Category Archives: Cuisine

The Braais that Bind

A brief meditation on the meanings of South African cuisine for Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. Excerpt:  South Africa’s identity is complicated, contested and unresolved. While Archbishop Tutu’s “rainbow nation” remains a noble aspiration, the current forecast is increasingly stormy. So, … Continue reading

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Yummy yummy Umami

Why a leftover lamb bone turned a bean stew into an ecstatic event Continue reading

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A Stateless Dinner

So American “Chinese” isn’t really Chinese. Well what’s “Indian,” or “Italian” for that matter? Continue reading

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The Long March of General Tso

Don’t Try This At Home: (No Chinese chef would dare!) Chicken chop suey is an American creation I’ll freely admit to being a sucker, at least occasionally, for the sweet and starchy Hunan/Canton/Sichuan fare — cooked by people who were … Continue reading

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Combat Rations

Lunch with the French Special Forces Okay, at the prompting of Hungry Pat, another cuisine posting. Quick quiz Which army would you be in if your Meal Ready to Eat pack contained the following: Potted Meat of Mackerel Stewed Beef … Continue reading

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Eating Sandals in Red Hook

Other people’s pupusas Okay, I’ll tell you, because I trust and respect you. And actually, because the Gothamist alreayd told you about it two years ago. The best-kept food secret in Brooklyn is a sandal. A huarache to be exact. … Continue reading

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Foul For Love

The thing about chowhounding, is that sooner or later the New York Times always catches up and turns your favorite little outer-borough mama’s-kitchen haunts — that you either happened upon or were clued into by more energetic and committed chowhounds … Continue reading

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Singh Country

How about a nice cup of chai? Hollywood’s traditional idea of a New York cabbie is probably Robert De Niro’s alienated Vietnam vet Travis Bickle, or the wiseguy Jews, Italians and Poles of the 1970s TV hit show “Taxi.” But … Continue reading

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What Makes Food Jewish?

Originally published in the Anglo-Japanese magazine Eat in August 2000 There’s nothing more Jewish than fish on Fridays. Or so I thought, growing up in a household that tucked into pedestrian fried hake and chips every week after blessing the … Continue reading

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Catering Camp David

Only Clinton had an appetite for a deal Published in the Tokyo-based magazine Eat in September 2000 Just what were those crafty Americans up to? The only soupcon of information tossed out to a ravenous pack of journalists after the … Continue reading

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