25 Oct 2011
by scolgin
in Observations
Tags: communal table, farmer's market, Florence, grocery store, krab, microwave ovens, pet peeves, restaurant, sushi bar
"Krab"
Certain places are more conducive to food-related annoyances than others. Here’s some location-specific pet peeves:
At the grocery store:
• People with 18 or 20 Things in the 15 Things Aisle
I guess I’ve probably been guilty of this myself. But I’m always incensed when it’s someone else. They always know they’ve got too many things, too, and fidget nervously lest they be called out. And they inevitably have weak rationales for why they haven’t actually exceeded the limit. “What?” they’ll say, pointing at their grapes, bananas and strawberries. “That counts as one thing: fruit.” More
21 Oct 2011
by scolgin
in Observations
Tags: autumn, chanterelles, fall, food, porcini, risotto, Sonoma, Thanksgiving, wild mushrooms, wine
I woke this morning to the first day of autumn. Not the official first day — technically, it’s been fall for a month now. But the first real first day of autumn, where I could feel it in my bones and soul. It’s one of my favorite feelings.
Silvery Autumn morning through the oaks
We in Southern California are less fortunate than our friends in other parts of the country who enjoy spectacular displays of changing foliage. Our poison oak turns kinda pink, which I guess is nice. And typically, when October arrives and those same friends are raking leaves and building fires, we’re out on the deck in shorts and t-shirts, grilling ribs and drinking beer. They envy us, we envy them.
But not today. Today was different. I awakened to a chill, reluctant to emerge from under my pile of covers. Out the window wisps of gossamer fog weaved through the muscular arms of the scrub oaks, softening them. Our silky rooster crowed plaintively, and I could smell coffee that was not yet even brewing. My favorite season had come. More
14 Oct 2011
by scolgin
in Cooking Tips, Observations, Recipes
Tags: bloody mary, entertaining, food blog, Jon Buck, mac n' cheese, queso fundido, recipes, single guys, Skinny Girls, vegetarian
When I was in my 20s, I wrote a cookbook called “The Single Guy’s Cookbook & Guide to Entertaining.” My friend Mark (you may remember him as “Sidekick Mark” from previous posts) and I were at sushi one night talking about how impressive and economical it was to cook dinner for a date. Recite to her a little poetry you’d written with a glass of wine by the fire afterward, and she was yours. The recipes were simple and good, the advice intuitive… a book that was basically a guide for all those guys who burn toast or ruin a salad.
Jon's dinner
So it is with our friend Jon. Recently separated from his wife, he’s the guy who invites us over for dinner, and then asks what we’re having. He’s the guy who sends me pictures of what he’s preparing for dinner so I’ll feel sorry for him and invite him to our house instead. When his parents are in town visiting, he invites them to our house. He’s one of our favorite people and we love his kids, so we don’t mind. But I feel an almost philanthropic instinct to feed him. More
29 Sep 2011
by scolgin
in Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: carnivore, France, Germans, harvey's guss, Italy, laboratory, meat, SPAM, vegetarian
Some friends of ours had German guests visiting, and were going to take them to In & Out Burger. “I hope they have soy burgers,” said friend Amanda. “Our friends don’t eat any meat.” I suggested she get them regular burgers and tell them that they were soy burgers, and that they’d made incredible advances in soy technology. Germans are gullible that way. Suffering a national cuisine inferiority complex with France and Italy as neighbors, they’re likely to act overly knowledgeable and tell you they already knew that.
Meat grown in a lab
I was reminded of one of my younger sister, Siobhan’s, bouts of vegetarianism when we were teenagers. I was trying to get her to eat a chicken breast, and she was protesting. “They don’t have to kill the chicken,” I said, “they just cut the breasts off and they grow back. Like a lizard’s tail!” She glared at me. She also wasn’t buying my contention that to get chicken broth, all you had to do was wring the live chicken out over a pot. (More like “juicing” a chicken.) More
16 Sep 2011
by scolgin
in Observations, Video, World's Best Sandwiches
Tags: Bob's Big Boy, Bolognese, burger, burgers, Hawaii, Laurel Tavern, loco moco, McDonalds, Toni's Soul Burger, Wine Guerrilla
Following are some of the additional reflections, aborted videos, also-rans and other tidbits that didn’t make it into my main burger odyssey posts. But which I thought worth sharing either as humorous asides or worthwhile nuggets of wisdom. You decide.
BBQ Soul burger, levitating
Best Burger I Never Tried
In the face of burger trends and zeitgeists, I admire those who hew to their own path. Toni’s Soul Burger, a stand in a part of Inglewood not on any of my itineraries, got a full-page spread in the L.A. Times Food section awhile back. Sort of the opposite of the upscale gourmet burger. So I thought it worth a trek south and set out one fine Monday around lunchtime. More
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