“For a moment, there’s the sense that you’re traveling out on some rusty-bottomed trawler with the alcoholic fishermen of Asheville, chugging rotgut until one of you (maybe you. Why not you? You’re a smart person) strikes upon the idea of dredging up kelp and Irish moss to add to the chum bucket and then drinking … Continue Reading
Never trust a skinny chef? What about a stick-thin food writer? Are there any? I must admit that a year ago I piled on the pounds reviewing food and that I’ve learnt to leave food on my plate. I know Melbourne food critic Stephen Downes swims while The Age’s John Lethlean is cycling. Super-sizing is … Continue Reading
Maldon salt, Murray River salt, pink salt. have you noticed the weird varieties of volcanic salt on menus. At Per Se in New York the numbers of salts offered to guests isin double figures. Now the New York Times reports there is truffle salt (and speculates on salt from Mars): Like the absurdly expensive balsamic … Continue Reading
The wicked one star review that also lays into bottled water (and bottled fermented grape juice). As AA Gill says: “Your starter for 10: since the beginning of the industrial revolution, how much water has mankind irreplaceably used up? Is it one gallon per head, 100 gallons per head or 1,000 gallons per head? And … Continue Reading
Yes, AA Gill has been to India and done the usual squatting over a bowl – and a restaurant back in London: “Somehow, I picked something up. I’d had enough pebble-dashing amoeba and slurry with the fringe on top to insist on drugs, so I took it straight round to my doctor. “I’ll need a … Continue Reading
As little books go, this is one is living larger than one might expect. The Little Brown Book aka “What’s Your Poo Telling You?” is a field guide to human stools. Writing in Salon, Leslie Crawford: “…discovered that mine had an ideal shape, sinking nicely to the bottom of the bowl.
“There’s something pathetic in that very American question, because the answer is already implicit in “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” and it should have been apparent even before readers discovered Pollan’s scintillating book — except, clearly, it wasn’t,” writes Salon. “But then America is a gullible nation with a long-standing thirst for snake oil. How could we … Continue Reading
Since beforeKill Bill Japanese knives have been cool. Hell, I’m obsessed with Japanese cabinet-making tools. They are very beautiful and sharp. Now everything Japanese is going mainstream with chefs. As Harris Salat says in Salon: “And not just those of the cooks. Since the mid-’90s, Japanese knives have become de rigueur in professional kitchens of … Continue Reading
You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
Bites