Whenever I’m in New York, I have a few drinking buddies all ready to hit a few bars for cocktails with me. One friend who I used to work with at Chez Panisse is at the top of that list and we both like our cocktails the same way: Not on the sweet side. So when we go out, we scan bar menus to find drinks…
I fell in love with sherry the first time I went to Spain, but it’s something that slips my mind when I’m looking for something in the drink department. And Sherry, by Talia Baiocchi hoped to change that for me, and for lots of other people with her book, which has the best subtitle ever: “The wine world’s best-kept secret.” At that sums up a lot…
While I wish that I could try everything and go to all the places that are suggested to me. I used to keep lists of restaurants and bakeries in Paris that I intended to go to. Then, invariably, a few weeks later, that list would get updated with new places and I’d realize that I’d never make it to the older places. (Or maybe I would, just…
I started this list, initially called Things I’m Liking, which I’d intended to post…oh, six months ago. Then I didn’t make it back to finish it, and it ended up being one of those files on my desktop that I’d check into once in a while, but never get around to finishing – until now. Using my expertise as a multi-tasker, I decided roll it over…
Some say, “You eat with your eyes.” I don’t know about you, but until my eyes start sporting incisors, I’ll continue to use my mouth. Especially when drinking cocktails. I was recently at a bar that specialized in herbal concoctions and ordered a Rosemary Gimlet. I’ve been focusing a little more on gin these days, favoring an ice-cold martini over my usual whiskey or rye-based drinks….
I’ve been laid up this week with a messed up knee, and let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy. The moment the accident happened, I felt my entire leg buckle, and for the next 72 hours I could barely move. Stairs were impossible and even putting on socks was a Herculean task. Sleep also eluded me because there was no position that I could hold my leg in that…
[UPDATE: Pasdeloup has closed, and new owners opened Kubri in the space, an excellent Lebanese-inspired restaurant that’s well worth going to.) It wasn’t until recently that I became very in awe of bartenders. I used to just go in and order a beer when I was younger, not really aware that these people are the pastry chefs of the beverage world. Now that I’m older,…
When I was in high school, our principal came up on stage during assembly one morning and stood there for a moment, until he got our attention. After a long pause, he inhaled deeply, and said, “We have a very sick person in our midst.” Nobody moved, and we were all kind of stunned for a minute, hearing such a grave pronouncement. Finally, we learned the…
[UPDATE 2020: The Beast closed during Covid and has not reopened, which may be permanent. Will update this post if the restaurant reopens.] I’ve been taking a breather writing about American-oriented businesses in Paris. Not because I don’t like them, but because there were so many of them that it was hard to keep up, and they were no longer a novelty. And while the hamburger craze…
Join me on my Spring 2026 book tour for my latest book, The Great Book of Chocolate
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