On a Quest for Danish Pastry, Swedish Meatballs, and Authentic Norwegian Cuisine
By Larry Levine – It’s done. I’ve eaten Danish pastry in Denmark and Swedish meatballs in Sweden, two of the three goals I announced before we left on our recent 16-day Norwegian cruise. The third goal, authentic Norwegian food in Norway, well, that didn’t go so well.... Read More
DRY AGED FISH / no, it isn’t fish jerky
By Larry Levine The first time I heard the words “dry aged fish” I asked, “You mean like fish jerky.” Mark Okuda, owner of The Brothers Sushi in Woodland Hills CA, proceeded to tell me about an astounding new process created by a young man named Liwei (Lee-way) Liao... Read More
GEORGIA WITHOUT A PEACH, what’s the sense?
Strike two. We just spent three days in Georgia and couldn’t find a Georgia peach. Even at a restaurant where peach cobbler was on the menu, we were told they had run out of it. My thought, supported by the relatives we were visiting, was it was too early in the... Read More
“I found my love in Avalon, beside the bay …” / AL JOLSON’S WORDS STILL RING TRUE
By Larry Levine – My love affair with Avalon, Catalina Island began before I ever saw it. As a boy in Brooklyn, I listened devotedly to variety shows on the Crosley tabletop radio next to my bed. I heard Al Jolson sing, “I found my love in Avalon, besides the... Read More
A CENTURY OF MEXICAN FOOD HISTORY / 90-year-old Ron Salisbury is overseeing the 100th anniversary of El Cholo restaurant
Ron Salisbury wakes up every morning and, like millions of others, he heads for work. That’s where the similarity ends. Ron is 90 years old. That puts him among the oldest one-half of one percent of the people in the United States. Then there’s the matter of where Ron... Read More
TRAKTIR / where solidarity meets Old Country Ukrainian food
By Larry Levine – We came for the solidarity and stayed for the food. And now, a year later, on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we’re here again, at Traktir. For the solidarity and the food. Traktir is a Ukrainian restaurant in Tarzana CA,... Read More
IT’S ALWAYS THE KITCHEN / A guide to successful vacation house rentals
By Larry Levine – It was like being handed a get-out-of-jail-free card. Feb. 23, 2021, the nurse at Kaiser Permanente Medical Clinic signed the card attesting that I had received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. I floated up to the top floor of the... Read More
MARK OKUDA’S ROCKET RIDE TO SUCCESS AT THE BROTHERS SUSHI
By Larry Levine – Mark Okuda eyed the slab of blue fin tuna on the cutting surface with respect. He turned it to a slightly different angle and paused the blade over the pink toro. The fat content promised a morsel that would melt on my tongue. One final... Read More
GIVE ME A MENU AND GET THAT QR CODE OFF MY RESTAURANT TABLE
There’s an elegance about a restaurant menu. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Michelin-starred, white tablecloth spot or a neighborhood burger joint. You’re greeted, led to a table and handed a menu. It may be styled in brilliant red with gold embossed lettering. Or it may... Read More
ESSAYS FROM IRELAND AND ENGLAND – 2022
By Larry Levine – CHAPTER ONE – GETTING THERE NO LONGER IS HALF THE FUN OF TRAVEL There’s an old saying among vacation travelers: Getting there is half the fun. It’s clearly is from another time, a distant memory of an era when travel was more glamourous and far... Read More
WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU WOULDN’T EAT? / A simple question that grew
Is there something you wouldn’t eat unless it was the last thing between you and starvation? And even then you would gag as it crossed your lips. That’s the kind of question one asks if one is a food writer with too much free time. Like when sitting in the noon-time... Read More
I Never Go Grocery Shopping Alone / or let a supermarket surrogate shop for me
They’re like a swarm of bees as they buzz through the supermarket. They race from one display to the next, hurriedly plucking items to drop in their carts. In one hand they hold a cell phone or a shopping list with a fancy full-color letterhead. They consult it after... Read More
IF WE CAN’T TRAVEL TO OTHER COUNTRIES, WHY NOT BRING THEM TO US / a culinary journey without leaving home
By Larry Levine – 527 home cooked dinners in 544 nights … then we tried something new. For 18 months I’ve cooked dinner for the two of us virtually every night. In one stretch, starting March 16, 2020, I cooked dinner at home 340 consecutive nights. The string... Read More
OLIVE OIL, BALSAMIC VINEGAR AND WINE / WHERE PRICE OFTEN EQUALS QUALITY
By Larry Levine – I was in the kitchen a few nights ago, making the dressing for a tomato salad (recipe below) when something jumped to mind: when it comes to extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar price usually equals quality. I’ve known this for a long time but... Read More
CULINARY ADVENTURES IN A STRANGE KITCHEN
By Larry Levine – On the last night of my 82nd year I did two things I never had done before. 1) I grilled hot dogs on a barbeque. 2) I ate Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs with a knife and fork. On the first night of my 83rd year I did two more things I never had done... Read More
WHILE WE WAIT TO SMILE AGAIN / a food writer rides out the pandemic
By Larry Levine – I wonder where they are, the four men whose combined years may total one-third of a millennium. They were there so many days, regulars at a table in the back corner of Angelini Osteria on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. With the cork extracted and the... Read More
A SLICE OF LIFE / DINING IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC
I doubt it’s a world record. It probably isn’t among the longest current streaks. But it’s a personal high of which I am proud. A few nights ago, Jennifer and I ate our 300th consecutive pandemic-inspired home-cooked dinner, pot roast with potatoes and carrots. During... Read More
Something New / Dinner #259 – Baked Eggs
By Larry Levine – Consecutive home-cooked dinner #259. Baked eggs. I’ve cooked dinner at home for Jennifer and me every night since March 16, 2020. We haven’t brought in dinner, not even from places we trusted during “normal” times because Jennifer has enough... Read More
OK, IT’S WINTER. LET’S TALK SOUP with a recipe for Norma Levine’s Homemade Chicken Soup
By Larry Levine – I went out to bring in the mail yesterday afternoon and it was cold. Sunny, but cold. I went out to bring in the newspapers from the driveway this morning and it was cold. The calendar still says autumn but it already feels like winter. Even here in... Read More
BOOK REVIEW: Pati’s Mexican Table
By Larry Levine – I first met Pati Jinich one Saturday afternoon early this year. She was on her weekly PBS TV show, Pati’s Mexican Table. I was in my living room. Each week Pati visits villages and cities in Mexico to introduce us to the local cuisine and we spend... Read More
Bubble & Squeak / You Don’t Have to be British, but it helps
By Larry Levine – You don’t have to be British, or as in my case married a Brit, but it helps. The English have a sometimes colorful, sometimes mystifying language when it comes to food. A full fry-up is breakfast; bangers are sausages; spotted dick is cake made with... Read More
AS MORE RESTAURANTS CLOSE, LET US NEVER FORGET THIS DIDN’T HAVE TO HAPPEN
By Larry Levine – Measured on a scale of more than 165,000 dead, the loss of some of our favorite restaurants doesn’t seem like much. Until we remember the people whose lives are invested in those restaurants. The owners who operate on slim profit margins. The... Read More
A RESTAURANT LOVER’S LAMENT / WHY I WON’T BE THERE WHEN THEY REOPEN
By Larry Levine – When government officials said restaurants can re-open, they didn’t say I had to go out to dinner. And I won’t. After more than 75 years of relishing the food and social pleasures of dining out and 10 years of publishing a restaurant website and an... Read More
COOK ONCE, EAT TWICE / handy hints for home cooks, with a recipe for a great Russian Cabbage Soup
By Larry Levine – Cook once, eat twice. Or three times. That’s one of the secrets to how Jennifer and I have eaten home-cooked dinners 66 consecutive nights without getting bored. The last time we ate in a restaurant was March 15, when we had breakfast at Art’s Deli... Read More
THE DILEMMA OF THE RESTAURANT WORKER AND THE CUSTOMER
By Larry Levine – What would you do? Suppose you were waiting tables in a nice restaurant. You’ve been out of work for weeks because of the coronavirus shutdown. Now suppose the governor of your state – let’s call it Georgia – says it’s time to open up the economy.... Read More
NEW COOK OR VETERAN, HERE’S AN EASY TOMATO SALAD RECIPE FOR THE HOME COOK
By Larry Levine – People who cooked once a week, or once a month, or never … Now they’re cooking every night. Most are getting by. Some will become proficient. Some may come to enjoy it and try to do it more frequently once it’s time to get back out of the house. Some... Read More
IN THE MIND OF A FOOD WRITER WHILE WALKING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
By Larry Levine – I step off the curb to set out on my half-hour walk in the neighborhood. That’s what my doctors recommend in normal times, 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Walking counts. We’ve lived here nearly 40 years and I never walked the neighborhood... Read More
A TALE OF TWO MARKETS / Shopping under the cloud of a pandemic
By Larry Levine – Grocery shopping today is not a question of “what do I need.” It’s as much a matter of “what do they have.” This was driven home to me this morning when I needed to shop at two different supermarkets to find almost everything on my shopping list... Read More
FLEXIBILITY / THE KEY TO SHOPPING AND HAPPY DINING WHILE SHELTERED-IN-PLACE
By Larry Levine – If you are reading this food magazine, it’s a good bet you don’t need someone to teach you how to shop for groceries. Good chance you do that frequently. But in the spirit of the we’re-all-in-it-together times in which live, I’m going to offer... Read More
NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION AS WE WAIT OUT THE CORONAVIRUS.
By Larry Levine – I shopped today, not to hoard groceries but to buy enough stuff to last a few days so I won’t have to go out too often. I wound up with more than enough, even though the shelves were far from well-stocked. Yes, I’m a pretty good home cook. But... Read More
A REPORT FROM THE FRONTLINES OF THE SUPERMARKET
By Larry Levine – Gelson’s Market opened at 7:00 this morning. I arrive at 7:10. Both parking lots were full, but someone pulled out right in front of me and I had a space. I entered the market and found long lines at the checkout stands. I asked the manager... Read More
MELISSE / a story of the life-cycle of a Michelin-starred restaurant
By Larry Levine – Five hours before the opening of Josiah Citrin’s newly re-christened restaurant, Citrin, in the Santa Monica CA space in which he previously operated the Michelin-starred Melisse, we sat down for a scheduled half hour interview about the... Read More
A BAGEL, A BOWL OF CHILI AND A CULTURAL APPROPRIATION DEBATE
By Larry Levine – I came across an old article from the Washington Post the other day about a dust-up in Minneapolis concerning an accusation of cultural appropriation of Chinese food. It also harked back to the controversy several years ago at Oberlin College... Read More
I APOLOGIZE IF MY CIGARETTES RUINED YOUR MEALS / a brief history of smoking in restaurants
By Larry Levine – I want to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone whose meals I diminished by smoking at the dinner table in a restaurant. That includes not just my dinner companions, but also those who might have been at nearby tables and were not... Read More
NEW CONTEST
COOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN CONTEST RULES 1. Answers must be submitted by email to tabletalkatlarrys@earthlink.net by the deadline for each contest. Put the name of the contest the subject line. 2. The correct answer for this question can be found on the website for... Read More
MUSSO AND FRANK GRILL TURNS 100 / a Hollywood landmark prepares to celebrate
By Larry Levine – It’s in the middle of a block in the heart of Hollywood California. Thousands of people walk by every day. Mostly they are tourists. They are looking down at the names of the celebrities on the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Some are... Read More
WE PASSED THIS WAY BEFORE / a travel and food memoir
By Larry Levine – BROOKLYN, JULY 2019 – It’s the hot dog. It’s the grill. It’s the legend, the lore and the location. It’s all these and more. “It” is Nathan’s Famous, the 103-year-old hot dog shrine at the corner of Stillwell and Surf, Coney Island,... Read More
A FRUITLESS QUEST FOR A TASTY BERRY
By Larry Levine – It’s that time of year when markets brim with flats of bright red strawberries and tempt us with the sight and intoxicating aroma of sweetness. I expect to be able to resist that temptation once again this year. It isn’t that I don’t like... Read More
BOOK REVIEW / Ruth Reichl’s “Save Me the Plums”
By Larry Levine – “Save Me the Plums” is Ruth Reichl at her best. The stories she tells of her time as editor-in-chief of the late Gourmet magazine are frank and exciting and will be fascinating for all food lovers. She takes us inside the magazine’s famous test... Read More
DOES ANYONE GO TO HAWAII FOR THE FOOD?
