Wine. Travel. Food.
The late restaurant critic for the London Guardian, A.A. Gill, wrote, “None of us know how many dinners we have left. To look back and realize that you’d wasted any of them on egg white omelets, green salads without dressing, or broccoli would be too distressing.” Or to paraphrase Oscar Wilde: “Too many of us know the calories of everything […]
Jay Rayner, restaurant critic for the London Observer, said…..”People adore bad reviews. Nobody would be interested in reading the good ones. Bad experiences are simply funnier.” Brendan Behan, the Irish poet and playwright, once said, “Critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They know how it’s done. They’ve seen it done. But they’re just unable […]
That’s how British food critic Jay Rayner of the Guardian referred to the restaurant business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic of last year….that’s going to be hanging around at least through the first half of this year. Well put, Jay Rayner. But I hope that I’m not being pollyannish when I say, “There […]
Anyone remember the movie, BACK TO THE FUTURE? This summer, someone created a parody in which Doc Brown says: “Marty, whatever you do, do not go to 2020!” Well, the year isn’t over yet, and everything seems to have gotten worse. We’re dead on, balls-in-the-center of the worst pandemic in memory. We all know the […]
The French colonial empire extended across the world, ruling a wide range of places to varying degrees, from the late 16th century to as recently as the 1990s. In fact, France had the second-largest colonial empire in the world, second only to that of Great Britain. Consequently, local interpretations of French cuisine are still enjoyed […]
Hi, folks – It’s been awhile. But now here we are, dipping our toe back into the water. Since the end of March, it made no sense to me to write about restaurants you wouldn’t be able to visit. That would be torture for foodies! But…my antenna have been up and I’ve managed to tune […]
Joanne and I are healthy (fingers crossed). But during this time of no travel and no dining experiences, I thought it would be best to pause the blog … C’est la vie. Stay healthy everyone! WTFPhil
As a little kid growing up in a little town in central Illinois, a daily highlight for me was the 8:21 AM of the arrival of the sleek and speedy, Chicago-bound CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR at the Kewanee train station. About once a year my mother, grandmother, Aunt Rose and little Phil would board that superliner for […]
As you all know by now, I firmly believe that London has become one of the best food cities in the world, boasting a huge diversity of cuisines as well as an incredible array of award-winning restaurants. But just a few short years ago, London was mocked for its drab, boring cuisine – the culinary […]
I’ve been spoiled by MANNY’S – a steakhouse that sets the bar so high that almost every other steakhouse ends up disappointing me one way or another. Sure, a lot of them are fine; and many are good – the steaks are delicious, the service is crisp and efficient. But most of them, including some […]
