Wine. Travel. Food.
We arrived at the incredible Milano Centrale Stazione around noon. It’s the largest train station in Europe (by volume) and the light from the gigantic, glass-covered, steel-arched dome naturally illuminates the vast interior. It is clean and pure. What’s not so pure is the exterior design. Built in 1931 under Mussolini, the grandiose façade can […]
This past summer Joanne and I took a food fact-finding trip to Germany. After all, this fall, SALUT will do a major promotion on Alsace Lorraine, the region of France that borders Germany. We’ll celebrate the classic Franco/German dish, Choucroute, and of course Apple Strudel, as well as regional wines, namely Reislings. And I’m sure […]
It’s a long flight. Fourteen hours and three movies long. But once you arrive in Sydney, you’ll quickly forget the confinement and monotony (if not the agony) of a trans-Pacific flight from Los Angeles. For Joanne and me, Australia may be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. But what an adventure it was. So if you go, here […]
For America’s burgeoning restaurant industry, the 1950s and ‘60s represented the essence of cool – especially in our largest cities, where prospering populations savored culinary indulgences unheard of during the “Meatless Tuesdays and Fridays” of World War II. Manhattan had the OAK ROOM, DELMONICO’S and the STORK CLUB. Celebrities flocked to the BROWN DERBY at […]
Italians embrace mercurial politicians, but when it comes to restaurants, they’re a nation of Rockefeller Republicans – prizing tradition and voting for continuity. Nowhere is this truer than in Florence and Tuscany, where restaurant menus can seem interchangeable. That’s fine with me. I can’t argue with the likes of Papa di Pomodoro, Ribollita, or the […]
If any of you folks have plans to travel to Italy, here are some tips – maybe even RULES – that may be of some help. First: Ladies, NEVER wear a TANK TOP to St. PETER’S…or shorts or anything skimpy for that matter. And men, no shorts for you either. Second: In Italy, coffee etiquette […]
Serendipity is defined as ” the occurrence of events that happen by chance, in a happy or beneficial way.” Exactly one week ago today, on August 2nd, I posted about the wonderful dinner we had in Boston at LES SABLONS. I recall the beautiful, tasty offerings from James Beard Award-winning chef Jeremy Sewall, the SWEETBREADS […]
Once in a while in Paris, one needs to escape the crowds and concrete and seek out an oasis. For Joanne and me, we found our refuge a half-dozen stops away on the Paris Metro #1 line – heading from the Chatelet Metro station toward the Arc de Triomphe, then two stops later reaching our […]
In my post last week, I noted that Joanne and I had taken more than a ten-year hiatus from visiting Italy. It’s not that we no longer liked the country…. quite the opposite…. I just didn’t want to become jaded and numb to the surprise and adventure it promises travelers. So last month when we […]
During our BUCA days, Joanne and I led culinary teams to Italy two-to-three times a year – always to Rome, Tuscany and Naples, occasionally to Sicily. This went on for about 10-12 years. So last month when we took our grandkids to Italy, it had been at least 10 years since Joanne and I had […]
