food

256 posts

The Funeral: A Feel-Good Story

White flower photo by Carol Browne via Flickr

When my grandmother died, I was in law school.

And I was busy: My first trial (really an administrative hearing) was scheduled for the following week. I had to make a decision about whether to stay at school and file the necessary court briefs on time — or else go to the funeral and file late. I decided to file late. This was not the ideal way to represent my client. But I had the blessing of my clinic instructor because of the circumstances. And of course I had everyone’s sympathy too. Continue reading →

British Pubs in Pictures

On a recent trip to the U.K. we spent as much time in pubs as possible. We’d snoop out the proper pubs – old, dark buildings with low ceilings and beams with padding on them so when you walk into it you don’t hurt your forehead too badly.

Mainly we were in search of bitter beer, which is hard to find in SoCal, where we live. The pub food… well, the fish and chips were greasy and the chips didn’t taste as much of potato as they should. Anyone wanting a light meal was out of luck (try the antipasto plate, it’s as close as you’ll get to a salad, most places).

No one even seems to offer a ploughman’s – a trad lunch of Cheddar and/or Stilton Cheese, pickled onions and good bread. Continue reading →

QOTD: How Do You Take Your Coffee?

Monkeybiz, when he is not stabbing roommates or going on safari with his cat, is ordering a “Venti iced coffee, sweetened, with cream, light ice.”  Here is what I order: “Coffee.”  Verona if I’m at Starbucks, Major Dickason’s if I’m at Peet’s, and I don’t remember if I’m at a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.  If the place has a Clover, I’ll get that. If it’s in the afternoon, I’ll get a mocha.  I like chocolate, and if I have that in the morning the sugar really messes me up.  If I’m at a diner and the coffee is old or not very good, I’ll put a little bit of sugar in it.  At home, I use a French Press on the weekend with Peet’s Major Dickason’s, and during the week when I don’t have time to deal with the press, I use a Kuerig with the Green Mountain French Roast pods.  I’ll put a little bit of sugar in that.  I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of quality for ease of use on weekday mornings. Continue reading →

Movie Review: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

In a subway station in Tokyo you will find a tiny, windowless, sushi restaurant called Sukiyabashi Jiro. If you are lucky enough to get a reservation, you will pay upwards of $300 for a meal of fish and rice—the restaurant serves no appetizers; no miso soup, no salty bowls of edamame. The ten seats are booked months in advance. Foodies come from all over the world. Because this unprepossessing little underground establishment is one of the only sushi restaurants in the world to have garnered a 3-star (highest) rating from Michelin. After watching David Gelb’s delightful new documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, you’ll fantasize about booking a ticket to Tokyo. Continue reading →

Alert! The Cold Stone Creamery is Not for the Diet Conscious

The creator of the Cold Stone Creamery PB&C Shake is probably a monster. No, not a truly evil spectral force, but simply a diabolical, fat-creating, franchise chain gloating, garden variety capitalist gnome. How else to describe the decision to blend chocolate ice cream, milk, and peanut butter into a cup of sin and decadent blasphemy? At 2,010 calories (and with “153g of sugar,” screamed Gooch!), it’s a wonder how any of it just doesn’t clog your arteries within the first luscious sip. I imagine he’s somewhere sitting with tubs full of chocolate and PB in talks on how to expand it all into grocery store sales. You dastardly creamy saturated fat shilling hobgoblin!

Well, let’s be fair, this isn’t exactly a novel idea as Health.com informs us. Continue reading →