The hassle of obtaining a reservation of Momofuku Ko has quickly become the stuff of legend—and that’s for a restaurant barely over a month old. After finally wrestling this bear to the ground, I can finally answer the question: Is it worth it?  read more »

Tyler Wiard (pronounced wired, not weird), the executive chef of Elways Steakhouse in Denver, won this years Taste of Elegance for his cumin roasted pork loin and braised shoulder with green chile, posole cake, smooth avocado and red chile. Thats a very Coloradan dish, featuring the green and red chile of New Mexican cuisine, which we Coloradans have adopted. Its a tough event. Chefs compete regionally, and then the winners all meet for the nationals. This year 22 chefs were supposed to compete, but only 21 did as Patrick Ponsaty, the local winner from Bernardo in San Diego, had to back out suddenly.  read more »

This post could be called, la Friends, The One In Which Pim Drives A Hummer And Bargains For Dead Fish. Punta Lobos is a beach just south of Todos Santos, near the tip of the Baja Peninsula, where day-boat fishermen come in to sell their very freshly caught fish to local restaurants and villagers nearby. I'd been dreaming about getting back to Punta Lobos since Paolo took me there two years ago. Day two of our Mexico trip, I was so itching to get to Punta Lobos to see what they've got but I just couldn't seem to get any of the boys to drive me.  David conveniently disappeared with his surfboard somewhere on the beach in front of the house we rented ok, this was his annual surfing trip so I let him off.  Our friend Daniel had his nose so far buried in a book he pretended not to hear my plea altogether.  Not nice. Nevermind, I thought.  I knew this town well enough - been here like twice already - I was going to figure this out myself. The house we rented was just ten-fifteen minutes south of the town of Todos Santos, and I knew that Punta Lobos was somewhere between the house and town.  How hard could that be?  I just have to find the dirt road leading to that beach somewhere on the stretch of ten kilos between our house and the town.  I'd figure it out somehow!  read more »

A request to try Maru on the house was an invitation I couldn't refuse, and thank goodness I made the trek to the northernmost edge of Los Angeles's suburbs. Even if the meal hadn't had eight indulgent, generously sized courses (per person!) and even if it hadn't been free, my meal at Maru still would have been one of the best I've ever eaten.  read more »

Take a hint from the French and perk up your morning fare with the incomparable flavors of fresh herbs.

I’ve been reading a lot about the rising cost of food. The general media is painting a fairly dim picture of the current state of food prices and accessibility, and Jennifer Maiser’s recent articles on BAB helped enlighten us about the politics behind these stories and the reactions to them. Anyone who has walked into a grocery store lately, however, doesn’t need to read about escalating prices to know they’re real. Food is simply more expensive, and feeding one self, let alone a family of four or five, is getting more cost prohibitive each day. So what is a parent who needs to feed a family on a fixed budget to do?  read more »

If your pulses aren't racing yet, they soon will be. Gather round, one and all, for the roundup of the 14th edition of the Waiter, There's Something in My... event! I was your charming host this month and I have...Jeanne Horak

 It’s hard for people to understand why they should want to eat old-fashioned Tex-Mex. Let me put it this way: You eat at these old Tex-Mex places for the same reason that you listen to scratchy old recordings of the Delta blues. It’s not about the quality; it’s about getting in touch with the roots [...]