Weekly Column

PETROGNANO, TUSCANY— Since 2017, over 1,350 people have traveled with me on more than 55 trips to seven European countries…

It’s king cake season. Those four words don’t carry a lot of weight across 90% of this country. Though in…

It looks like 2023 will go down as the year of the king cake— at least in my book. I…

NEW ORLEANS— In a poll of national food critics I believe New Orleans would be listed among the top three…

The following is the first in a summer-column series that will cover dining in New Orleans. Over the next four…

This past weekend was a memorable one for our family. Our 26-year old daughter got engaged to her longtime boyfriend.…

PETROGNANO, TUSCANY—I wear a cap most days with a single word stitched across the front. “Onward.” A guest of mine…

No one signs up for a European tour expecting to have lunch in a stranger’s home in a village so…

SEVILLE— No one expects to use the word romantic when talking about a pig farm. But standing in the soft…

There are only a few moments in life when time slows down enough to let you take it all in.For…

Life tends to deliver milestones in clusters, never spreading them out at a leisurely pace, but stacking them up all…

Some people judge towns by their population. Others point to school systems, parks, water and air quality, or thriving local…

These days, emotions are running high. One minute, I’m in my truck thinking about our restaurants or the travel business,…

In the 1990s, I was at a statewide board meeting for the Mississippi Restaurant Association, and during a discussion about…

CHICAGO— This city has been a part of my life for the past thirty-five years. It’s a city that holds…