Family Dinners to the Rescue

The absolute best baby gift we received was a gift certificate for a week’s worth of family dinners from a local favorite, Foster’s Market. (Those of you who don’t live around here may be familiar with Sara Foster’s cookbooks.) Everyone who has a newborn knows that early evening is their fussiest time, and so it’s [...]

Eating in Las Vegas

I took a slightly longer break from blogging than I intended. Vacation can be wonderfully relaxing, but why does returning from vacation have to be so stressful? But you don’t want to hear about that. Let’s get to the good stuff — the food.
This was my first visit to Las Vegas. I have to say [...]

Pumpkin Demise and Vacation Eating

Unfortunately, it looks like the volunteer pumpkin and butternut plants that had sprung up in my garden didn’t make it. I had to pull out all but one today and throw them back in the compost for another try next year. I don’t know whether it was the unrelenting heat or the lack of rain [...]

Need to Detox

After three weeks of either eating out because I’m traveling or stress-eating because I’m gearing up for the next big launch/presentation/demo, I can see and feel the toll it has been having on my body. I feel bloated, I’ve gained back what little weight I had lost, and I feel an urgent need to detox. [...]

The Brou-ha-ha Over Foie Gras

Brian Unger of NPR is the latest to weigh in on Wolfgang Puck’s decision to make his restaurants “cruelty-free,” including no longer serving foie gras, and his commentary is the most sensible yet. With all this concern about the eaten, he asks, what about the eater? Restaurant patrons mocked by waiters for ordering tap water, [...]

Local Mention: The Grinder on the Finer Points of Durham Dining

Looks like a story by local Raleigh paper, The News & Observer, on training waitstaff in how to properly serve customers got noticed by Chow’s The Grinder for a short tongue-in-cheek post. Aw shucks, look at those yokels down in North Carolina — they’re actually going to try to have up-scale service like the big [...]

Why I Don’t Blog About Top Chef Anymore + Restaurant Update

I loved Top Chef first season. I avidly watched every episode. The finale — even though it was obvious who the winner would be — still featured very strong chefs with great ideas. I would love to try any of their food. It was fun to watch them cook.
This year, although I have watched every [...]

Some Griping About Restaurants

Like most of you, I am sure, I enjoy going out to eat. I like having someone else cook for me, of course, and I take advantage of the opportunity to try something new or get ideas for my own cooking. But lately, the dining experience has been decidedly lacking.
I don’t know if it’s due [...]

You Say It’s Your Birthday

Yes, it was my birthday this week. I’ve reached a milestone, of sorts. All year doctors have been telling me that if I want to get preggers, I’d better get on with it, because once I hit this age, my fertility starts to decline. No pressure or anything. I feel like I’ve reached the top [...]