September 11, 2008

Food for thought

I am taking a food writing class. UC Berkley extension here in San Francisco. Great class so far - the teacher is Jeannette Ferrary. The way she teaches works well with the way I learn. She is grounded but with an optimism and excitement that is hard not to want to be near. I am reading her book - Out of the Kitchen. In the article about the Times this paragraph meant something rather special to me:

"A lot had happened since that day, a couple of decades before, when I'd felt the womanly role required me to cook that unbakeable bird. Now I could roast that turkey, and do a hell of a job of it, if I wanted to. Or I could write a story or whole book about it, if I wanted to. Or I could even ignore it. The choice was mine.
I guess that all I really wanted"

June 24, 2004

Frank Bruni

Thank you New York Times for finding Frank Bruni. He writes with the same balance of honesty and elegence I loved in William Grimes.

For a classic, Another Shade of Elegence: Bouley

June 02, 2004

Amanda Hesser says "????"

"Masa is my last review as the interim restaurant critic. After several visits, my impressions are firm: four stars when dining at the sushi bar and three stars at the tables. If forced, I could settle on one, but I would rather not. Instead, I will look forward to reading, in the future, what The Times's new permanent critic, Frank Bruni, thinks of it."

Amanda Hesser deferes her stars to Frank Bruni. Hey if she can't choose then her decision was not a bad one. I wonder if its the first time ever that a restaurant got a "????"

May 14, 2004

Village Voice: An Essay and a Review

Essay: Gut Feelings by Jeff Byles

Review: Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar by Robert Siestsema

April 09, 2004

February 04, 2004