The voice came from behind me as we waited to board our flight to Maui at L.A. International Airport: “You go to Hawaii for a lot of things, but food isn’t one of them,” it said. By the time I turned to see who said it, I was too late. I didn’t hear the voice again... Read More
OBSERVATIONS FROM THE HIGHWAY
UNDER WAY – Sunday morning. Easter Sunday. We’re in the car early to head north for a visit with son John and his family in Issaquah WA, close by Seattle. Granddaughter Ella is appearing in High School Musical and grandson Miles will be defending the goal for... Read More
THANK YOU, YOLANDA, FOR GUACAMOLE AND SO MUCH MORE
The first time I saw Yolanda Quintero she was sitting on a bench in the shade near the sun-drenched concrete playground at the elementary school we attended near downtown Los Angeles. She was 12; I was 10. Yolanda was the first Mexican person I ever met. I thought she... Read More
A TIME-TESTED BRISKET RECIPE FOR PASSOVER OR ANY OTHER DAY
By Larry Levine – There may be as many ways to bake a brisket as there are cooks preparing the meat for a Passover Dinner or any other time of year.. The one I’m sharing here is rooted in a very simple method used by my late mother. I doctored it through the... Read More
DINNER FOR TWO FOR LESS THAN $7 EACH – TWICE
By Larry Levine – How about dinner for two for less than $7 each? Twice. – A whole roast chicken and chicken in mushroom sauce Start with a whole chicken, about 4 – 4 ½ lb. Mix together 4 tablespoons of extra version olive oil, 1 teaspoon each of granulated... Read More
THE FOUR-CENTURY JOURNEY OF THE UBIQUITOUS BAGEL
Let us consider the ubiquitous bagel, that round piece of dough with a hole in the middle that has transformed itself from the food of old country Ashkenazi Jews into a symbol of cross-cultural unity. As a youngster growing up in Brooklyn, New York in the 1940s, I... Read More
EVERYWHERE IN THE U.S., IT’S SOUP WEATHER / Seafood Gumbo
No matter where you are in the U.S., reminders are everywhere – it’s winter. Whether it’s a polar vortex, just plain cold, or driving rains, it’s the dead of winter, almost exactly half way between the first day of winter and the first day of spring. It’s cold and wet... Read MoreI have the printer’s proof for COOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN
I have signed off on the printer’s proof for the soft cover copy of the book. The hard cover proof arrived yesterday. I expect to sign off on it within 48 hours. Then it will be just a couple of weeks before the book will be available on the website being built... Read More
AT LAST, A SUCCESSFUL MUSHROOM SOUP
By Larry Levine – The sun was bright and the morning temperature had inched north of 60 degrees on the way to a high of 69 for the day. It was the third day of winter and the Studio City Farmers’ Market in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles was... Read More
The one true international food / DUMPLINGS
By Larry Levine – Call them piroshky, or pierogi, or kreplach, sui mai, won tons, or quenelles, matzo balls, gefelte fish, ravioli or any of a thousand other names. You can boil them, steam them, fry them, bake them, or cook them pretty much any way you want. You can... Read More
IT’S TURKEY TIME OF YEAR / our annual guide to a great roast turkey dinner
By Larry Levine – I love the taste of a good roasted turkey. I like it unadorned – no smoking, brining or other gimmicks. If you buy a really great bird you don’t need all the rest. If you’re going to pick up a 99-cent-a-pound frozen bird at the local big box... Read More
THE PATH TO PUBLICATION / the journey of an author and a memoir
January 20, 2019 – I have signed off on the printer’s proof of the soft cover copy of the book. I received the hard cover printer’s proof yesterday and should be ready to approve it in 48 hours or less. I’ve also signed off on most of... Read MoreCOOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN / I have the printer’s proofs
I have received and approved the printer’s proof of the soft cover copy of COOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN. The hard cover arrived yesterday. I expect to approve it within 48 hours. Then it will be a couple of weeks before it’s available on the new website... Read More
A BIG STEP FOR A SUSHI CHEF AND HIS WIFE / the challenge of restaurant ownership
By Larry Levine – First, a question for our male readers: you are 36 years old; you are married and have two children – a boy, Shaun, 11, and a girl, Kairi, 10; you live with your wife and children in an upscale neighborhood in the suburbs of Los Angeles; you are a... Read More
THE GREAT HATCH CHILI EXPLOSION / 10 years ago I never heard of them, now they are everywhere (with a family recipe for Hatch Chili enchiladas)
By Larry Levine – Ten years ago I had never heard of a Hatch Chili. Then, somewhere along the way, my friend Carl D’Agostino mentioned them in a telephone conversation. He became poetic in recalling his boyhood in New Mexico, where the family ate Hatch Chili... Read More
SUBS, HOAGIES, GRINDERS, TORPEDOES, FOOT-LONGS / a sandwich by any other name is still a dream come true
By Larry Levine – I’ve been eating submarine sandwiches for close to three-quarters of a century, since I tasted my first one with my dad in Brooklyn, NY in the mid-1940s. We called them heros, not subs, or submarines, or any of the dozen or more other names by which... Read More
IS IT LOX, SMOKED SALMON, OR GRAVLAX? / let’s sort out the confusion
By Larry Levine – “Larry, please go to Abie’s and get a half pound of belly lox, sliced thin.” I heard those words often when we lived in Brooklyn, NY in the 1940s. It was my mother sending me around the corner to Abie’s appetizing store. They usually were... Read More
COOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN – it’s in the hands of the designers
What could be more appropriate than my mother, Norma Anna Solomon Levine, as the featured woman in chapter one of my forthcoming food memoir COOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN / THE TASTES AND TALES OF A WONDERFUL LIFE. The chapter it titled She Made the Music Start. Here... Read More
BUT I STILL LOVE TO EAT / a 10th anniversary celebration
Chapter One – Facing the Hangman “Nothing will focus a man’s mind so quickly as the prospect of being hanged at dawn.” – Samuel Johnson My “hanged at dawn” moment came July 3, 2008. The hangman was a doctor in the operating room at Kaiser Permanente... Read More
THIS TIME I WILL EAT HAGGIS / a tale of table and tee in the land where golf was born
By Larry Levine – This time I will eat haggis. I didn’t eat it last time I was in Scotland because of its off-putting reputation. I had long heard haggis referred to disparagingly as some kind of low-class food eaten only by people whose economic circumstances... Read More
I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOUR BUTT CRACK / and other sartorial transgressions in an America that lost its couth
By Larry Levine – She was wearing a nice dress, dark with a muted floral print. Tasteful ear rings, hair well dressed. Totally appropriate for a Saturday night dinner at a nice restaurant. She looked to be about 30 years old. The man with her appeared to be about the... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME – Part four / D-Day at Normandy, then and now
By Larry Levine – I stood on the sand at Utah Beach and felt history sweep over me. I walked the sands of Omaha Beach, looked out at the roiling sea and envisioned the waves of American soldiers landing on the shore. It was June 6, 2017 – the 73rd anniversary of... Read More
BEST LAID PLANS / a look at fast food egg products
By Larry Sheingold What’s in an egg? Seems like a simple question. Yolk and white, right? Right. Unless the egg is part of a fast food meal. Then you’ll probably have to expand your definition to include a list of non-egg add-ins. How can the call their adulterations... Read More
POTATO LATKES ALMOST DAD’S WAY
By Larry Levine – Each year about this time my father would get out the old box grater and set to work hand-grating potatoes and onions for Hanukkah latkes. Mom would peel the potatoes and put them in cold water to keep them from discoloring until Dad could get... Read More
EATING OUR WAY THROUGH BELLAGIO / Italy, not Las Vegas
By Barry and Bev Wellman – Bellagio, Italy, must be the only village that has a Las Vegas hotel named after it. No wonder! Its setting is spectacular, and its ambiance so enchanting that residents of Milan use it as a summer getaway. It’s two hours north by car,... Read More
THE SECRET TO SUCCESS AT THE THANKSGIVING TABLE / buy a great bird and get out of the way
Larry Levine – Don’t brine it or butter it. Don’t smoke it or grill it or deep fry it. Just buy the best turkey you can find and step aside. That’s the simple secret to a really wonderful main course at Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, you will spend a lot of money for the... Read MoreProgress Report – COOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN
The “final” edit for my upcoming food memoir – COOKING FOR A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN / the tastes and tales of a wonderful life – has been returned to the publisher along. Now, we’re on to book design and cover design. I’m waiting for final galleys for... Read More
THE MUD OVEN AND THE SOUS VIDE COOKER / co-existence after 29,000 years
By Larry Levine – Some 29,000 years ago, give or take a century, someone came up with an idea that set culinary evolution on an important new path. Archeologists can’t tell us who that person was, but for the time being they are pretty sure that’s about when human... Read More
AN 18-DAY COMMITMENT TO LOCALLY-OWNED AND OPERATED RESTRAURANTS / no chains on a west coast road trip
By Larry Levine – (I shot this photo from an on shore observation deck right on U.S. 101 at Depoe Bay, OR ) – We’re off again. This time it’s 18 days, starting with six nights on the coast of Oregon before heading for the annual Salmon Days Festival with our... Read More
BEARS, EAGLES, WHALES, A WOLF, A CRAB AND A BRAND NEW WORD / all in a roundtrip to Vancouver Island
By Larry Levine – A new word has entered the lexicon of the hospitality industry. It’s “forya,” a contraction of “for” and “you” and it’s turning up in restaurants and hotels from central California to the Canadian border. When pronounced properly, the voice must rise... Read More
CHARCUTERIE, SALUMI, COLD CUTS / unlock the mystery of all those deli meats
By Larry Levine – Charcuterie, salumi, cold cuts … call ‘em what you want. They all add up to the same thing – salt-cured, brined, fermented, or otherwise processed meats. In the U.S. they are served mostly as platters or sandwiches for lunch or dinner. In Italy they... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME – Part nine / home again with thoughts of Normandy Beaches and suckling pig
By Larry Levine – Home again, and mostly back to normal. Played golf, cooked dinners, watched the Dodgers, went to the horse races and thought about the trip. Two thoughts dominate: 1. The visit to the Normandy beaches on the anniversary of D-Day was life-altering.... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME – Part eight / how a GPS can cause a monumental traffic jam
By Larry Levine – Well, that was a morning to remember. I awoke to find Jennifer sitting in the alcove of our room at the Sharrow Bay Country House on Lake Ullswater in the Lake District of England. The drapes open wide and she was reading. “Look at the view,” she... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME – Part seven / it took 18 years, but we’re back
By Larry Levine – It was 18 years ago – 1999 – near the end of a magical five-week drive through England, Scotland and Wales. We had visited many of the sites of the Arthurian legend, stayed at manor houses and castles, dined with some of the finest chefs in England... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME – Part six / home(s) away from home
By Larry Levine – We are in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare country, for two nights before we motor north to the magical Lake District of England. Don’t you love the name – Stratford-Upon-Avon. It makes you think there may be some other Stratford someplace, like... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME – Part Five – Au revoir, France, with just one Trump mention
By Larry Levine – Behind us, the coastline of France. With us, the memories of a wonderful and adventuresome week. Ahead, not yet in view, the White Cliffs of Dover, England. As the ferry sets off across the English Channel, we take with us the feeling of warmth and... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME
By Larry Levine – PART ONE – DEPARTURE I should be brimming with excitement and anticipation as I wait to board our flight to Paris. Instead, what I’m feeling about our three-week vacation in France and England is curiosity at how we will be received. We... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME – Part three / you want to talk old?
By Larry Levine – Stick a shovel in the ground in England and you’re likely to find something at least 400 years old. The irrigation system built during the Roman occupation still is in place and operational. In Los Angeles we fight to preserve the original... Read More
AN AMERICAN ABROAD AT A STRANGE TIME – Part two – happy eating in Trump-free France
By Larry Levine – Twenty-four hours and not a single mention of Donald Trump. We are pleasantly encamped in the Hotel Relais Christine in Paris after an event-free Air France flight from Los Angeles and a harrowing drive into and through the city in Friday afternoon... Read More
SUMMERS WITH DAD / off to work we go and other delicious tales from Brooklyn and L.A.
