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
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
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 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 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
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