30 Dec 2011
by scolgin
in Observations, On the Road, Video
Tags: Fairmont, Fiddler's Green, Gold Dust Lounge, Guinness, Irish Bank, JFK, Paris, Prohibition, San Francisco, Van Morrison
I like cities that are oriented around food. Paris is a city like that. On any given block, between your Metro stop and your apartment, there will be charcuteries, boulangeries, patisseries, street markets, produce shops and every variety of other businesses providing anything you could possibly need for dinner that night. San Francisco is a bit like Paris that way. If I want a good loaf of bread in Los Angeles, it’s an afternoon outing. In San Francisco, you’ll practically trip over a freshly baked baguette or sourdough boule every time you turn a corner.
Baba, bubbly and beer at The Fairmont
Because I have three children, I drink. Not that I needed an excuse before, but it’s certainly a good one. More
20 Dec 2011
by scolgin
in Eating Out, On the Road, Recipes
Tags: Borobudur, gado gado, Indonesia, java, kecap manis, nasi goreng, peanut sauce, San Francisco, satay, Simpang Asia
When I was a kid, we had an Indonesian exchange student live with us for awhile. His name was Radi. He was a skinny, excitable chap with thick glasses who was eager to introduce his American hosts to Indonesian culture. This included ferreting out an Indonesian market and restaurant deep in an Asian pocket of the San Fernando Valley.
Borobudur in San Francisco
My parents were travelers and adventurous eaters. So even in the comparatively dismal dining scene of my childhood neighborhood, ours were regular faces at the nearest Chinese, Japanese and Thai restaurants. But here was something completely new. More
02 Dec 2011
by scolgin
in Eating Out, On the Road
Tags: California, Chinatown, Dodgers, los angeles, Monterey Park, New York, Nobu Matsuhisa, San Francisco, Thomas Keller, Yank Sing
I know New Yorkers like to think they’ve got the world’s best Chinatown. Of course, New Yorkers think they’ve got the world’s best everything. They even like to think Nobu Matsuhisa and Thomas Keller are New York chefs.
Chinatown, San Francisco
I’ve never been to New York’s Chinatown. I’m a true native Californian. Which means I was born hating the Yankees, and ironically subscribe to a decidedly New Yorker-esque kind of regionalism in which I believe California has the best everything. You southerners ever tried Santa Maria barbecue?? More
17 Jun 2011
by scolgin
in On the Road, Recipes, Video
Tags: bangers, black pudding, brown bread, butter, eggs, Guinness, Ireland, Irish breakfast, mushrooms, roasted tomato, soda bread, Spiddal, white pudding
Around a decade or so ago, my friend Dan and I were tooling about Ireland in a little Spanish compact. We stayed mostly in bed-and-breakfasts, and it didn’t take long before we were waking with a craving for the Irish breakfast.
Irish breakfast
What was not to like? A couple of eggs, some Irish sausage, black and white puddings (i.e. more sausage), Canadian bacon, a roasted tomato, a couple cooked mushrooms and plenty of Irish brown bread spread with fresh Irish butter. Of course, you can have too much of a good thing — as we discovered was the case with both Guinness and the Irish breakfast. More
01 Mar 2011
by scolgin
in On the Road
Tags: Andalucia, Coachella, dates, grapefruit, Hula Pie, javelina, Palm Springs, Robert Wagner, Sinatra, surf n' turf, the Thompsons, Tommy Bahama
We like living near the desert. Within a couple hours, we can be amongst the roadrunners, big horn sheep, ocotillo and old folks in golf carts. We enjoy navigating the endless tract housing subdivisions with romantic aspirational geographic names like Andalucia, Piedmont, Monticello and Puerta Azul (not a blue port for counties, by the way), set behind impressive walls and hedges on long stretches of grapefruit-tree-lined desert road. And always, looming majestically behind, the gorgeous spindly peaks of the San Jacinto Mountains.
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