04 Oct 2013 10 Comments
in On the Road, Recipes, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: Boca de Tomatlan, bonito, Casa Tres Coronitas, crudo, Jalisco, Mario's Fishing & Snorkeling Tours, Mexican cooking, Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, Yelapa
El pescado y yo
“What would you like for dinner?” the house chef, Marilu, asked us in Spanish. And we stood puzzling at her, since our Spanish is not that good.
Eventually we figured it out, and I suggested carne asada — grilled steak. It had clearly been sometime since any houseguests had requested this, since the grill was in an advanced state of rust decomposition, and much of the staff’s time that afternoon was spent scrubbing, soaking and scouring it. More
27 Sep 2013 31 Comments
in American Series, Recipes, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories), World's Best Sandwiches Tags: 9/11, 99 Ranch Market, food, humor, IPA, lobster roll, Maine, New England, Old Bay
It was Nat’s idea, and a good one at that.
“Let’s make lobster rolls on Sunday,” he said on Wednesday over margaritas at our house. “Let’s invite ourselves over to the Glynn’s house and go swimming and do it there.” This was my kind of spontaneous inspiration!
Nat would buy the lobsters, I would do the cooking, and they would host. (Coincidentally, as it turned out, our friends, “the Glynn’s” — Aaron and Britt — had been planning on inviting us all over that very day, so they were amenable to the announcement that they would be hosting a party.)
Nat got online to order the crustaceans, and I leapt from my chair. “Hold on, hot dog!” I said, “That’ll cost you $75 in shipping! Have you tried the 99 Ranch Market?” More
13 Sep 2013 3 Comments
in Humor, Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: Bobby Flay, Cooks Illustrated, food, humor, iberico bellota, Rachel's Table, Saveur, Taco Bell, Thomas Keller
I am the king.
Awhile back, my friend Rachel of the fun blog Rachel’s Table dubbed me the King of the Food Snobs. More
06 Sep 2013 8 Comments
in On the Road, Recipes, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories), World's Best Sandwiches Tags: food, humor, Keith Moon, Lindsay Buckingham, Ludo Lefebvre, LudoBites, Malibu, Pierce Brosnan, Steve McQueen, Trois Mec
There are many interesting stories surrounding the Steve McQueen beach house in Malibu. Some of the most colorful involve him and his neighbor, the notoriously rowdy British drummer for the Who, Keith Moon.
Morning at the Steve McQueen beach house
Once, for example, exasperated by Moon’s refusal to turn off a light in an upstairs bathroom that shone into McQueen’s bedroom, the actor grabbed a gun and shot the light out. Another time, he found Moon passed out in a full Nazi uniform at the bottom of his beach access stairs. The tide was rising, and would soon overtake the stairs, and McQueen had to consider for a moment whether or not to drag the despised neighbor to higher ground. More
03 Sep 2013 15 Comments
in Eating Out, Recipes, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: Ernie Demontreux, food, humor, Malibu, pop-up restaurant, Topanga Canyon, Topanga Elementary, Trust Ranch, Wine Guerrilla
In cooking, as in many things in life, it’s all a matter of scale.
The chefs — (l to r) your humble author and pals, Ernie and Peri
“That’s not enough gazpacho for 60 people!” my wife declared, alarmed, as I walked through the kitchen with a gallon bag a quarter full of soup. “I have another bag,” I said.
“It’s still not enough!” More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 