Category Archives: Uncategorized

In the upcoming days you are going to read a lot about offshore drilling, oil slicks, and preventative measures that can be taken to prevent future spills. Do we need to drill offshore? If not, what do we do with the 3,500 oilrigs off of our nation’s coasts? If we take away that production (aboutContinue reading “The Great Unknown”

I gave up carbonated beverages eight weeks ago. I don’t think I gave them up for good, but for the immediate future I am laying off of all soft drinks. Friends who know me well, don’t believe it. I have been a huge consumer of soft drinks all of my life. I was probably drinkingContinue reading “Arnold, Bubba, & Bug Juice”

Spring is the beginning of food season. Everything is coming alive. Winter is past, the first crops are coming out of the ground, and everything begins to taste earthy and vibrant. Spring brings fresh morel mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns. In spring, our environment begins to turn green, and our foods begin to turn green. FreshContinue reading “Spring Has Sprung”

I’ve worked in the restaurant business for 30 years. During the last 23 of those years I’ve owned restaurants. There have been a lot of exciting and challenging times in those two decades and there have been several key events that have changed or altered the course of our company, mostly for the better. However,Continue reading “Bonhomie Gardens”

“Many’s the long night I’ve dreamed of cheese— toasted mostly.”— Robert Louis Stevenson I live in a house full of cheeseaholics. My wife, 12-year old daughter, and eight-year old son’s palettes are much more refined when it comes to cheese. The man of the house might be the one getting them to try pork cheeks,Continue reading “American Cheese”

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the origins of food and certain dishes. I can usually trace most of the dishes I’m interested in, to meals I had in my youth. My culinary style— and most of the foods I’m interested in— comes from meals I remember eating at home, at relative’s homes, andContinue reading “Easter 2010”

A few short years ago a beautiful, young, and energetic, Latino mother of four drove by a building every day and dreamed of the restaurant she hoped to open there. The building wasn’t much to look at— a former convenience store that had housed several failed restaurants— but to this driven and determined lady itContinue reading “Mama Alma”

I am not a coffee drinker. I would like to be a coffee drinker. I like the smell of coffee. I like the idea of drinking coffee. I just don’t like the taste of coffee. I drink orange juice in the morning. I’ve been drinking orange juice for as long as I can remember. AsContinue reading “OJ”

“Your blood pressure is elevated,” said my doctor. “This is the second visit in a row. I’m going to give you six weeks and if you can’t get it down, you’re going to have to go on medication.” “Elevated?” I said. “It’s elevated because I’m at the doctor’s office getting prodded and probed in everyContinue reading “Say Nay to Na (Or How I Got the High Blood and Lived to Tell the Tale- so far)”