By Larry Levine – (Peter Harry Levine, my father, was a champion in the cause of justice and equality and a tower of integrity by the example he set. He entered the hospital for the final time June 30, 1980. I got the phone call while I was lying on my back under the... Read More
THE $10.26 FRENCH FEAST / chicken fricassee — easy and delicious
By Larry Levine – There had to be a mistake. The grocery market cash register showed a total of $10.26. The clerk must have forgotten to scan something. But there were just four items in my basket and four items appeared on the computer screen at the checkout counter.... Read More
LIVE LONG AND PROSPER / how I found the secret to longevity in a $12 bottle of wine
By Larry Levine – If I told you I have the secret to longevity, that probably would get your attention, right? It involves wine, red wine to be precise. And, no, it has nothing to do with those studies that claim a glass of red wine every day is good for your... Read More
SOUP SEASON HAS ARRIVED / three recipes to warm you on chilled winter nights
Larry Levine – It’s winter. It’s really, really winter. At least a Southern California version of winter. In Los Angeles we read about snow in the newspapers and see it on TV. The main north-south highway over the mountains that separate us from the Central... Read More
A WEEK ON MAUI / the trials, travails and joys of a December vacation
By Larry Levine – It was the second week of December. We were on the island of Maui in Hawaii and it was raining. It had been raining at least part of every day. I hear it rains a lot on Maui, particularly up on the northwest corner, where we were staying at the... Read More
THE DINNER PARTY WINE TRAP / how I drank more than $650 worth of wine in one evening at home
By Larry Levine – I love the days and weeks of planning and then the cooking for dinner parties at home – dinners at which Jennifer and I host five or six friends. It’s more than just the food. It’s the warm gathering for evenings, when ideas are exchanged, laughter... Read More
A CULINARY CORRIDOR / places to chow down along Interstate 5 between L.A. and Seattle
By Larry Levine – It’s one of the great risks of a road trip – the hunt for places to eat. Yet, it can turn into one of the great rewards. For starters, you are dead certain the food at most of the places you will see, even the ones that look like they might be... Read More
HOT OFF THE STOVE / notes, comments, observations and links about any and all things food related
By Larry Levine – AUGUST 22, 2016 – Great dining weekend just gone by: If there’s another place in California at which you can get an authentic, old-style Cesar salad made tableside, with all the anchovy paste and anchovies you want and a real, raw... Read More
ENFRIJOLADAS / a little imagination turns this exotic Mexican dish into a simple recipe for your kitchen
By Larry Levine – The article described it as a hand-made corn tortilla covered with a black bean sauce that gained a flavor boost from avocado leafs harvested from trees grown in the area of Oaxaca. It said the leafs imparted a flavor of black licorice. The author... Read More
WHO’S CRAZIER, DONALD TRUMP OR THE FARMERS WHO SUPPORT HIM?
By Larry Levine – Suppose a candidate for public office told you that your biggest problem didn’t really exist and you knew he was either misinformed or lying. Suppose that same candidate promised that if elected he would do something to give you an even bigger... Read More
THE ANNOYING SNOBBERY OF TOP 50 RESTAURANT LISTS / don’t tell me it’s the best until you’ve tried them all
By Larry Levine – I really don’t like the word “best” when it comes to describing food or restaurants, or much of anything else for that matter There are too many great restaurants serving great food around the world for any to be designated the best, or the 50... Read More
UNSCRAMBLING THE MYSTERY OF THE WORDS ON THOSE EGG CARTONS / cage free … free range … organic … And when did eggs become “the perfect food?”
By Larry Levine- You’re standing at the egg section in the dairy department of your local super market. In front of you are 18 different egg cartons. On those cartons you see an assortment of words: free range, cage free, vegetarian fed, pasture fed, pasture raised,... Read More
LET’S TALK SUSHI / 4,000 restaurants, so little time
By Larry Levine – Ask someone in California to recommend a sushi restaurant and the reaction is likely to be akin to asking for a barbecue recommendation in Texas. Virtually everyone has a favorite. For some people it’s serial favorites. I remember a time many years... Read More
IT’S PIXIE TIME – The Little Tangerine That Could
By Larry Levine – This is a story of The Little Tangerine That Could – a fruit that succeeded against great odds just as The Little Engine That Could made the unlikely climb up that hill in the book we read as children. It’s the Pixie, a relatively new tangerine on... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
The winner is Evelyn Alexander, who lives in Topanga, CA. She correctly identified the meal in this photo as a Ploughman’s Lunch, a meal popular throughout the United Kingdom. Evelyn first tasted a Ploughman’s Lunch when she visited England at the age of 13. Evelyn is... Read More
A BREAKFAST BONANZA / atLarrys co-hosts and friends reveal their favorites
By Larry Levine – Dieticians and nutritionists call it the most important meal of the day. Educators tell us it makes a big difference in how a student will learn during the school day. It’s breakfast, of course, and it confronts us with a constant need to choose... Read More
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A BOUNTY OF LEFTOVER BAKED HAM? / you make an old recipe better
By Larry Levine – Nine pounds of shank end ham sounds kind of excessive for two people. That’s because it is excessive. But I didn’t have much choice. My new Jacques Pepin cookbook – HEART AND SOUL IN THE KITCHEN – has a very inviting recipe for glazed ham. I was... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
Simple question for the first contest of the year. This is a photo of our lunch. What are we about to eat? What is it called? Email your answer to tabletalkatlarrys@earthlink.net. The winner will be selected at random from among all the correct answers. The prize: an... Read More
OMELETS & SOMEONE YOU LOVE / a comfort food breakfast for a gloppy morning
By Larry Levine – People who love to cook love to cook for people who love to eat. And if the person for whom we are cooking happens to be someone we love, well … Jennifer and I have been together some 47 years, married more than 45 years. We’ve eaten tens of... Read More
JACQUES PÉPIN’S HEART & SOUL IN THE KITCHEN / an absolute must for the home cook
By Larry Levine – It’s more than just his recipes. It’s also his light-hearted, casual attitude toward cooking in general. “Some salt” means however much he happens to pick up in his hand and toss into a pot. “A pinch” of something often is followed by a “a little... Read More
HELLOOOO, LOUVAR / the fish that made a confident cook nervous
By Larry Levine – I looked lovingly at the milky white piece of fish on my red Fiesta plate. My eyes darted from plate to plate around the table, smiling at the fish on each of the other five plates at this impromptu dinner party. Then my eyes returned to my plate and... Read More
THE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT / coming soon to your super market?
By Larry Levine – We should be afraid – very, very afraid. And we shouldn’t be looking to the predicted El Niño to save us. The subject, of course, is the drought that has gripped the west – California in particular – for the last four years. The photo attached... Read More
WHERE TO EAT IN L.A. / what our readers have to say
By Larry Levine – Ask 10 people in to name their favorite restaurant for a celebration dinner and you’ll get at least 20 recommendations. Big city or small town, west coast, east coast or in the middle, people everywhere will be passionate about the places they like... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
The avocados are Reed avocados and the winner is Caroline Little of McKinley TX. She was selected at random from among all the correct answers. Caroline is a vegan, who was born in California and moved to Texas for school four years ago. She’s married and about to... Read More
WHY THE CMT (CORPORATELY MODIFIED TASTEBUDS) GENERATION LOVES FAST FOOD BURGERS / part three of three
By Larry Sheingold – Ever wonder why burger chains use near-naked models as their sales images? Why not run ads featuring goggle-eyed mad scientists instead? Yeah. Silly question. But the truth is today’s Dr. Frankensteins have more influence over your burger-buying... Read More
A 50-YEAR LOVE AFFAIR WITH SACRAMENTO / it’s the restaurants and so much more
By Larry Levine – An electric ballet of lightning bolts leaped across the Northern California sky as I motored north through Stockton on Highway 99. The heat of an August afternoon had given way to a warm evening before I put the top down on my 1964 Pontiac... Read MoreSWORD FISH BAGNARA / the easiest, most dependable sword fish recipe imaginable
By Larry Levine – It’s been decades since I ordered sword fish in a restaurant. Broiled or grilled, it almost always arrives at the table over-cooked and dried out. It was risky enough when restaurants were serving inch-thick pieces of sword fish. But then they... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
Perhaps the toughest WHO? WHAT? WHERE? contest ever at Table Talk atLarrys.com. We know these are avocados. But what kind of avocados? Email to tabletalkatlarrys@earthlink.net and name the type of avocados. A winner will be selected at random from among all correct... Read More
WINING IN NEW YORK STATE’S FINGER LAKES / like Napa before it became famous
By Barry Wellman – Remember Napa Valley before it became famous in the 1970s after a wine tasting event in Paris found Napa’s top wines rivaled famous French cuvees? (If you don’t, read George Taber’s The Judgment of Paris.) There were some small wineries then of... Read More
MOSCOW MULES & PERFECT MANHATTANS / everything old is new again
By Larry Levine – The Greater Los Angeles basin stretched endlessly out from the foot of the hillside mansion, where some 200 celebrants were gathered on a bright spring day for a Saturday afternoon wedding, reception, and dinner. Waiters marched in a non-stop parade... Read More
SCANDIA, A PALACE OF MEMORIES / gone but never to be forgotten
By Larry Levine – It’s gone. Flattened. Scandia – the palace of memories for generations of Los Angeles diners – has been leveled and hauled away to make way for a large mixed use hotel project. I had no idea how I would feel when they finally tore down the... Read More
HERE’S THE SCOOP ON GELATO AND ICE CREAM / are they really the same?
By Larry Levine – The walk from our hotel just off Piazza Maggiore to the best gelato in Bologna, Italy took one hour mostly through narrow, winding residential streets, many of which had no street signs. The early afternoon temperature had leveled off at about 74... Read More
SALADS DON’T NEED RECIPES, THEY NEED INSPIRATION / a handy guide for making killer salads at home
By Larry Levine – Every time I open one of the glossy food magazines, or look at an online food website and find a recipe for some kind of salad, I have the same thought: Why would anyone need a recipe for a salad; salads are one of the great opportunities,... Read More
THE TWO-PART SECRET TO A GOOD STEAK / on the grill, in the broiler, or at a steakhouse
By Larry Levine – There’s a secret to a good steak: 1) Buy a great piece of meat, and 2) don’t mess it up. Number 1 isn’t difficult – expensive, but not difficult. It starts with “know your butcher and don’t be afraid to ask for advice.” And make sure the meat... Read More
FINALLY MEETING THE LITTLE (NOT-SO-OLD) WINEMAKER IN GAILLAC, FRANCE
By Barry Wellman – When I was a boy in the 1950s, I really believed in the “Little Old Winemaker” ad – he who carefully crafted great wines by himself – even though I had only tasted its one known competitor: sweet Manischewitz made from red Concord grapes.... Read More
FILET OF SOLE ALMANDINE WITH BROWN BUTTER / revisiting a recipe from out of the past
By Larry Levine – Here’s a chestnut from a bygone era. It’s healthful and perfect You have to be of a certain age to remember filet of sole almandine. If you visited an upscale restaurant, a fine dining restaurant in the 1920s through the 1960s you would find this... Read More
FONDLE THE FENNEL / a self-help guide to the social aspects of a farmer’s market
By Larry Levine – It’s a question that reverberates in the lives of single people and their friends and families, who feel obliged to match make. It’s a question that defines much about the time in which we live. WHERE CAN SINGLES GO TO MEET OTHER SINGLES? A... Read More
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE JEWISH TO LIKE BRISKET / and it doesn’t have to be Passover
By Larry Levine – You don’t have to be Jewish to like brisket and it doesn’t have to be Passover for you to eat brisket. But it wouldn’t hurt. It goes by many names: brisket, brisket of beef, baked brisket, and in barbecue joints everywhere it’s called Q. If... Read More
SOUTHWEST BLACK BEANS AND CHICKEN / simple, fast and healthy
By Larry Levine – This recipe was born of necessity in August, 2008, about a month after a surgeon performed a quadruple coronary bypass to extend my life. The recipe has undergone several changes as the years ticked by, but the essence remains the same. My... Read More
THOSE SWEET LITTLE PIXIES PACK A POWERFUL FLAVOR / the remarkable story of the Pixie tangerine
By Larry Levine – This is a story of The Little Tangerine That Could – a fruit that succeeded against great odds just as The Little Engine That Could made the unlikely climb up that hill in the book we read as children. It’s the Pixie, a relatively new tangerine on... Read More
IN SUPER MARKETS AND RESTAURANTS, IT REALLY IS ‘BUYER BEWARE’ / marketing mavens are hawking unhealthful and mislabeled food
By Larry Levine – The marketing mavens of the American food industry exceed even themselves when it comes to shameless huckstering of mislabeled products and unhealthful culinary offerings. Nowhere do the words “buyer beware” mean more than they do in a super... Read More
IRISH STEW OR CORNED BEEF / which will it be for St. Patrick’s Day at your house
By Larry Levine – What else would you order for dinner your first night in Ireland? Irish stew, of course. By the time we picked up our car at Dublin airport, drove into the city, laughed as we got lost and found in a maze of one-way streets and arrived at our hotel... Read More
SOUP’S ON / Sweet & Sour Russian Cabbage Soup from Dad’s side of the family
By Larry Levine – Few things in the culinary realm offer as great an opportunity for creativity as soup. And there are few things more inviting or satisfying than a bowl or two of steaming hot soup during the cool autumn and winter months. Beef, chicken, fish, lamb,... Read More
SOUP’S ON / a connoisseur’s favorite split pea soup
By Larry Levine – Want to know where to find the world’s best split pea soup? Ask Jennifer, my wife and resident connoisseur of split pea soup. Jennifer’s favorite vegetable is peas. Her favorite soup is split pea and her favorite split pea soup is the one I make at... Read More
SOUP’S ON / healthy, hearty, easy fish soup
By Larry Levine – My mother used to make the best fish soup I’ve ever tasted – not chowder; it was actual soup. But she left no recipe. I don’t know what she used to flavor it, or what kind(s) of fish she used. I do remember it was tomato based and there were no... Read More
PEOPLE DON’T DO THIS ANYMORE / a step-by-step recipe for a successful in-home dinner party
