01 Apr 2014 9 Comments
in On the Road, Recipes, Video Tags: ceviche, gooseneck barnacles, humor, Japanese cooking, Malibu, percebes, Spain, Steve McQueen, sweet shrimp, tempura
I’ve always felt an affinity for the sea. Growing up near the shore, it was forever a part of my life. But it’s only been the last decade or so that I’ve begun to feel its pull in a more primal way, like gravity. I need the sea.
Dinner?
Fresh off a week of deep ocean connecting on the bluffs in Puerto Vallarta, we got invited to the bluffs in Malibu for a night with our friends Nadine and Andrew at the Steve McQueen beach house. Which was good, because I was already missing the sea. More
18 Mar 2014 12 Comments
in Humor, On the Road, Recipes Tags: Casa Tres Coronitas, cooking, corned beef, food, humor, Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, recipes, St. Patrick's Day, tacos
We just can’t get enough of Mexico.
Today we boarded a plane and headed two-plus flight hours south of our home to our favorite spot, Casa Tres Coronitas on the coast of Pacific Mexico just south of Puerto Vallarta.
Sunset for St. Patty
Last time we came, in October of last year, my wife had had enough of Mexico. More specifically, she had had enough of the mosquitos that hovered in clouds around our heads, penetrated our mosquito netting and generally rendered the Mexican nights of what would have otherwise been a perfect vacation intolerable. October, you see, is the end of the monsoon season, and we had the misfortune of visiting a week after a hurricane. There was water — lots of water — everywhere, and the mosquitos were happy. More
07 Mar 2014 12 Comments
in Observations, Recipes Tags: barramundi, food, gluten free cooking, humor, Italian cooking, polenta, recipes, shrimp, Trader Joe's, Tuscan kale
Even the best cooks get into ruts.
Tomato saffron scampi with polenta and sautéed Tuscan kale
For all the diversity in my weekly menus, I often find myself bored with my cooking. What sounds like an unimaginably exciting and exotic week of dinners to most — for example: Venetian cecchiti with hand-tossed pizza on Monday, sushi and tempura on Tuesday, Wednesday queso fundido and Mexico City-style tacos, Thursday tea-smoked duck and lo mien, and so on — can seem like “same old, same old” to me. More
28 Feb 2014 6 Comments
in Food, Humor, Observations Tags: 99 Ranch Market, food, humor, Kasugai, msg, peas, snacks, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, wasabi
My wife recently asked me to pick up some wasabi peas for her. Or more precisely, she said, “Put wasabi peas on your list.”
What’s wrong with this picture?
My list, of course, is the running grocery list I have going at all times. It’s a square post-it note that sits on my desk and which everyone knows not to touch lest the provisions and dining schedule be thrown into chaos. My list will usually have several categories: “Japanese market,” “TJs” (Trader Joe’s), “Grocery” (general), “Sprouts,” and sometimes the odd addition such as “Persian market” or “99 Ranch”. Lacking specificity, I put my wife’s request under “TJs”. More
21 Feb 2014 13 Comments
in Beverages, Humor Tags: Ballast Point, beer, food, humor, IPA, Pliny the Elder, Russian River Brewing Company, Sculpin, Yard House
I like to do beer reviews from time to time, especially when I discover a new beer that sets my heart a flutter.
Such was the case recently when I was out to lunch at a beer chain place called Yard House with my father and brothers. I was looking over the comprehensive list of beers on tap, including plenty of favorites and plenty I’d never heard of, when I spotted a chalk board with some special selections. I picked one whose name I liked, and which was local — Ballast Point Sculpin IPA from San Diego. And imagine my surprise when here, in my glass, was one of the best beers I’d ever tasted! More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 