Category: Restaurants

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A Taste Of Spring In Fall: Redzepi, Heaney and Vivaldi With A Dram Of Johnnie Walker Black

For Monday 16-Tuesday 17 May, Rene Redzepi writes the following in his journal, I went foraging, sinking into the forest, tasting things, hoping to clear my thoughts and take that deep, relaxing breath that allows me to shrug off the bustle of the kitchen.  I took a second and rested on my haunches, absentmindedly picking … Continue reading A Taste Of Spring In Fall: Redzepi, Heaney and Vivaldi With A Dram Of Johnnie Walker Black

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If The Foodie World Is A Family Drama, Then It May Look Like “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf.”

Above is vision of hell from an unknown Portuguese artist from the sixteenth century.  I’m thinking the great Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton movie. Sometimes cooks, foodies, gastronomes, gourmands and everyone else may come off as a bit too celebratory, a bit too awed by food and the culinary world.  Sometimes we need a reminder … Continue reading If The Foodie World Is A Family Drama, Then It May Look Like “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf.”

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Eating Ants (Or How All That’s Good Tastes Like Bacon)

I used to burn them with a magnifying glass when I was a kid. Yes, not the most humane, civilized moment in my youth, and since then it’s been a tense relationship.  Accidentally stepping into a fire-ant mound ranks as one of my least favorite things about Texas, and I usually respond with gallons of … Continue reading Eating Ants (Or How All That’s Good Tastes Like Bacon)

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Protein Of The Soul

Francisco Goya’s still-life, A Butcher’s Counter.  A sheep’s head and sides of mutton.  Painted between 1810 and 1812.  Painted during the ano del hambre in Madrid when thousands starved to death.  This was the time of Napoleon’s invasion, time of Desastres de la Guerra. In our featured painting, protein is the key molecule, movement.  In … Continue reading Protein Of The Soul

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Coltivare–Pig Parts and Putrefaction Never Tasted So Good.

Down White Oak from Revival Market in the Houston Heights waits a trattoria-style dining experience combining fresh, local produce and engaging, delicious cooking–Coltivare.  Mr. and Mrs. MagicFishBones arrive at six, greet another couple, and fortunately are able to sit immediately at one of the last available tables–right near the front window.  Going out to dinner … Continue reading Coltivare–Pig Parts and Putrefaction Never Tasted So Good.

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Your Food Is Brought To You By . . . .

Sunday Morning by Wallace Stevens. Complacencies of the peignoir, and late Coffee and oranges in a sunny chair, And the green freedom of a cockatoo Upon a rug mingle to dissipate The holy hush of ancient sacrifice. Such a gorgeous, lush opening.  A perfect pairing with a very serious Bloody Mary from Downhouse in the … Continue reading Your Food Is Brought To You By . . . .

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Body and Soul: “our demands upon the earth are determined by our ways of living with one another.”

Most of the artwork through this post is by Joe Jones (1909-1963) who painted midwestern wheat fields, segregation in the south, and the effects of The Great Depression on American farmers.  The above painting The American Farm (1936) captures the stark ruin of soil and crops and the precarious struggle for life in rural America. … Continue reading Body and Soul: “our demands upon the earth are determined by our ways of living with one another.”

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Food Of The Day

Sean Brock has an amazing menu and a clear creative and critical eye for Southern Cooking.  I’ve dined at Husk in Charleston, while the above image is from his new Husk in Nashville.  I’m watching him on The Mind of a Chef, narrated by Anthony Bourdain.  His mind clearly cooks within heirloom varieties, centuries-old traditions … Continue reading Food Of The Day

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Roast Bone Marrow And Parsley Salad

There are many sacred texts in the world: the Bhagavad Gita, Genesis and Exodus, The Gospel According to John, the Upanishads.  In the secular realm we might nod to the Constitution, essays of Montaigne, Shakespeare’s King Lear.  Bach’s Cantatas outwardly claim their sacred nature, while for me nothing makes a walk more holy than listening … Continue reading Roast Bone Marrow And Parsley Salad

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Specialties Of The House

Stepping out tonight, driving to your favorite restaurant.  How exciting! You park outside a corner building glowing with bright, animal warmth. Up the steps, a smartly dressed man opens the heavy oak door, inside you go. Ah, the maitre d’ greets you. Bon.  You’re thirsty of course.  Do you see something on the menu that speaks … Continue reading Specialties Of The House