By Larry Levine – “Thank you for including us. People don’t do this anymore.” So said one of our guests at the end of a dinner party Jennifer and I hosted at our home recently. I thought about it after and realized to a large extent she was correct. People don’t seem... Read More
SOUP’S ON / dad’s favorite Navy bean soup
By Larry Levine – White bean soup, Navy bean soup, Senate bean soup, Yankee bean soup … Call it what you want. But it’s still bean soup and on a cold winter evening it will warm the chilliest of bones. I grew up in a soup household. There was nothing my father,... Read More
RIDICULOUSLY SIMPLE CHILI AND BEANS
By Larry Levine – Every once in a while we hit on a dish that proves the notion that in cooking it doesn’t need to be complicate or difficult to be good. My Ridiculously Simple Chili and Beans is one such dish. This recipe came to life a few years ago, when I... Read More
IT STARTED WITH A MUSHROOM / Teriyaki chicken recipe
By Larry Levine – It started with a shitake mushroom grown in a “farm” given to me as a gift. Next thing I knew, I burned a sauce pan while making a homemade Teriyaki sauce, which spilled over on the stove top and caramelized. Then I had to run out to the market to... Read More
SOUP’S ON / chicken soup like Mom made it
By Larry Levine – “Is it really colder than I remember it ever being, or am I just getting older and less able to deal with it?” A friend asked me that question in the closing days of 2014. I told him it’s probably some of each. Another friend said recently, “The best... Read More
MEALS OF THE YEAR / atLarrys.com co-hosts celebrate the year gone by
It takes more than just wonderful food to make a truly memorable meal – one that can qualify as a Meal of The Year. There’s the company, the conversation, the location, the occasion, the ambiance, and dozens of other factors that combine to set one meal apart from all... Read More
A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT RESTAURANT WEBSITE DECISION-MAKING
By Larry Levine – There are times when the integrity of food and restaurant websites gets tested. This is about one of those times and how the website has handled it. Our sister web site – atLarrys.com – provides recommendations for all manner of restaurants in... Read More
WHAT’S IN A NAME / plenty, when it’s Jack’s Fish Spot et al in Seattle
By Larry Levine – Jack’s Fish Spot … Jack’s Seafood… Jack’s Crab Pot … Jack’s Fish and Chips … Sounds like this Jack fella is quite the enterprising proprietor of a bustling chain of restaurants, doesn’t it? Fact is all four of these names are attached to the same... Read More
DOGGIE BAG STEAK DINNER / a recipe for getting creative with restaurant leftovers
By Larry Levine – You know what happens to most doggie bags, the ones that aren’t left behind on the table when you leave the restaurant? They go in the refrigerator as soon as you get home, stay there for a couple of days and then get thrown away. At least that’s how... Read More
FRESH SALMON SEASON IS ENDED / it may be expensive but help is on the way
By Larry Levine – It’s time for a seasonal salmon lesson from our friend Jim Oswalt at Gemini Fish Market in Issaquah WA. I’m writing this at Burbank Airport as I await my flight to Seattle for a weekend with my son John, daughter-in-law Julie, granddaughter... Read More
SUMMERS WITH DAD / off to work we go and other delicious tales
By Larry Levine – 1. Take the salami down from the hook over the kitchen counter where it hangs to dry 2. Peel back the shell and slice enough for two generous sandwiches 3. Get out four slices of corned rye bread and put a coating of yellow mustard on two of... Read More
FOOD BOOK REVIEW – Judgment of Paris / California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine
By Larry Levine – My introduction to good wine came under a shade tree at the Beringer Winery in St. Helena in California’s Napa Valley in 1963. It was the dawning of the glory days for California wine as well as for my own interest in and appreciation of wine.... Read More
CALIFORNIA’S “OTHER” GREAT WINE REGION / tasting in Sonoma County
By Larry Levine – They produce what may be the two best cabernet sauvignons in America – among the best in the world and they are just 34 miles apart. Yet, in many ways they couldn’t be more different in their approaches to almost everything having to do with... Read More
FOOD FADS, FETISHES AND CRAZES / Part Two – here they come, there they go
By Larry Levine – Remember quinoa, the wonder-food of just a couple of years ago? You couldn’t open the front door of a restaurant without being assaulted by quinoa. There were quinoa appetizers, quinoa salads, and hot quinoa sides served alongside beef, chicken, or... Read More
FOOD FADS, FETISHES AND CRAZES / Part One – locally-sourced
By Larry Levine – Locally-sourced … Farm-to-fork … Seasonal menu … Sustainable … Are they marketing devices, smart business practices aimed at bolstering the bottom line, political statements, or are they just the latest fads, fetishes or crazes to grip the... Read More
NOTES FROM THE FARMERS’ MARKET
By Larry Levine – I stopped by the farmers’ market in Studio City this morning. It had been quite a while since my last visit, what with our recent trips to England, San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Diego. For the last year most of my produce shopping occurred at... Read More
FOR RESTAURANT RESERVATIONS / it’s time to can the ap and pick up the phone
By Larry Levine – ATTENTION: All you folks who think an ap button is human contact If you have come to rely on aps and the internet to make restaurant reservations: STOP. Go back to the old fashioned way; skip the online reservation services and call the... Read More
THE WEIGHTING GAME WINNER / 159.6 pounds
By Larry Levine – Sue Treadwell of West Sacramento is the winner of THE WEIGHTING GAME. She guessed my weight would be 159.1 pounds the morning after I returned home from a three-week vacation in England. She missed by one-half pound. My actual weight the... Read More
IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND – 2014 / THE SAGA OF THE BRITISH SAUSAGE & why a banger is a banger
By Larry Levine – They got me. Full Cornish fry ups four straight days at St. Ives … Now a full English fry up first day at Angmering Manor, a 16th century building and former convent now converted to a hotel. We’re here for a week. And they don’t serve much of... Read More
IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND – 2014 / I went looking for King Arthur and look what I found; a story of fulfillment and celebration
By Larry Levine – It was a day that was going to be devoted to the last step in my journey to trace the legend of King Arthur of roundtable fame. I expected there might well be nothing food related about which to write this day. But that would be alright because... Read More
IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND – 2014 / what they say about food and what it really means
By Larry Levine – OK. Let’s get serious about the food part of travel discoveries. Travel is in fact broadening and in few areas is it more broadening than when food is involved. We’ve spent so much time in the United Kingdom over the years that there isn’t much... Read More
IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND – 2014 / for people and restaurants, getting old beats the alternative
By Larry Levine – Sometimes conventional wisdoms prove to be true. Like: getting old beats the hell out of the alternative. Sometimes well-earned reputations turn out to be understated. Like: If there’s a good restaurant within 100 miles, Larry and Jennifer will find... Read More
IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND – 2014 / among the pleasures, when I travel
By Larry Levine – Among my pleasures, when I travel, are meeting new people, sampling history, tasting local food and culture, and expanding my awareness and knowledge of the world. When we come across folks from the states, it is nice to exchange pleasantries.... Read More
IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND – 2014 / I won’t complain about the airline food because I’m back in the land where my wife was born
By Larry Levine – At 35,001 feet above the Atlantic, with my taste receptors dulled by the altitude and low humidity of the business class cabin of our impossibly large 777-300 aircraft, I am not going to complain about the airline food. It’s pointless, as I pointed... Read More
PLAY WITH WEIGHTING GAME / it’s not a carnival trick
By Larry Levine – (Everything you need to know to make an informed guess and compete for the prizes is contained below, including a daily report of my food intake and exercise. Be the first to guess my exact weight when I return from England and win a... Read More
WEIGHT A MINUTE / or three weeks
By Larry Levine – How much weight will an American gain during a three-week visit to England? It’s a real game, not some carnival trick. If you can guess how much I will weigh the morning of July 14, 2014, you could win a $20 coffee card for either... Read More
SILLY SPORTS BETS and the food they inflict
By Larry Levine – From the Department of Silly Food Bets – Stanley Cup Finals Division – I realize Langer’s Deli and Pink’s Hot Dogs are Los Angeles icons. And I realize that Katz’ Deli and Grays Papaya Dogs are kind of New York institutions. But as a former New... Read More
Who? What? Where?
The winner is Betsy Hite, owner & chef at Elegant & Easy Gourmet, just outside the City of Sacramento CA. She was selected at random from among all those who correctly identified the item in the photo as a clothes pin from the French Laundry restaurant in... Read More
ON THE TRICKY SUBJECT OF TIPPING
By Larry Levine – Do you tip in a restaurant? If you don’t, you probably wouldn’t be reading this magazine. But do you tip 20%? 15%? Do you tip pre-tax or on the whole bill? Do you tip the full percentage on that expensive bottle of wine? Do you tip the host or... Read More
TELL THE SULTAN I WON’T BE DINING TONIGHT
By Larry Levine – If you’re like many people I know you think what I do as a food writer and editor is all fun and games. For the last six years, since I founded the restaurant recommendation website atLarrys.com and this online magazine, you would have been... Read More
WITH A CLUCK CLUCK HERE / it’s boom time for the chicken industry
By Larry Levine – If your last name is Fryar, what do you do for a living? Chickens. What else? If you’re Ed Fryar of Rogers, Arkansas you’re Chief Executive Officer and founder of Ozark Mountain Poultry. You also hold a Bachelor’s Degree in economics and a... Read More
THE CONFUSING WORLD OF THE MEAT YOU EAT / how to know what your really are buying
By Larry Levine – If the label on the Styrofoam package simply read “beef”, would you buy it? Wouldn’t you want to know more about what is inside the cellophane wrapping? Then why do you buy it when it says “New York steak”, or “tri-tip roast” and nothing more? Don’t... Read More
THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS … OR DISAPPOINTS / Adine and Dan Forman introduce their kids to New York
By Adine Forman – How does one go about showing her children New York City in just seven days? Do you focus just on Manhattan? or Brooklyn? or Queens? Pick and choose a couple of the boroughs? There are so many famous and wonderful sights to show the kids. And... Read More
THE SUPER BOWL – is it about the football or the chicken wings
By Larry Levine – (This was posted a week before the 2014 Super Bowl game. We decided to leave it up on the magazine after the game because the chicken wing recipes are just so good. So, who ever wins, or won the game, don’t let that stop you from making a... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
And the winner is … Steve Beckley of Woodland CA. He correctly identified the photo as a mound of almond hulls. It’s at an almond processing plant along the I5 in California’s central valley. Steve works with associations whose members provide... Read More
A BONA FIDE SUSHI PLETHORA DILEMMA
By Larry Levine – I can hear the sarcastic groans of sympathy even before I write these words. But I’m suffering with a sushi plethora dilemma. There are too many excellent sushi restaurants in my life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know; there can’t be such a thing. So, how... Read More
Restaurant Highlights – 2013 / 10 dining experiences that stand out
By Larry Levine – I love writing these annual reviews that recall special meals from the year gone by. They are reminders of how fortunate I am. For as I remember the meals and the experiences I remember, also, those who accompanied me on this journey in my third... Read More
HOLLYWOOD PARK RACE TRACK / gone but the Short Ribs will live on
By Larry Levine – What will be my most enduring memory of Hollywood Park now that the legendary race track has closed forever? Hint: it has to do with food. When I was in college in the 1950s, we never took afternoon classes. Afternoons were reserved for... Read More
ALOHA FROM KAUAI / new foods, good restaurants and the locals really love it
By Larry Levine – You know how you go someplace on vacation and the locals try too hard to convince you how glad they are that they moved there from someplace else and it doesn’t quite ring true. You get the feeling they know they made a bad decision and are... Read More
ALOHA FROM KAUAI / Hebi and Lilikoi, two new things to eat
By Larry Levine – I’m very careful when it comes to ordering fish in a restaurant. I have to know the place very well. Most places overcook the fish and it becomes dry. I don’t like putting sauce on fish to get moisture because it masks the flavor of the fish. I... Read More
ALOHA FROM KAUAI / Not all taro is poi, and that’s a good thing
By Larry Levine – I’m sitting outdoors at the Makana Terrace at the St. Regis Hotel in Princeville this morning. I’ve ordered the Surf Omelette, even though the waiter can’t explain how bacon, ham and goat cheese adds up to surf. I notice some drops of rain in... Read More
ALOHA FROM KAUAI / and forget about the air travel
By Larry Levine – We’re going to skip the nightmare of dealing with United Airlines and having to pay an upgrade to get the first class seats for which we already had paid. I’ll deal with the airline about that when we get home. We’ll skip talking about the... Read More
SOLVANG HAS BECOME MORE THAN JUST KITSCH
By Larry Levine – Solvang California has defined kitsch for well more than half a century – a Danish village in Santa Barbara County complete with a faux windmill, plenty of restaurants that serve aebleskiver, and shops that sell Christmas ornaments and... Read More
LATKES AND TURKEY/ a culinary convergence when Hanukkah meets Thanksgiving
By Larry Levine – Jews in American usually get to cash in on the holiday culinary sweepstakes at least twice at this time of year. For some, who yield to the Christmas avalanche, it can even be three times. We get Thanksgiving dinner; we get Hanukkah latkes; and then... Read More
CONGRESS TO AMERICA’S POOR: Let them eat dirt
By Larry Levine – There are times when food writing intersects with public policy and politics in a way that makes it difficult to write about great restaurants, new recipes and self-indulgent browsing in artisan food stores, times when things happen that shake... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
We have a winner in the latest Who? What? Where? contest. Bonnie Shatun, retired teacher and union leader, correctly identified these mallets as being for cracking blue crabs. Bonnie wins a $20 Starbuck’s card. A few others got the blue crab part right and... Read More
Food Book Review – “Extra Virginity / The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil”
By Larry Levine – Next time you head for the market to buy extra virgin olive oil, remember this: the adage “you get what you pay for” never is more true than when it comes to olive oil. Buy the inexpensive bottle and you very likely will get some adulterated... Read MoreWHO? WHAT? WHERE?
