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
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