Posted in England, Food Commentary, Jose Andres, Spain, Squid, appetizer, beer, bread, capers, cheese, easy, eating, food, healthy, lemon, mackerel, manchego, morcilla, peppers, pinchos, pintxos, piquillo peppers, racione, sausage, savory, seafood, soccer, tapas on Jun 8th, 2008
In celebration of the start of Euro 2008 - the European soccer/football championships - yesterday, and in light of the fact that England failed to qualify because they were awful, I am in need of a team to follow, so have decided to become an honorary Spanish soccer fan for the next month, or however […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in America, Bourdain, England, Fergus Henderson, Food Commentary, Gabrielle Hamilton, London, Mark Bittman, Prune, Restaurant Review, alcohol, batter, bone-marrow, butter, celebrity, chefs, cornichons, delicacy, dining, diversity, eating, food, game, gherkins, indulgent meal, offal, philosophy, podcast, quail, rabbit, restaurant, squab, sweetbreads on Apr 24th, 2008
Normally, when I think of prunes my first thought is the familiar TV commercial showing the side-by-side comparison of someone experiencing “bloating and discomfort” and someone enjoying the verve and gaiety brought on by just one bowlful of California prunes. However, since last Thursday, my first thought is now “when can I have some more?”. […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in British, Delia Smith, England, Food Commentary, Food Network, culture, entertainment, food, philosophy, television show on Mar 12th, 2008
So, the headline above might be slightly hyperbolic, but the sentiment I’m trying to convey is very real and serious. Last night, UK TV cooking legend, Delia Smith’s new show Delia premiered on BBC2 and instead of garnering the rave reviews virtually every one of her previous series have, this one has been roundly panned, […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in British, England, Europe, French, Garlic, asparagus, batter, crepes, dessert, easy, egg, flour, food, juice, lemon, milk, mushrooms, orange juice, pancakes, salmon, sauce, tarragon, tomato, tradition on Feb 9th, 2008
In the British calendar the final Tuesday before Lent is known as “Shrove Tuesday”, though it’s more often referred to as “pancake day” in modern times. The derivation of the word “shrove” is unclear but it is thought to be derived from “shriving” or asking forgiveness for sins, a typical Christian activity on this day.
As […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in British, England, Garlic, Recipe, Recipes, bisto, butter, easy, egg, entertainment, flour, food, gravy, kale, milk, mushy peas, onions, sausage, toad in the hole, tradition on Jan 28th, 2008
In his extremely witty book, French Lessons, Peter Mayle attends the annual Fete de Grenouilles (Festival of Frogs-Legs) in Vittel, France, and describes an instance at the festival banquet in which the, perhaps, unusual French habit of eating frogs was turned on its head by a fellow festival attendee when she asked him, shuddering, if […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Asian, British, England, New York City, Pub, Recipe, Recipes, South Africa, alcohol, alcoholic drink, culture, drink, easy, embarrassment, food, ginger, history, honey, hot toddy, juice, lemon, red bush, rooibos, rooibosh, sugar, tea, tradition, water, weather on Jan 22nd, 2008
It’s freezing here in New York. Freezing! Yesterday, it didn’t get above 26F/-3C. Just the kind of weather when you need something to warm (as they say in London’s East End) the cockles of your heart. Years ago, on a freezing January day I took a walk with a friend around Alexandra Palace in north […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in British, England, Food Commentary, France, French, bread, butter, culture, food, restaurant, tradition on Dec 19th, 2007
According to an exceedingly poorly written article on MSN UK today, the UK’s favorite food (as voted by 50,000 members of the public) is, guess what? No, not bangers, not mash, not fish, chips, or mushy peas. Neither is it roast beef or Yorkshire pudding, spotted dick or trifle, nor is it, to my great […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in British, England, Europe, Food Commentary, Manchester, Pub, ale, beer, culture, drink, food, important details, television show, travel on Nov 30th, 2007
So, as the beautifully illustrated post by my wife (see below) attests, we were recently in the UK, and spent a good portion of that trip inside pubs enjoying traditional pub food and cask-conditioned, hand-pulled ales.
I describe the beers in this way for a reason. You see, the old joke that Americans never seem to […]
Read Full Post »
Posted in England, Europe, Food Commentary, Manchester, Pub, Restaurant Review, food, indulgent meal, restaurant, tourism, tradition, travel, unhealthy on Nov 27th, 2007
We’re back from our quick, 5-day trip to Northern England to visit Jonny’s family and I may just go to bed at 9PM like I did last night! The problem with these quick trips home (I feel like it’s kind of my home these days) is that by the time you’re over the jet lag, […]
Read Full Post »
Lunch is a tricky time for me and, I’m sure, many Americans, who enjoy good food, in a way that it isn’t for most Europeans, or at least, most southern Europeans. There is no place in American life for the leisurely two-hour, weekday lunch that many French, Italians and Spanish enjoy several times a week. […]
Read Full Post »
