Luna bars are my go-to breakfast when time is short and I don’t feel like whipping up something fabulous, like raspberry French toast, or pecan and pumpkin pancakes.
Each bar is only 180 calories and chocked full of vitamins and minerals. The best part is they taste like a candy bar, only not nearly as [...]
Entries from July 2008
July 22, 2008
More For Me
The best bite of dessert I think I’ve tasted is one of Eugenia Theodosopoulos’s French macarons. (That is how they are spelled, with one “o”.) And they are simply divine. Eugenia and her French husband own Essence Catering and Essence Bakery Café in Tempe, Arizona. She is considered the best caterer in town.
Eugenia brought a [...]
July 18, 2008
Step Away From The Plate
I’m starting to sound like my parents. “Back in my day, (fill-in-the-blank).”
This fill-in-the-blank rant is about whippersnapper servers clearing plates from the table before I’m finished eating. I remember a time when servers wouldn’t even clear one plate until all diners at the table had finished, and it is still done that way [...]
July 17, 2008
Yin & Yong
That’s not a typo. I know the phrase is yin and yang, the Chinese philosophy that two opposite, yet complementary forces join to create unity.
My yin and yang is more yong. I tend to pair opposites that are not quite complementary to each other, but in my mind, create balance. My wacky, off kilter sense [...]
July 13, 2008
Smell That Smell
Yesterday at the grocery store, I was picking up my umpteenth nectarine, trying to find one that smelled like a nectarine, when a young woman approached and commented to her mother that the nectarines and peaches looked good.
She tore off a plastic bag and just started loading it with every nectarine she picked up. She [...]
July 11, 2008
The Show Must Go On
Someone asked me how I approach restaurant reviewing and it made me think of the word collaboration.
There are three components that make up a restaurant experience: the food, the service and the ambience. All three have to work in tandem to create a harmonious experience.
It’s really not much different than what makes a particular [...]
July 9, 2008
Fish Pie
She worried about what to cook for me when we came to visit her in Northern England a few years ago. Karen had been to my home in Arizona several summers, and I always cooked something from one of my cookbooks for her family.
She finally settled on fish pie, the ultimate British comfort food. I [...]
July 7, 2008
Jackson Dining Roundup
The town of Jackson, in the Jackson Hole valley isn’t much different today from when I visited 10 and nearly 20 years ago. The Cadillac Grille still glows with neon and blinking lights on the north side of the square. Steel-horse Harleys line the front porch instead of the four-legged variety. The Bunnery still [...]
July 3, 2008
Tough Assignment
I have a tough assignment for the next few days. We’re off to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to check out the dining and lodging scene. (Hey, somebody’s gotta do it!) I’ll report back next week. In the meantime, have a happy 4th of July.
July 2, 2008
Pet Peeve # 1
As a restaurant critic, I am a little more critical than the average diner. I’m supposed to be, though. It’s what I get paid to do. That said, when I’m dining just for the sake of feeding myself, not “working,” I can’t help but notice things.
Take for example, my meal last night at the darling [...]
