Gastrolust

Today, Serious Eats posted my “Sugar Rush” article about doughnuts at Chez Boris and Cafe Sardine in Montreal. An excerpt: At Chez Boris, Russian doughnuts (known as pyshki) are done as on the streets of St. Petersburg: made to order in less than a minute and served warm. I ordered the traditional Beigne Sucré (pictured [...]

[Read more →]

This week, Serious Eats posted my article about the fried chicken at Hattie’s Chicken Shack in Saratoga Springs. An excerpt: Said to be the same recipe since 1938—developed by Hattie Grey, who came to Saratoga via Louisiana and Chicago—this is the same stuff served at the restaurant [Hattie's Restaurant], but the Shack is more casual [...]

[Read more →]

This week, Serious Eats posted my “A Sandwich a Day” feature about the Matty Melt at Meltz Extreme Grilled Cheese in Coeur d’Alene. An excerpt: From the Uncommon Menu, I ordered the Matty Melt ($4.95 half, $7.50 full), containing fontina, blue cheese, lightly smoked roast beef, grilled red onions, horseradish, and huckleberry BBQ sauce. Cooking [...]

[Read more →]

Montreal: You’ve come a long way, baby. When I lived in Vermont from 1988 to 1999, I made many trips to Montreal in desperate search for more diverse food. My typical day might include the mandatory smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz’s, dinner and grocery shopping in Chinatown, and the pick-up of a couple of bags [...]

[Read more →]

This week, Serious Eats posted my “A Sandwich a Day” feature about the Croque Madame at La Farm Bakery in Cary, NC. An excerpt: It’s served on toasted La Farm Bread–their signature light sourdough made in a three-day process–with ham, imported gruyère, homemade Mornay sauce, and fresh chopped chives. In case that’s not decadent enough, [...]

[Read more →]

This week, Serious Eats posted my “Sugar Rush” article about the desserts at Les 400 Coups in Montreal. An excerpt: Walking through the door into Old Montreal’s Les 400 Coups is a transition from charm to elegance. Both of those traits are evident in pastry chef Patrice Demers’ desserts. Demers is no stranger in Canada: [...]

[Read more →]

Yesterday, Serious Eats posted my “A Sandwich a Day” feature about Olio in Richmond, VA. An excerpt: I knew I wanted a sandwich that would take advantage of the quality bread, meat, cheese, produce, and condiments I was seeing. There were lots of tempting choices on the menu, but my love of stinky cheese tilted [...]

[Read more →]

This week, Serious Eats posted my report on the 9 best bites in Winslow on Bainbridge Island in Washington. An excerpt: When a tourist in Seattle asks for anything interesting to do that’s not-so-Seattle, I recommend a trip to Bainbridge Island, which is both a city and the island on which the city is found. [...]

[Read more →]

Today, Serious Eats posted my “Sugar Rush” article about the Flourless Chocolate Cake at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami. (Hedy Goldsmith, the pastry chef, has again been nominated for a James Beard award as best pastry chef.) An excerpt: I decided to go with the Flourless Chocolate Cake ($10). On the surface, this sounds [...]

[Read more →]

Note: I file this report (about what I hope was just an off-night at this popular restaurant) to show that being a food writer doesn’t always mean special benefits. As a “VIP,” I didn’t expect extra service, but I was surprised that the restaurant didn’t do its best to avoid sub-par service. And even when [...]

[Read more →]