A random round-up of casual meals over the last couple of weeks. Because, you gotta know where to go eat, right? Or maybe not. Everything enjoyed, but no wows here, other than had I just stayed at home and eaten more of my spaghetti all’amatricia. Which rocked. Just sayin’. I’ve written a bit more at length… Read More Bite Marks #112
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country situated along the eastern side of South Africa, bordering Mozambique. It extends approximately 110 miles (175 km) from north to south and 80 miles (130 km) from west to east, making it just a touch larger than Connecticut, with a population of around 1.2 million people,… Read More The Bread & Soup Project #58 – Eswatini
It’s time to play… What did you do this week?! I know… or knew… very little… well, really nothing.. about Argentine author Ernesto Sábato. For whatever reason, an invite to a tour of his house up in the northwestern suburb of Santos Lugares popped up on my Instagram feed. I was looking for something “cultural”… Read More Sennight #5
Staying in the soup and stew world – it is midwinter after all here – I thought it time to return to The L Word project with another version of the ubiquitous South American stew, locro. For those of you who are new to all this, and just as reminder, here’s a little blurb on the history… Read More The L Word – Northern Root
Although New York City contains multitudes, most people move in fairly small social circles. So it’s a little surprising that chef Roberto Ottini and I never, to the best of my recall, ran into each other, given that we both spent a good portion of the same period of time working in Italian restaurants there.… Read More Pasta without Pretension
Although traditionally a part of the Bordeaux blend, the red grape Petit Verdot fell out of favor years ago. One of the biggest reasons was that it is a slow-ripening grape, and the more principal components of Cabernet sauvignon and Merlot were already midway or further through their fermentation before the grapes could even be harvested.… Read More A Little Glass of Water
Yes, another week has passed. What did I get up to? Those of you who’ve been around since the beginning, or on and off through the years, might remember my annual attendance at Limud, a day of presentations and lectures on various topics related to Judaism. I’ve been going since 2008, and have only missed a… Read More Sennight #4
Picture this: Uco Valley, 1963, Alberto Zuccardi lays the foundation for a patchwork quilt of vineyards and the winery that has become synonymous with some of the best quality wines in Mendoza, Argentina. At the time, while of high quality, the wines were the usual suspects. But in 1976, his son José takes over the… Read More Zuccardi’s White Power