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 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
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