Wine. Travel. Food.
Around the turn of the 19th century, a rumor spread throughout Japan that a place on the opposite side of the ocean called Peru was full of gold. Furthermore, it was a paradise with a mild climate, rich soil for farming and beautiful beaches. Consequently, several thousand Japanese – mainly farmers from tropical Okinawa – […]
Parasole’s culinary folks have made countless dining trips to major capitals around the world and have found as much inspiration in New York as anywhere on the planet. Over 30 years ago, MANNY’S was birthed after dining at SPARK’S, THE PALM and KEEN’S CHOP HOUSE, all in the Big Apple. Subsequent trips included PETER LUGER […]
On our trips to London, Joanne and I always stay in Mayfair, near Hyde Park, where it’s so easy – and such a pleasure – to visit the charming neighborhoods nearby…Marylebone, Chelsea, Belgravia (actually, Belgravia isn’t so charming these days; a huge portion of it has been purchased by asset-parking absentee oligarchs, making for a […]
A short while ago, I came upon an article in New York magazine entitled, “The Slowest Food.” It was all about snails, or as the French say, escargot. The point that the piece was making is that, for whatever reason, snails have suddenly become very popular. Perhaps, they state, it’s because they have become an “ICON of the SLOW FOOD movement.” Or […]
MANEKI-NEKO, a Japanese term, refers to the cat with the waving paw that’s so often seen near the entry of many Asian businesses….particularly restaurants. MANEKI-NEKO loosely translates as meaning GOOD FORTUNE or LUCKY CAT. If the left hand is waving…it means good luck for BUSINESS. If it’s the right hand beckoning, that means good luck […]
Having just returned from London, this post is practically a LOVE LETTER to London steakhouses and SCOTCH BEEF. As you already know, London is probably my favorite culinary capital, primarily due to its diversity of cuisines – whether Indian, Pakistani, French, Chinese, Middle Eastern and, yes, even British. (We’ll see what happens with Brexit however. Will time-consuming and tedious inspections and […]
FESTIVAL # 1 There was a piece in my recent issue of Time Out – New York on Little Italy’s FEAST OF SAN GENNARO. Saint Gennaro is the patron saint of Naples, Italy and more than a million folks descend on Mulberry Street in lower Manhattan to celebrate his feast day. The highlight of the […]
My son, David, just dropped off his son, Charlie, at a university in Massachusetts for his sophomore year. It got me thinking about the times when Joanne and I road-tripped around the country, sometimes with our kids, other times on our own. Naturally this gets us to food. I remember being intent on trying each […]
When Joanne and I visit Paris, we always stay in a boutique hotel called the Saint Gregoire, in the 6th arrondissement near the Bon Marché. And because there are nights that we choose to stay in the neighborhood and seek out a simple but good bistro, I was surprised to discover on our last visit that […]
I was a kid, still in school. The year was 1958 and the Canadian distiller and Seagram heiress, Phyllis Lambert, had just witnessed the completion of the soaring, Mies Van de Roe-designed Seagram Building, at the corner of Park Ave and 52nd Street in New York City. A year later THE FOUR SEASONS restaurant opened there. […]