The winner of our latest Who? What? Where? contest is Kess Kessler of Woodland Hills CA. He correctly identified the mushroom as a porcini. His name was drawn at random from among the very few correct answers. This mushroom weighed in at 1 1/2 pounds. My son, Lloyd... Read More
NEW YORK, NEW YORK / chapter 10 – My Home Away from Home
By Larry Levine – 4 ounces a day for 23 days … not bad for a vacation trip devoted largely to eating and containing very little serious exercise. Put another way, I gained six pounds on the trip I didn’t step on a scale until we got back to L.A., but in case we hadn’t... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 9 – Let’s Talk Deli, Part 2
By Larry Levine – It’s official – Jewish deli in New York is dead. Even though I knew the Manhattan deli world was in dire straits a decade ago, I held back on the final pronouncement until today. No, I haven’t tried every deli in the city, so I expect I will be... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 8 – You can go home again
(Crowds at the re-opening of Nathan’s Famous, Coney Island) By Larry Levine – You can go home again. You most certainly, positively, absolutely, definitely can go home again. I’m riding on an elevated train through Brooklyn; I’m looking down on the streets... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 7 – Sandwiches, sushi and ice cream in Philadelphia
By Larry Levine – Before getting to the food adventures of our time in Philadelphia, I want to devote some time to a little introspection and social commentary. I’m trying to figure out why I had no emotional reaction to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 6 – Soft shell crabs and Yuengling beer
By Larry Levine – It has all the earmarks of a great season. We had just crossed the mid line of May and I already had eaten six Maryland soft shell crabs, cooked four different ways in four different restaurants. And what is more, none of them were the way I’ve... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 5 – BBQ, America’s food
By Larry Levine – America’s food …? No, it isn’t the hot dog or the hamburger. It’s barbecue – also known as barbeque, BBQ, or just plain Q. There is virtually no corner of the U.S. that doesn’t have its own style of BBQ, and within each regional style there are... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 4 – Great food and progress in the Deep South
By Larry Levine – I have just one serious prejudice: I hate prejudice. That’s been enough to keep me out of the southern part of the U.S. all my life, except when I was visiting relatives in Florida. The notion of hearing people speak southern hour after hour... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 3 – Some thoughts on Florida
By Larry Levine – I know I’ve done more than a little griping about Florida in the last few days. But as we leave our time there behind us, I want to add a few things. My cousin Irwin, after reading some of my earlier posts, asked if there is anything about Florida... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 2 – A Florida Tomato Dilemma
By Larry Levine – I wanted to make our family recipe for Rumanian eggplant salad as an appetizer before Mother’s Day dinner at my aunt Tillie’s home in Pembroke Pines FL. So I headed to the local Whole Foods, convinced that would be a likely place to find... Read More
TRAVELS WITH JENNIFER AND LARRY / Chapter 1 – in Florida
With Aunt Tillie in her kitchen in Pembroke Pines, FL By Larry Levine – I realized something yesterday. It’s something I probably felt it for a long time, but it didn’t surface until now: the vacation doesn’t start until the plane lands, and you are in the rental car... Read More
A QUICK DIP INTO THE WORLD OF BALSAMIC VINEGAR
By Larry Levine – White Balsamic vinegar? A friend told me she saw it recently and asked if I knew anything about it. I told her it sounds familiar, that I think it’s the natural color and they add coloring to get the dark stuff. Wrong. Balsamic vinegar gets its... Read More
BREAKFAST HASH FROM LEFT OVER PORK ROAST
By Larry Levine – Talk about stretching a piece of rib end pork loin. First night it was served marinated in Chinese flavors, sliced with roasted potatoes. First batch of left overs went into a hot pot for a second dinner. Last batch of left overs became... Read More
TRUTH & HONESTY AT THE FISH MARKETS / but what about the restaurants
By Larry Levine – You know the red snapper you’ve been bringing home from the market for years, the snapper Veracruz you ordered in the local Mexican restaurant? Well, it probably wasn’t red snapper at all. If you live on the west coast and eat fish from local waters... Read More
ROTTEN IN THE FIELDS / what immigration reform means to the American consumer
By Larry Levine – Open a newspaper, turn on the radio, listen to talk shows on the left or right and the subject of immigration reform is everywhere. To some the discussion is driven by a desire to achieve justice and a better life for those who came here... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
We have a winner. Mary Ward of Merced CA was among those who correctly identified the item in the photo as a meat grinder. Her name was selected at random from among all those who submitted the correct answer. Mary is semi-retired and says she is “enjoying time... Read More
NAVY BEAN SOUP / memories of Horn & Hardart’s Automat
By Larry Levine – My father, Peter Harry Levine, loved two things about the Horn & Hardart Automat restaurant in Manhattan – the baked beans and the Navy bean soup. I first tasted each of these dishes when dad and I visited the Automat frequently in the 1940s. I... Read More
A BRATWURST BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL A SAUSAGE
By Larry Levine – Stop at 40 sausage shops in Germany and ask for bratwurst; there’s a good chance you could get 40 different sausages. That’s right. Bratwurst is not a name of a specific sausage. “Brat” is German for chopped meat and “wurst” is German for... Read More
15 TOP PICKS BY READERS IN 2012
By Larry Levine – Can you name 132 countries? I can’t. I tried it recently and topped out somewhere in the mid-80s. The venture was precipitated by information that came to me by way of Google Analytics: The online food magazine you currently are reading... Read MoreWHO? WHAT? WHERE?
Sacramento-based political consultant Sandi Polka is the winner of the latest Table Talk atLarrys.com WHO? WHAT? WHERE? contest. She correctly identified the cut of meat in this photo as a center cut pork loin. Other answers we received included pork loin rack, pork... Read More
Super Storm Sandy Can’t KO the Spirit of New York at Coney Island Restaurants
By Larry Levine – They are my old haunts, the neighborhoods that form the memories of my youth and draw me back whenever we visit New York. Then they were parks and playgrounds and restaurants. Now they are scenes of devastation that have come to me as TV images... Read More
COMFORT FOOD ON CHILLED NIGHTS / Beef, Barley and Mushroom Soup from the old country – Number 2 in our Soup’s On series
By Larry Levine – Soups and stews are the ultimate stuff of comfort food on chilled autumn and winter nights. This recipe has been handed down through generations from my mother’s family. Mom made it frequently without a recipe. When I left the nest for life on... Read More
MEXICAN COOKS TELL AMERICAN RANCHERS: GO SUCK AN EGG / whatever became of the flavor in our eggs?
By Larry Levine – Remember the times you’ve told friends you were heading for a vacation in Mexico? It’s a good bet at least one of them told you, “Don’t drink the water.” Now the shoe is on the other foot. For months Mexican cooks have been looking at cartons of eggs... Read More
MY MOST MEMORABLE MEAL / Upside Down and Alone
By Carol Celeste – Two-story high glass walls opened the restaurant to the Circular Quay. Lights from nearby moored boats reflected on the water. More lights from surrounding high-rises decked the sky. A vase of fresh flowers graced the formal table service.... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
WE HAVE A WINNER – IT’S MARY ROSE OF SANTA BARBARA. Mary correctly identified Elsie the Borden cow. Now a political consultant, Mary remembers eating Borden ice cream as a child. She now prefers Cherry-Garcia. Check back for our next contest coming soon.... Read MoreWHO? WHAT? WHERE?
The winner of our second contest is Maggie Shandera Linden of Rancho Murieta, CA. Maggie was among the many people who correctly identified this photo as the extended hand of a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant statue. Her name was chosen at random from among all the... Read More
MEMORY LANE / where old favorite restaurants go to retire
By Larry Levine – Jonathan Gold’s excellent ode to Campanile in the L.A. Times food pages (Saturday, September 29, 2012) was enough to launch a trip down memory lane. Gold’s piece is warm, touching and human. Campanile, which will close later this year, clearly played... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES / salving a craving for Chili Con Carne on a heart-healthy diet
By Larry Levine – One of the things I was told, with great emphasis, as I recovered from my quadruple coronary bypass surgery four years ago, was “no more Mexican restaurants”. That one hurt. I love Mexican food. You can read about how this got started in... Read More
A FISH MONGER’S EXPERT TIPS ON THE SAFE HANDLING OF FISH AT HOME
By Jim Oswalt – (Jim Oswalt is the owner of Gemini Fish Market in Issaquah Washington) I had an incident recently in which I didn’t practice what I preach and the result was catastrophic. Not only did I destroy a bag of beautiful and limited spot prawns, but it took... Read More
WHO? WHAT? WHERE?
Contest #2 The photo at the right could have been taken at any of 654 locations in the U.S. and Japan. Tell us what it is – not where, just what – and become eligible to win a copy of the food memoir Mediterranean Summer, autographed by the author. The... Read MoreLET’S TALK DELI / stop claiming what’s new is old
By Larry Levine – Let’s talk deli – Jewish deli. It will be a discussion inspired by the latest edition of Bon Appetit. The cover of the September issue touts: “Holy pastrami. The Jewish deli is back.” That’s more than enough to pique my curiosity and send me... Read More
THE VIRGIN FRYER AND GRILLED SHRIMP DISASTER
By Larry Levine – Fried chicken? Grilled shrimp? What’s going on here? I don’t fry. I don’t grill. Or I didn’t fry. I gave up deep frying many years ago. I never could figure out what to do with all that used cooking oil. I didn’t grill either. I don’t like the... Read MoreWHO? WHAT? WHERE?
We have a winner. It’s Ed Jackson of Culver City California. He correctly identified the photo as Scandia, the iconic Sunset Strip restaurant. Ed used to work a couple of blocks from Scandia before it closed. He drank Aquavit at the bar. Contest #2 will go up in... Read More
ON THE MERITS OF MELONS
By Larry Levine – There’s something they do in Italy that rivals the quality of the tomatoes grown there: they grow great cantaloupes. Is it the water? The soil? The absence of factory farmed, engineered produce? Is it pride of heritage? Is it that consumers... Read More
REMEMBERING DAVID SHAW / a hot dog retrospective
By Larry Levine – It couldn’t be said that we were close friends. What tied us together were our love of food and journalism; our friendship existed mostly in emails and phone conversations about those two subjects. We were two guys who dined in many of the... Read More
THE GREAT CANNED TUNA HEIST / robbery at the checkout stand, outrage in the courts
By Larry Levine – If a hungry homeless person walked into a supermarket and got caught pocketing a couple of cans of tuna, it would be jail time. If a desperate head of family, whose unemployment benefits had run out walked into a supermarket with a fake gun and... Read More
THE ALLURE OF THE ELUSIVE PERFECT ROASTED CHICKEN
By Larry Levine – There’s something wondrous about a whole roasted chicken sitting in all its golden glory on a carving board. To the eye or the camera lens it’s an icon of culinary perfection, the stuff of food magazine covers, usually surrounded by a colorful... Read More
125 YEARS OF KOSHER DILL PICKLES / a link that joins the generations
By Larry Levine – There are things that join the generations in a continuum that gives meaning to existence, things that are handed down from grandparents to parents and on to offspring and grandchildren. They are the things that tell us we come from someplace and... Read More
GADGETS AND GIZMOS TO CLUTTER A KITCHEN
By Larry Levine – You know that drawer in your kitchen that’s so stuffed with stuff that you have trouble opening it? The one where you have jammed in all manner of gadgets and gizmos through the years. The one you have to reach into and start to empty things... Read More
LAWSUIT SEEKS TO HALT ENFORCEMENT OF CALIFORNIA LAW THAT RESULTS IN BAN OF FOIE GRAS AND OTHER DUCK PRODUCTS
By Larry Levine – A lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Los Angeles seeks to enjoin enforcement of state legislation that has driven foie gras off the menus of restaurants in California and threatens the same fate for other duck products. Plaintiffs in... Read More
IN QUEST OF A SUBSTITUTE FOR FOIE GRAS / desperation sets in after just two days
By Larry Levine – Chickens go “cluck” and ducks go “quack”. Any two year old knows that. Or in the case of my brilliant grand daughter, any 20 month old. But what if you tried to substitute a chicken’s liver for a duck’s as... Read More
IS THERE AN AG WATER SHORTAGE, OR ARE THOSE ROADSIDE SIGNS ALL WET?
