08 Sep 2011 5 Comments
in Eating Out, Observations, World's Best Sandwiches Tags: burgers, hamburger, Hole in the Wall, Howard's Famous Bacon & Avocado Burger, Laurel Tavern, los angeles, Tommy's, umami, Umami Burger
I kept on, cautioned by friends and urged by disbelievers. There would be time for salads later — roasted fall mushrooms and winter vegetables were just around the corner. For now, there were burgers to taste.
Howard's Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers
The latest trend here in Los Angeles — and lord knows we love our trends — is Umami Burger. More
06 Sep 2011 4 Comments
in Cookbooks Tags: Coco, cookbook, el Bulli, Ferran Adria, Noma, Phaidon, Pork & Sons, Rene Redzepi, Silver Spoon
Cookbooks are the new coffee table art book. And among the many stunning culinary tomes out there, none are more conversation-stopping than the beautiful books of Phaidon.
Phaidon books on the coffee table
I currently have four Phaidon titles on my coffee table. The newest is “Noma,” featuring the culinary art of Denmark’s renowned René Redzepi of the restaurant Noma — frequently named best restaurant in the world, and sure to solidify that position with the closing of Spain’s famous el Bulli. More
02 Sep 2011 7 Comments
in Eating Out, Observations, World's Best Sandwiches Tags: burger, burgers, Double Double, Fatburger, Father's Office, In & Out Burger, Kauai, los angeles, McDonalds, Ono Char-burger, Sang Yoon, White Castle
The hamburger as we know it was born in Southern California, where in another time guys in hot rods would pull up to drive ins where girls named Betty and Fran would saunter up on rollerskates and take their orders for a cheeseburger and milkshake, while kids on the East Coast were still eating hoagies.
A dear and too-soon departed friend, Dann, hailed from Louisville (“Louvull,” as he called it), Kentucky. He was a fan of White Castle. It reminded him of home. He used to buy them frozen in a Santa Monica grocery store. “Not so much because they taste good,” he would say, “but because they’re comforting.” More
30 Aug 2011 8 Comments
in Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: barbecue, BBQ, Beach Boys, Ecclesiastes, figs, pink wine, proseco, rib eye, rosé, summer
Culinarily speaking, summertime is a feminine season. Sure, the dudes are out by the grill — sucking beer, flipping burgers and talking pre-season football. But it is the salads, the lightly seared skinless chicken breast pailliards, the peaches and the pink wines that prevail.
Pink wine and figs
I sit here drinking my pink wine and looking at a bowl of figs, feeling emasculated. By late August, I’m wondering where is the cold weather and a long-braised leg of some animal? More
26 Aug 2011 Leave a comment
in Recipes, Video Tags: guanciale, Italian cooking, Italy, Mark Taylor, mozzarella, recipes, summer, tomatoes, zucchini, zucchini blossoms
We stopped by our friend Heather’s house the other evening for a visit. On the counter were two enormous zucchini.
“Did someone leave those on your porch?” I asked.
“My client gave them to me,” she replied.
How generous of them, I thought to myself.
“They’re too big to eat, right?”
“Well,” I pondered, “you could make a parmagiana kind of thing with them. I’ve got a good recipe for Greek zucchini balls. But those would make about 400.”
Zucchini blossoms
I’m always wary of the food-giving generosity of friends, neighbors, loved ones, strangers and clients. More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 