often have moments like that, and always have. I like to call them “God moments.” More
08 Feb 2013
by scolgin
in Food, Pork, Recipes, Video
Tags: Austria, Austrian cooking, Café Pruckel, Danube, Mozart, spaetzle, Vienna, Wien, Wienerschnitzel
I spent a long, cold portion of a winter in Vienna once.
What I was doing there is a long story all it’s own, but like many such stories, it had to do with a girl. That didn’t work out as planned, and I spent much of my time there on my own, exploring the city — stumbling on former residences of Beethoven around every corner, searching out the Grove of the Immortals — Brahams, Schubert, Strauss, Beethoven — in the Central Cemetery, visiting the homes of Mozart and Dr. Freud, staring at the sparkling canvases of Klimt at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, taking in Richard Strauss’ “Rosenkavalier” at the famed State Opera House and a performance of the Vienna Boys Choir at the Imperial Chapel. More
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