By Larry Levine – California agriculture seems to have a serious problem. Given the evidence witnessed during a recent drive through the state’s Central Valley on Interstate 5, it would seem to be a potentially fatal problem. Many of the signs read: “Stop the... Read More
THE RESTAURANT REVIEW EXTORTION RACKET / how the internet has spawned some really bad actors
By Larry Levine – We’ve known it’s been happening for a long time and now a report in the Sacramento Bee confirms it. In an important story for those who dine out Timothy Sandoval tells of an attempt by a customer to extort favors from a restaurant owner... Read More
RADIATION IN THE FOOD SUPPLY / how many “harmless” little doses does it take to make a big, harmful dose
By Larry Levine – Don’t worry. The amount of cesium in that radioactive Pacific blue fin tuna caught off the coast of Southern California is no more than what you would get from the potassium in a banana. That was supposed to reassure us about our next visit to... Read More
CHERRIES / little bundles of flavor and more
By Larry Levine – It was a tree and it grew in Brooklyn. But it had nothing to do with the 1943 novel by Betty Smith. This tree was in the back yard of a two-story red brick apartment building at 311 E. 92nd St., where my grandparents lived. David and Lena... Read MoreKITCHEN QUICKIES / a visit with an old friend, Ground Beef Scramble
By Larry Levine – Years ago, when I was a bachelor living with roommates in a house in the hills above Glendale, the kitchen was my turf. I made dinners for the three of us most nights and had stuff in the freezer for nights when I wasn’t going to be home. I developed... Read More
THE CALIFORNIA FOIE GRAS BATTLE / It isn’t a ban, you just can’t get it
By Larry Levine – Foie gras in Paris … what a delicious notion. It had been on my mind all day and it was very much there as the taxi pulled to the curb on the busy Avenue des Champs-Élysées. From a block away the lights of the Arc de Triomphe danced on the... Read More
THE FUTILE QUEST FOR TASTY AIRLINE FOOD / 78 years of trying and they can’t get it right
By Larry Levine – Suppose you went to the most upscale restaurant in your city, one with a couple of Michelin stars on the wall. You order the most expensive, tasty and elaborate meal on the menu. You put it in a plastic box, shrink wrapped it and flash freeze... Read More
A SUSHI LOVERS’ GUIDE TO SURVIVAL IN TOUGH TIMES
By Larry Levine -It’s been a tough 13 months or so for sushi lovers. First, the Fukushima nuclear power plant poured radioactive iodine and cesium into the ocean off the coast of Japan. Anything that lived or swam in those waters – things like Japanese uni, saba... Read More
DESTINATION ITALY / dining tips to anchor your trip
By Larry Levine – There are two truisms about dining in Italy: 1) all food is regional, and 2) it’s almost impossible to get a bad meal. In Italy regional can mean city-to-city, or even neighborhood-to-neighborhood. Take tortellini en brodo for instance. I... Read More
LESSONS FROM FUKUSHIMA / the nuclear threat to California’s agriculture and the world’s food supply
One reactor at the San Onofre nuclear power plant on the coast of Orange County in Southern California has been shut down since January because of the discovery of hundreds of leaky and corrroded pipes, many of which were installed just two months earlier. In... Read More
TRADITIONAL GEFILTE FISH FROM THE OLD COUNTRY
By Larry Levine – One of my most prized culinary possessions is a recipe for Gefilte Fish in my mother’s own handwriting. Mom made Gefilte Fish twice a year and served it as an appetizer for the Passover and Rosh Hashanah holiday dinners. A couple of weeks... Read More
ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU EVER WOULD WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SALMON ON YOUR PLATE
By Larry Levine – “Tomorrow should be a freakin’ holiday! It’s one of the most important days in my calendar every year! Tomorrow the world’s finest salmon will grace Gemini Fish Market with its first presence of 2012!” That was the... Read More
PORTABLE EDIBLES / do indigenous dishes lose something in transit, or is it us
By Larry Levine – You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy. Or in my case, you can take the boy out of Brooklyn … But what happens when you take the Chicago Dog out of Chicago, or the baguette out of Paris, or the... Read More
CHEFS, NOT BABES / how we sell cars in the 21st century
By Larry Levine – While in college, Joyce earned spending money as a model at car shows. Manufacturers and dealers hired her to stand beside their cars in a swim suit and heels. Her job was to look lovely, smile and hand literature about the cars to men who stopped... Read More
MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THESE / 12 memorable meals from the year gone by
By Larry Levine – “You’re lucky, eating so many great meals in great restaurants.” I hear statements like that frequently from people who assume I created a restaurant web site (atLarrys.com) and this online food magazine as an excuse to eat great meals in great... Read More
ON THE GO / SACRAMENTO – a wonderful destination for a celebration, some great restaurants and outstanding sightseeing
By Larry Levine – It was a perfect celebration for a food lover – four days in Sacramento commemorating two significant events and eating at four memorable restaurants. The original purpose of the trip was to celebrate Jennifer’s birthday with our son Lloyd, his... Read More
LOUVAR – a fish you may never taste, or even see
By Larry Levine – “Perhaps one of the most prized and sought after fish on the West Coast, a fish shrouded in much mystery …” “… the best fish I ever tasted.” “Buttery, but not rich … A slight crunch like halibut fin … Smooth texture, no gristle …” These quotes... Read More
THE YEAR IN REVIEW / What were the most popular articles of 2011 & what lies ahead
By Larry Levine – First, a great big “thank you” to everyone who has become part of our Table Talk family and clicked in to read the sometimes serious, sometimes humorous and hopefully informative articles we published in 2011. It boggles my mind to realize this... Read More
SUMMER BARBECUE FLAVORS TO LAST THROUGH THE CHILL OF WINTER / recipes to tide you over to spring
By Larry Levine – Summer is long gone – a faded rose, as the song says – and now autumn is behind us, too. Even in sunny southern California we face the chills of winter and the early sunsets. Outdoor grills and barbecues are put away, while we wait for spring,... Read More
FEAST OF THE 7 FISHES / In memory of Jim Tabilio
(We first published this article in January 2011 – a bit late for the 2010 holiday season but we found it warm and tender. Marika Tabilio is the daughter of the late Jim Tabilio, who was one of the original co-hosts at the restaurant recommendation web site... Read More
BUT I STILL LOVE TO EAT / the journey back from the operating table to the dinner table / Chapter 11 / THE HANGMAN SENDS HIS EVIL TWIN
(This book and the commitment to healthful eating are works in progress. This is the final chapter of the first draft of the book.) By Larry Levine – For 23 months after the hangman visited and told me of the dangerous situation regarding my coronary arteries, I was... Read More37 QUINTESSENTIAL RESTAURANTS FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA
By Larry Levine – What is the quintessential restaurant in San Francisco? How about Los Angeles? Sacramento? San Diego? New York? Chicago? Boston? We put those questions to the co-hosts of our sister web site – www.atLarrys.com, where we do restaurant... Read More
IRKS, PEEVES AND IRRITANTS FROM THE WORLD OF RESTAURANT DINING / what really bothers you?
By Larry Levine – At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, I want to devote a few paragraphs to a discussion of some of the things that can and do go wrong in a restaurant and things that become either pet peeves, major irritants, or just downright... Read More
IT STARTED WITH TAPAS / how small plates swept the nation
By Larry Levine – It started with tapas. About 10 or 11 years ago the Spanish appetizers hit the shores of the U.S. in a big way and quickly spread across the nation. First it was a spate of tapas restaurants. They did so well that other restaurants felt pressure to... Read MoreFROM ACROSS THE POND / a travel journal
(Jennifer and I spent two weeks in the south of England and then in Paris in the fall of 2011. This journal, posted on a daily basis, followed our travels, with a definite emphasis on the culinary.) By Larry Levine – November 4-5, 2011 The real hero of this trip... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES / Cooler weather means it’s hot and hearty comfort food time
By Larry Levine – I’m not a fan of winter. When the daytime temperature drops below 65, or it even looks like it might rain, I want to hibernate – lock the doors and windows and stay indoors. Like so many others, the reason I live in Los Angeles has a lot to do with... Read More
atLARRYS.COM CELEBRATES 2nd ANNIVERSARY / visitors in 52 countries have looked the restaurant recommendations
By Larry Levine – Our sister web site, atLarrys.com, where you turn for restaurant recommendations, celebrates its second anniversary today (October 6, 2011) and what a two years it has been. Since it was launched, atLarrys.com has drawn visitors from 1,245... Read More
A DELICIOUS DESTINATION FOR A MAGICAL TRYST (or just a great get-away) – Try the Chateau du Sureau and Erna’s Elderberry House
By Larry Levine – Ever think of this one: the difference between tryst and trust is just one letter? Neither did I, not until Jennifer and I spent a few days at Chateau du Sureau and dined three consecutive nights at Erna’s Elderberry House in Oakhurst CA. The Chateau... Read More
A DAY IN CALIFORNIA’S AMADOR COUNTY WINE COUNTRY – A guide to a wonderful wine and dine experience
By Larry Levine – It was one of those moments – a brief exchange with content far beyond the few words spoken. We were at Girl and the Goat in Chicago, perched on stools at the bar and chatting with the couple seated next to us. When they learned we were heading... Read More
A FOOD LOVERS’ JOURNEY – Eating like a local in Toronto
By Larry Levine – (The 6th and final article in a series – A Food Lovers’ Journey) It’s better than a traveler’s guide book, better than a restaurant rating books, better than one of those web sites that allow everyone and anyone to post opinions about where to eat... Read More
HOW BIG IS IT?
It’s not the size of the menu that counts; it’s what’s on the menu. We came across this sign on a restaurant in Mariposa, CA. Made us wonder if there was a contest, how many entries, who judged it and if size matters.. – LL Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY / NUTTY FOOD RULES – Can’t do a rare burger, but steak tartare is fine
Larry Levine — (Number 5 in a series – A Food Lover’s Journey) Today’s topic is nutty food laws. The inspiration: two weeks in the province of Ontario Canada. It began when our friend Dan ordered a hamburger cooked to medium rare for lunch one day in... Read More
FUN WITH EPICUREAN EUPHEMISMS – Does it matter what we call it if it tastes good
Juliet’s Balcony – Verona, Italy By Larry Levine – “That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” Great thought. Lots of with wisdom. But could Juliet possibly have been thinking of bulls’ testicles or the thymus gland of... Read MoreRESTAURANT OF THE WEEK – Nancy’s Airport Cafe
By Larry Levine – Farmers, ranchers, hunters, big rig drivers and an occasional traveler fortunate enough to stumble on the place … That’s who you’ll find at Nancy’s Airport Café in Willows CA. And befitting the crowd, the portions are hefty, the food is great... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY / BOB’S BIG BOY DOUBLE-DECKER HAMBURGER – We found a Southern California institution by a highway in Michigan
By Larry Levine – (Number 4 in a series of articles – A Food Lover’s Journey) It was a 1950s ritual: lines of teenagers in cars waiting to park and eat in the car hop service area of a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant. The lines were longest on Friday nights during... Read MoreKITCHEN QUICKIES – Stuck for an idea? Pasta with shrimp and tomatoes to the rescue
By Larry Levine – I don’t recall it ever having happened before. I stood there just inside the entrance to Gelson’s Market with absolutely no idea of what I wanted to eat or cook for dinner. Usually, when I enter the market I have at least a vague notion of... Read MoreRESTAURANT OF THE WEEK – Biba
By Larry Levine – As Sacramento has grown into an outstanding restaurant town, Biba has remained a mainstay, attracting a loyal local following that includes many of the state’s political and governmental leaders. Biba is one of my two favorite restaurants in... Read More
RADIOACTIVE ALBACORE TUNA FROM FUKUSHIMA ARE ARRIVING IN U.S. WATERS – How great is the risk to you?
By Larry Levine – Those schools of Pacific albacore tuna that were swimming around off the coast of Japan in the weeks following the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster are starting to arrive along the northwest coast of the U.S. and they are beginning to... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY / ZINGERMAN’S DELICATESSEN, ANN ARBOR, MICHGAN – It asks the question: when is a deli a deli?
