The 2007 James Beard Awards were announced this past Monday. I’ve refrained from commenting about them, partly out of laziness, partly out of sour grapes. A good friend from here in the Midwest who was nominated in the media category lost out to — surprise! Another nominee from New York. This week’s NYT food section […]
READ ONDoing a cursory web search I discovered that Rich Mehlman of Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants in Chicago has revived The Magic Pan! It’s up at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, which has never been my favorite place, though I hear the new shark aquarium is amazing.
READ ONIn the words of the character Jean Girard in the movie Talladega Nights, “they are like really thin pancakes”. Which pretty much sums it up. Those among us who have crested the 40 mark may recall the short-lived crêpe fad in the 70’s. I personally remember a restaurant chain in the Chicago area called “The […]
READ ONJust because Americans weren’t subject to the same kind of harsh rationing that the Europeans were doesn’t mean World War II didn’t create some unique American chocolate products. The American army was and is unique in the world in that it supplies chocolate to its troops as part of a standard military ration. Indeed since […]
READ ONUnlike the Italians (and the British, and the French and the Swiss, and most of the rest of Europe), American chocolate fiends had it relatively easy during World War II. Though chocolate was technically rationed, Americans never experienced the kinds of shortages that occurred in much of the rest of the world. This makes sense […]
READ ONNutella itself is an interesting story since it, like many other foodstuffs in the history of man, is the product of a war: World War II. It was an Italian businessman by the name of Petro Fererro who first conceived the idea of a chocolate you could eat in sandwich form. The trouble was it […]
READ ONI do have one unpleasant memory associated with Nutella. It happened my senior year of college. My twin sister Joellen Pastry and I were attending the same liberal arts college in Indiana. I’d just returned home from a junior year spent abroad in Britain, she from a semester in France. It was a happy fall […]
READ ONWell, the results are in, happy people live longer. But then you knew that. Strange that Restaurant Business would publish an article like this, but then I guess I’ve known my share of surly cooks, chefs, management and owners. Looking over their list of happy-making tips, I was pleased to see I’ve done most of […]
READ ONI know, I know. Joe, can’t you just leave the yogurt thing alone? I wish I could, but I can’t. Everywhere I turn these days, I see fresh-fermented dairy products. If you feel like you’re having the same problem, it may be because this spring/summer will mark the “great return” of frozen yogurt to the […]
READ ONThe wife, being a chocoholic bar none, commented that I haven’t made any “real desserts” in a while, meaning of course that I haven’t done anything with chocolate. So, to entice you choco-fiends back into the fold, I think it’s time for an oldie but a goodie: crêpes with Nutella and bananas. But since I […]
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