My host father in Moscow, a self-described “independent contractor,” had a lot of business in the South. He’d go on extended trips to the Ukraine and Georgia, often not returning for weeks. When finally he did return, he’d have fruit baskets in hand, and our apartment would be covered in dozens of persimmons, plums or [...]
This is a guest post. Matthew Wolfe is a journalist living in Detroit.
Many major American cities, particularly those that once, long ago, would have been called “blue collar,” can claim as part of their civic heritage a signature junk food. The food is usually messy, often greasy and always – to borrow a term from [...]
The National Palace Museum in Taiwan showcases a variety of ancient artifacts, from scrolls of calligraphy to bejewelled hairpins. Two sculptures serve as the museum’s equivalent of the Mona Lisa, showcase pieces that draw in the tour buses. One is a brilliant piece of white and green jade carved into the shape of a cabbage [...]
My obsession with chocolate chip cookies began with a piece from the New York Times. I’d always been a fan of the classic American treat, but never thought to devote much effort to making them my own. The ritual of baking was reserved for my first love, pies, and even then I wasn’t much for [...]
At the tail end of San Diego’s autumn heat wave, I visited my favorite neighborhood hot sauce store to re-up on the good stuff and purchase a few novelty gifts for friends. I hadn’t yet tried California-Antilles Trading’s line of hot sauces by Très Tropical, so I decided on a few flavors and struck up [...]
Even those who are lifetime connoisseurs of fine dining will cop to a few dingier delights. After all, life can’t always be fois gras and duck confit, right? Sometimes it’s Hot Pockets and frozen dumplings and whatever else keeps your cupboards stocked (Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies, R.I.P.) and your bellies nourished.
In Chinese cuisine, for every family-style [...]
One of the more memorable outings I’ve made for food since moving to New York involved a short train ride to Russ and Daughters, an institution of an appetizing store on the Lower East Side that houses a dizzying array of cured, pickled, smoked and otherwise flavorized fish. Relatively new to the world of nosh, [...]
There’s something to be said for having everything in its right place. Organisation with regard to food is usually done in two places: in the cupboard and in the refrigerator. Boxes are used in both, but more so for dry foods like cereal or mac and cheese. If the user of the fridge in question [...]
James Howell has been working as one of the main pit cooks of Pete Jones’ BBQ, AKA The Skylight Inn, in Ayden, North Carolina, for about fifteen years. The day I spent with him and the rest of Pete Jones’ staff in October of 2009 will figure heavily into a proposal I’m writing for a [...]