By Larry Levine – (Number 3 in a series of articles – A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY.) As a place to find excellent Jewish rye bread, Zingerman’s sets a high standard. As a place to select from an impressive assortment of cheeses and a variety of specialty... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY – Neon green relish, the Girl and The Goat, and Wrigley Field hot dogs … it must be Chicago
By Larry Levine — (This is the second in a series of articles tracking a three-week summertime journey from Los Angeles California to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and back.) REPORTING FROM CHICAGO – I never really thought of Chicago in terms of food until we... Read More
PERFECT YELLOW FIN TUNA OR UNIQUE MANGALITSA PIG – What would you pay for a once-in-a-lifetime meal?
By Larry Levine – Would you shell out $500 for dinner – alcohol not included – if you had a money-back guarantee it would be the best meal you ever ate? How about $750? $1,000? What’s the most you ever paid for a pound of tuna fish – sashimi grade? Would you pay... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S JOURNEY — Train Travel in the USA
(This is the first in a series of articles tracking a three-week summertime journey from Los Angeles California to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and back.) By Larry Levine – Remember those old movies that glamorized train travel, where men in jackets and ties and... Read More
HOW TO MAKE AN OMELETTE FOR ANY MEAL – It’s Easy! All you need is a stove top, an omelette pan and an idea
By Larry Levine – There are only three things you need to become kitchen royalty when it comes to omelettes – a stove top, an omelette pan and an idea. Omelettes come from ideas, not from recipes. And even though they appear most frequently in the breakfast... Read More
SAY, WHAT?
“The seasonal American menu will feature cured meats, pasta, artisanal pizzas and fresh breads.” That’s a sentence from an L.A. Times article of June 22, 2011, announcing the opening of a new restaurant. Pasta, pizza, prosciutto and mortadella are consumed by... Read More
PORK MEAT CUTS AND THE FALL OF QUALITY – a Cook’s Illustrated article explores pork cuts and pork fat content, including taste tests
By Larry Levine – Cook’s Illustrated has a terrific article on pork meat and pork products in a teaser edition I received this week designed to entice me into a subscription. It struck a nerve – a raw nerve. I love pork meat, but in recent years I’ve been shying... Read More
MY MOST MEMORABLE MEAL – Is there such a thing as the Best Restaurant or the Best Meal?
By Larry Levine – The notion that something is “the best” of anything gives me pause. Of all the hundreds of pizza joints in which I’ve eaten, how can I know which was the best? Is it possible to recall the taste of every rack of ribs, or plate of foie gras, or... Read More
FOOD BOOK REVIEW – “Save the Deli”
By Larry Levine – “Save the Deli” by David Sax tracks the history of Ashkenazi Jews – the plight they faced as they were chased around the globe, scapegoated, killed and survived for hundreds of years. And it is the story of the food they took with them... Read More
MUSSO AND FRANK GRILL – Where history meets the future in Hollwyood
By Larry Levine – It began innocently enough: Jennifer and I had dinner at Musso and Frank Grill in Hollywood a few months ago. When we got home, I informed my facebook friends of the latest wonderful meal we just had at this legendary restaurant. It quickly... Read MoreAND THE WINNERS ARE – Who is turning out great bagels?
By Larry Levine — So, who is turning out the best bagels of our time? It’s a tough one to test in a blind tasting because you want all the bagels to be same day fresh – just hours out of the oven if you can. I gathered 10 friends at our home one recent Sunday... Read More
BAGELS AREN’T JEWISH ANY MORE
By Larry Levine — What’s your favorite kind of bagel? Strawberry? Sun dried tomato? Pumpernickel? Garlic? Or are you more traditional? Plain? Onion? Sesame seed? One thing has become clear: Bagels are multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-national. Bagels... Read More
EXCITING CHANGES AND NEWS ON OUR 1ST ANNIVERSARY
Table Talk atLarrys.com – your online food magazine – is one year old and we want to brag about some of our successes and tell you of changes that will make the magazine even more interesting and attractive in the year ahead. The actual anniversary of the launch of... Read MoreTHE LOBSTER – Restaurant of the Week
By Larry Levine – It’s spring time in Southern California and that means the beach, the sun, the surf and dinners on the coast. And at The Lobster in Santa Monica it’s all about seafood. There are a few other items on the menu, but this bustling place is all... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Fish Balls (and no smart A#! remarks)
FISH BALLS OK. Go ahead. Get the smart a#! remarks out of your system. If halibut and beef have cheeks, if chickens have fingers, if pork has tenders, why can’t fish have balls? Meat has balls, so why not fish? In a Jewish household it’s called gefilte fish; the... Read More
KIDS IN RESTAURANTS & CELL PHONES, TOO
By Larry Levine – What do you do when the kid three tables over in the restaurant is banging his or her fork or spoon on the glass table top? Or kicking his or her heels against the wood under the banquet in a thunderous quest for attention? And the parents are... Read More
COVERUP – The Dirty Secret of Our Radioactive Food Chain
By Larry Levine – Schools of Pacific albacore tuna will start to reach the northwest shores of the United States late this summer at the end of a long journey that is beginning near the coast of Japan just about now. The migration will continue into late fall... Read MoreMITCHELL’S ICE CREAM – Restaurant of the Week
By Tony Fazio – I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. I have a thing for really good ice cream. When I was a little boy, my grandmother would make homemade ice cream with fresh fruit. I have been searching for the best ice cream ever since. In San... Read More
WILL YOUR SUSHI GLOW IN THE DARK – What the Japanese Nuclear Power Accident Means to You
By Larry Levine – A man walks into a sushi bar and asks, “Where is your uni from?” That’s not the start of a joke. It’s the start of a dirty secret brought to mind by the fallout from the Japanese nuclear power plant disasters. I’ve been known to eat sushi four or... Read More
AN INTRODUCTION TO KOREAN DINING
By Larry Levine – I can make my way through the menus of most ethnic restaurants. Chinese, Japanese, Thai – no problem. French – with a little effort. Spanish or Mexican – fairly easy. Italian – I ordered in Italy in restaurants where no one spoke English. But when it... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Shrimp & Scallops Chow Mein
By Larry Levine – Before I was released from the hospital after my quadruple coronary bypass surgery in 2008 I was told, among other things, to stay out of Chinese recipes because of the high sodium content of the food. Chinese food had been a favorite of mine... Read More
PHILIPPE vs. COLE’S – A Down Town French Dip Showdown
By Larry Levine – Los Angeles gets a bad rap when it comes to preservation of historical icons. The locals bring it on themselves with their crusades for landmark status for the original golden arches or the oldest remaining Bob’s Big Boy restaurant. On the... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Poached Salmon
By Larry Levine – The season for great, northwest wild caught salmon is just around the corner. I’m in Issaquah Washington as I write this and two nights ago our son John prepared a wonderful dinner of troll caught white king salmon on a bed of a spinach salad.... Read More
WHY ARE SOME EGGS BROWN & answers to other of life’s great mysteries
By Larry Levine – Why are some eggs brown and some white? Are brown eggs healthier to eat? What can you tell from a chicken’s ear lobes? Are eggs still taboo because of the cholesterol content? How do you know if an egg is still fresh? What does the “sell by”... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Chicken Fricassee
By Larry Levine – Sometimes something magic happens to an old recipe. I’ve been making chicken fricassee at home for decades. Recently I made a mistake at the super market and bought a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of just plain old Roma... Read MoreThe Buttonwillow Taco Truck – Restaurant of the Week
On Feb. 16, 2011, Jim Tabilio died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 59. This taco truck was one of Jim’s original recommendations at http://www.atLarrys.com By Jim Tabilio – I spend a lot of time on I-5 between the Bay Area/Sacramento and Los Angeles.... Read More
SALT RANT II – The difference between a fast food restaurant and the drug pusher on the corner is one can advertise on TV
By Larry Levine – Not too long ago Table Talk atLarrys.com published an article that asked if the great chef’s of the world are trying to kill us by over-salting the food they serve. We pointed not just to the salt in the food itself but also to the growing fad of... Read MoreVIVACE – Restaurant of the Week
By Larry Levine – This resort has everything. Plush rooms, breath-taking views of the lagoon and the ocean, an Arnold Palmer designed golf course, a top notch spa, and Vivace, a restaurant that’s worth a visit whether you are staying at the resort or not. Just... Read More
CAMBRIA, Where the Dining Scene Has Kicked Up Several Notches
By Larry Levine – Cambria – the one on the Central Coast of California, not the one in Australia – is the perfect place for a long-weekend get-away. Whether coming from Southern California, the Bay Area or the Central Valley, it’s a convenient distance – just... Read MoreCHUNG KING – Restaurant of the Week
By Gail Block and Elias Davis – Chung King, a Sichuan restaurant in Monterey Park, was included in a 2006 New York Times piece by Mark Bittman about the best Chinese restaurants in Southern California – years after Jonathan Gold of the L.A. Weekly and a host of... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Linguini with shrimp
By Larry Levine – Whoever invented pasta, shrimp and tomatoes must have had a 9 to 5 job. Give me a nice fresh tomato, some jumbo shrimp and a pantry well stocked with pastas and other basics and I can walk in the door and have you sitting down to eat in a... Read More
SLOW FOOD / LOCALLY SOURCED – But is it healthful
By Larry Levine – “Slow food” – A cute slogan designed to represent the antithesis of fast food, aka junk food. “Locally sourced” – A slogan that imparts a message of environmental friendliness. “Farmers’ Markets” – They’re promoted as places... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – London Broil
By Larry Levine – When Jennifer and I both were working and our two sons were in school, dinners in a rush were a way of life. If one of the boys got home before us we would ask that they turn the meat in the marinade when they got home and take it out of the... Read More900 GRAYSON – Restaurant of the Week
By Larry Sheingold – We asked Gene Agress of Berkeley Mills for a lunch recommendation. He pointed toward the long block of parking lots and storefronts across from his furniture showroom and started telling us about two brothers with San Francisco French... Read More
RESTAURANT REDUX – 32 Restaurants to do Again in 2011
By Larry Levine – It sounded like a simple request. I asked the co-hosts at the restaurant web site atLarrys.com, to name meals or restaurants they enjoyed in 2010 that they would like to reprise in 2011. I asked for three top-of-the-head instinctive responses.... Read MoreOBSERVATIONS ON ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND FOOD WRITING
(Recent events created a discussion of some of the difficult issues involved in food writing and restaurant reviewing. This article delves into some of those issues.) By Larry Levine – With some regularity, people tell me how much they would like to be doing what I’m... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Jennifer’s Baked Spaghetti with Garden Sauce
By Larry Levine – Jennifer doesn’t like to cook. However, early in our marriage, while I was working to establish myself in a new career and our two sons were not yet in school full time, Jennifer did most of the cooking. It was during that time that she... Read More
SECRETS TO KEEPING FRUIT AND VEGGIES FRESH
By Larry Levine – There’s an old saying that you’ll learn more by keeping your mouth shut and your ears open. Turns out keeping your eyes open works pretty well, too, as I learned when we returned from a recent vacation. While away, I emailed our house sitter... Read More
MORE ONLINE EDIBLES
By Larry Levine – (Cheeses and meats, sauces and treats, and so much more. Another in what is becoming a series of articles about online shopping for specialty food products.) Back in July, Larry Sheingold published a piece at Table Talk atLarrys.com titled... Read MoreANGELINI OSTERIA – Restaurant of the Week
By Larry Levine – Angelini Osteria is two different restaurants – a bustling, noisy place with great food at dinner and a more sedate, relaxed place with great food for lunch. I can’t explain why Jennifer and I hadn’t visited Angelini years ago. It was among the... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Oh, Those Golden Pork Chops
By Larry Levine – This is another recipe that is a by-product of my desire to continue to eat well after by coronary bypass surgery. I’m a meat eater – not necessarily beef, but definitely pork and lamb. While I was at home healing I browsed through every... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Portabello Mushrooms with Shrimp and Roux
By Larry Levine – I got the inspiration for this recipe while reading a collection of Johnny Apple’s food writings in the book “Far Flung and Well Fed.” Johnny was one of the nation’s leading political reporters for the New York Times for several decades. He... Read More
WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEARS EVE?
