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
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