Stories for all your various summer needs
While summer reading lists tend to put one in mind of trashy paperbacks stashed away in canvas bags for beach reading, not many of us will spend the entire summer in a folding chair. Thus, a good set of summer reading suggestions will include options suitable for a variety of situations and pursuits. Whether you’re … Continue reading
Beefy forearms and emulsions
I don’t know about you, but I almost don’t eat a sandwich without a nice layer of mayo between the bread and whatever is in the middle. (Unless what’s in the middle is peanut butter, because that would be gross.) Now mayonnaise is terribly easy to buy in the store, and I’m even pretty satisfied … Continue reading
My own private food desert
Let me be clear that the title of this article is meant to be an exaggeration — by car, I live a very comfortable two or three minutes from a well-stocked grocery store with plenty of produce and a somewhat self-involved organic food section. (I’m down with organic foods, but this place is set up … Continue reading
Up in my grill
The panini is the worst thing to happen to the sandwich since the invention of fat-free mayonnaise. Too often it’s a way to disguise a lousy sandwich on cheap bread by adding a couple of grill lines. The fillings are still lousy, the cheese barely melted, and the bread tastes flat and stale. A squished, … Continue reading
Oven pancakes
I’m a big fan of breakfast. I eat it early, I eat it late, and just about once a week, I even eat it for dinner. Thus I was happy to discover a few weeks ago that one of my favorite breakfast chains, The Original Pancake House, has a restaurant just down the road. Unlike … Continue reading
A supposedly successful experiment that I’ll never repeat
I love delivery. Not only does it speak to my eternal laziness, but it makes me feel connected. It’s like getting mail, only faster and thus better. And so often, the things that one can get delivered are the great guilty pleasures — pizza, cupcakes, inexpensive Chinese food. And now, apparently, Burger King. Shortly after … Continue reading
Julia’s kitchen
My enthusiasm is usually a good sign that something is on the way out, and in fact by the time you read this, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History will have started to take down its display of Julia Child’s kitchen. Originally planned for an 18-month exhibition in 2002, and tucked away out of … Continue reading
Garlic bread
My grandfather wouldn’t eat garlic. While my family has produced a number of picky eaters, I don’t normally think of my grandfather as having been one of them. I don’t remember running into many things that he wouldn’t eat, although that may be been one of the privileges of eating mostly at one’s own house … Continue reading
Mac and cheese
Everywhere I go, I’m finding macaroni and cheese. Family restaurants like Max and Erma’s have added it to the menu. For a while, Burger King was offering Kraft mac & cheese as an option in its kid’s meals. It’s become the go-to when my wife and I take the girls out to dinner, and it’s … Continue reading