By Larry Levine – What are you doing New Years, New Years Eve? That’s the refrain from an old song. It’s also a question you should start to think about now if you haven’t already done so. Even in this down economy, New Years Eve tends to loosen up people and... Read More
TURKEY – THE DAYS AFTER
By Larry Levine – I love turkey leftovers almost as much as I love turkey dinners. That’s why I always buy the biggest bird I can find. When the kids were young and living at home, picking over the carcass the day after Thanksgiving was anticipated for weeks.... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Black Beans and Rice with Chicken
By Larry Levine – After my quadruple coronary bypass surgery on July 4, 2008, doctors told me I need to be on a low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium diet the rest of my life. Once I got over the fear that this would mean eating cardboard forevermore, I set about... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Poached chicken thighs with morel mushroom sauce
By Larry Levine – This is one of the most satisfying recipes I’ve ever created because it started from absolute nothingness. One morning Jennifer said, “I feel like something chickeny for dinner.” I knew I didn’t feel like doing one of my... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Stir Fry on the Fly
By Larry Levine – Jennifer was in Sacramento for the birth of our grand daughter Alise when I came up with this recipe. It was a very busy, pre-election time in my office – one of the few times of the year when food fades to the recesses of my mind. I didn’t... Read More
KITCHEN QUICKIES – Curry in a Hurry
By Larry Levine – It happened a long time ago – maybe 25 years ago – but I remember it clearly. I walked into the store around the corner to order some frozen yogurt to take home after dinner. The clerk eyed me and asked, “What have you been cooking?” It was the first... Read More
ARE THE GREAT CHEFS TRYING TO KILL US?
By Larry Levine – Three dishes sent back to the kitchen at restaurants I’ve long enjoyed … all in the last month and all for the same reason – too much salt. First it was grilled loup de mer with asparagus and sautéed baby... Read More
CHICKEN SOUP – It Really Works
By Larry Levine – It’s jokingly called Jewish penicillin, but it’s no joke. The name is well-deserved because it helps cure not just the common cold but also all manner of other maladies, including flu and chest congestion. It’s chicken soup. There are generations of... Read MoreBRAD’S – Restaurant of the Week – 10/4/10
By Lenn Grabiner – A few years ago, I was watching Bobby Flay do a show on clams. Did I mention I love clams? He spotlighted a number of places that boasted unusual preparations of this humble mollusk. The one that caught my attention?: BBQ’d Buffalo Clams... Read More
Food Book Review – Far Flung and Well Fed
By Larry Levine – Where to start? It’s about food; it’s about restaurants; it’s about diverse cultures; it’s about the people who cook food, grow food, raise food, appreciate food, earn their livings from food and in other ways make food a vital part of their... Read More
SACRAMENTO – CALIFORNIA’S OTHER GREAT RESTAURANT TOWN
By Larry Levine – When the conversation turns to great restaurant towns, Los Angeles and San Francisco are the two California cities most commonly mentioned. But there’s a third city that is rapidly rising to rival the big two. It’s Sacramento – the state... Read Morede’ MEDICI CUCINA ITALIANA – Restaurant of the Week – 9/19/10
By Larry Levine – Right in the heart of the very touristy Gaslamp District of San Diego sits this outstanding throwback to 1950s and 1960s style Italian restaurants – captains as well as waiters, high back booths, and a menu that could have been written in the... Read MoreBAKED BRISKET OF BEEF
By Larry Levine – 1 Brisket of beef, point end or about 1/2 lb per person 2 Tbls Olive oil Onion powder Paprika 2 brown onions, sliced 2 carrots, sliced 2 celery stalks, with leafs, diced 1 cup water 1 cup red wine Trim surface fat from meat. Trim most of... Read MoreMEMORIES OF FAMILY DINNERS GONE BY
By Larry Levine – There’ll be no house full of people for a holiday dinner once again this year. Those times and those memories are part of a very warmly recalled past. Tonight is the first night of Rosh Hashanah, and while our family has never been... Read MoreWAS IT AN ORGY OR AN ODYSSEY?
Ryan Prosser pictured above, with his aunt Jennifer Levine and uncle Larry Levine at Biba in Sacramento. By Larry Levine – 33 restaurants in 23 days. They ranged from the best Michelin star dining establishment in the state to a malt shop. Was it an orgy or any... Read MoreA FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 18
By Larry Levine – Any time you come back from a 22-day vacation at the exact weight at which you left, that part of the trip is a success, especially when one purpose of the trip was to write about great food and meals you discovered along the way. Well, I made it. I... Read MoreRUMANIAN EGGPLANT SALAD
By Larry Levine This recipe has been in my family for well more than 100 years. My mother got it from her mother, who brought it with her when she emigrated from Rumania in the late 1890s. How long it had been in her family before that is beyond knowing. 1 Eggplant,... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 17
By Larry Levine Sally Tanner and Pat Hofstetter are two women of extraordinary accomplishment. Now in their 80s, they will be spending the first half of next week fishing for salmon on the Rogue River in Oregon. Sally is a former member of the California State... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 16
By Larry Levine Jennifer and I once stood in the center of Union Square in San Francisco and couldn’t see a Starbuck’s Coffee shop in any direction. I phoned my son John, who used to work at Starbuck’s headquarters in Seattle, and said, “I’m standing on the only spot... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 15
By Larry Levine It was an act borne of utter desperation. I asked the young woman who checked us into the Holiday Inn Express in Grants Pass Oregon for the best restaurant in town. She immediately answered, “Taprock Northwest Grill, on 6th near the river.” “What about... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 14 – 7/26/10
By Larry Levine If every neighborhood had a fish market like the one Jim Oswalt runs in Issaquah Washington the U.S. would be a healthier nation because more people would eat more fish on a regular basis. Issaquah is about 20 minutes southeast of Seattle Washington.... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 13
By Larry Levine – I don’t know of a better town for oysters than Seattle. It’s not that there aren’t good oysters in other places. Gulf coast oysters were excellent before the oil spill. Now, we’ll have to wait and see. I first tasted them at Acme Seafood in New... Read More
A COME BACK FOR THE PERFECT MANHATTAN
By Larry Levine – Try as I may, I can’t recall when and where I learned to drink Manhattan’s. I know it wasn’t from my parents. They drank gin martini’s – always with extra olives, which they gave to my sisters, who were too young to drink. What I do know is... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 12
By Larry Levine – It’s probably the silliest thing I’ve seen on this entire trip. But tonight I picked up a brochure for Chez World Cooking School – Fairbank’s Newest Attraction. I did this on the way back from a dinner of over-cooked, tough Alaskan halibut. On the... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 11
By Larry Levine – Denali Natural Park and Reserve is not about food. There are no edible fish in the local rivers and streams, which are largely fed by glaciers that carry too much sediment into the water. The local growing season lasts only about 100 days. The... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 10
By Larry Levine – There is no one home in Dixie tonight. They are all up here with us in Denali National Park in Alaska. They come from Louisiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Texas and just about everywhere else that people speak southern. Funny thing is when we... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 9
By Larry Levine – “Alaskans like to eat.” So spoke Anna, the driver who steered our bus from Anchorage to Talkeetna this afternoon after I asked if we should eat at the Lodge or go into town. Town in this case is 500 people and the shuttle from the Lodge stops running... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 8
By Larry Levine – There are a hundred reasons or more why I’m glad I turned to the business of political campaigning some 40+ years ago. Many of those reasons have to do with the people I call colleagues in this business. And tonight that list it topped by Maggie... Read MoreA FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 7
By Larry Levine – OK. Now we’re talkin’. This is what I came for – local seafood that could only be fresher if we dove to the bottom of the ocean to eat it. I should have listened to Jennifer in the first place. Not Jennifer, my wife, to whom. I listen all the time.... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 6
By Larry Levine – Once we finished taking our country away from the British 227 years ago, we set about the task of appropriating some of their ways and customs, which we then adapted to our own purposes and tastes and offered to the world our way. Two such... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 5
By Larry Levine – I can’t get fresh springer (coho) salmon in Los Angeles fish markets and I can find it in restaurants only rarely. So, I probably should not complain that it was pink springer instead of white that I had for dinner tonight. It was still very... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 4
By Larry Levine – Where to start? The smoked heirloom tomato soup? The Saltspring Island clams and Mussels? The Petrale Sole? The fresh whole Dungeness crab? The locally-produced Nicole pinot gregio? We crossed the threshold today as we ferried from Seattle to... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 3
By Larry Levine – Ponder these: what makes some people out and out foodies while others eat simply for fuel, and why are so many people in the world of political campaigning devoted foodies? These questions ran through my mind today as we motored north from Salem... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 2
Chapter Two – July 10, 2010 – A FOOD LOVER’S TREK tracks the travels of Table Talk editor Larry Levine and his wife Jennifer as they make their way by auto, ferry, plane and train from Los Angeles to Fairbanks Alaska and back. A new chapter will be published every day... Read More
A FOOD LOVER’S TREK – Chapter 1
Chapter One – July 9, 2010 – A FOOD LOVER’S TREK tracks the travels of Table Talk editor Larry Levine and his wife Jennifer as they make their way by auto, ferry, plane and train from Los Angeles to Fairbanks Alaska and back. A new chapter will be published every day... Read More
WHEN THE BEEF MEETS THE BUN
By Larry Levine – Ask someone to name his or her favorite burger restaurant and no matter what the answer, someone else will throw out the name of a place they like better. Then there’s the debate over which is the preferred meet for a burger – Angus, Chuck, or... Read More
I HAVE GRILLED
By Larry Levine – I’ve taken a lot of ribbing (pun intended) since I disclosed a couple of weeks ago that I don’t have a barbecue at home and I don’t like to barbecue because I never have and never intend to deal with cleaning up the ashes of the burnt coals or... Read More
QUATTRO ITALIANA
By Larry Levine – From south to north California boasts some outstanding Italian restaurants. As you travel the state this summer, you may want to consider a stop at one or more of the following. In the Brooklyn neighborhood, where I spent the first decade of my... Read More
MELISSE – Restaurant of the Week – 6/14/10
By Larry Levine – Jennifer and I loved Melisse long before Michelin discovered it and hung two stars on the wall. It’s not just one of my two current favorite California restaurants, it ranks up there alongside many of the other great spots I’ve enjoyed through... Read More
HAS TV FOOD PROGRAMMING GONE ASTRAY
By Larry Levine – I think Jacques Pepin’s weekly program is the best cooking show on television. He doesn’t compete with anyone, or chop anyone. No reality contests, or hopscotch travels through diners and dives; no tours of bar-b-que joints, or endless... Read More
SANTA MARIA BARBECUE
By Larry Levine The City of Santa Maria on the central coast of California is well known for Santa Maria Barbecue. There are many restaurants and barbecue stands throughout the downtown area. The basic Santa Maria Barbecue is tri-tip beef. But there also are chicken... Read More
GRILL, BABY, GRILL
By Larry Levine – It’s barbecue season and I feel lonely. According to the latest Weber GrillWatch Survey, 75% of Americans own an outdoor barbecue grill and about 33% of them own two or more. Gas continues to be the most popular type of outdoor grill – 67%.... Read More
Food Book Review – Makerel at Midnight
By Larry Levine – The full title is Mackerel at Midnight – Growing up Jewish on a Remote Scottish Island. It’s written by Ethel G. Hofman, a syndicated food journalist, cookbook author and past president of the International Association of Culinary... Read More
TO VEAL, OR NOT TO VEAL
By Larry Levine – Jennifer won’t eat veal. It’s an ethical issue for her. She’s seen the photos and documentaries about how the animals are raised. I don’t have any such problems. To me veal is part of the food chain. I love veal – a great veal chop served at... Read MoreTAVERN OFF THE GREEN
By Larry Levine – If the second highest grossing independently owned and operated restaurant in the nation can’t make it, what does that say about a) the state of the restaurant business, b) the economy, c) the management of the place, d) the City of New York,... Read More
ALEXANDER VALLEY COMES TO SANTA MONICA
By Larry Levine – The emailed invitation couldn’t have been more timely. Melisse was having a special wine pairing dinner featuring wines from the Alexander Valley in Northern California. It was one of those “life sends me a message” moments. The event was on my... Read More
PINK’S? Are you kidding?
By Larry Levine I’ve been pondering Larry Sheingold’s “Hoppin’ Down the Wienie Trail” posting for a while and I find I have to respond. I trust Larry’s taste in restaurants. After all, he recognizes Langer’s in L.A. for the best pastrami sandwich anywhere and he... Read More
CACCIUCCO LIVORNESE
By Larry Levine This is the recipe I created after reading about the dish in Mediterranean Summer (see recipes page on Table Talk at Larrys.com). Later, I discovered a simpler recipe at the back of the book. The recipe in the book substitutes a pre-made marinara sauce... Read More
My Favorite Farmers’ Market
By Larry Levine – My favorite farmers’ market? The Hollywood Farmers’ Market at Hollywood Blvd. and Ivar St. on Sunday mornings. What’s yours? Believe it or not, this old Brooklyn street kid has been shopping au natural since he was 5 years old. It started with... Read MoreFood Book Review – Mediterranean Summer
By Larry Levine Author David Shalleck has worked for more than 20 years as a chef and producer of television food programs. This book, however, recounts the experiences of one magic summer in his youth, when he was hired on a 154-foot yacht as the chief cook with... Read More
A View from Two Coasts
By Larry Levine What do the River Café in Brooklyn and the Lobster, 1 Pico and Catch in Santa Monica have in common? All three defy the old adage about the impossibility of getting good food and a good view at the same place by the water’s edge. The River Café is in... Read More
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