Archive for December, 2006

Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!

Saturday, December 30th, 2006

 Good, better, best.
Never rest
Until good be better
And better best.”
- Mother Goose
Buenos Aires - It was a short and logical decision. Two hundred years ago this weekend, a theatrical production of Mother Goose nursery rhymes opened on the stage at Covent Garden. There’s lots of food imagery in Mother Goose rhymes. One of our local friends, [...]

Crawling Around

Friday, December 29th, 2006

 When I was a kid, life was good. I had some GrrAnimals clothes, and they were all prematched. On the tags they had animals, and the lion shirt went with the lion pants. The giraffe shirt went with the giraffe pants. And then they played into each other, like the lion stuff would also go [...]

Creative and Authentic

Thursday, December 28th, 2006

 I’m not against modernization. I’ve no wish to go out in the vines in a horse-drawn cart. But I’m against standardization. More and more people seek the authenticity we represent.”
- Louis Boillot, Burgundy Wine Negociant
Buenos Aires - You would have thought that we would have rushed right over. But, it has to be a good [...]

Food Heritage

Wednesday, December 27th, 2006

 A civilization is a heritage of beliefs, customs, and knowledge slowly accumulated in the course of centuries, elements difficult at times to justify by logic, but justifying themselves as paths when they lead somewhere, since they open up for man his inner distance.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French Pilot and Author

Buenos Aires - It’s been awhile [...]

Power of the Press

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

 The mission of the press is to spread culture while destroying the attention span.”
- Karl Kraus, Austrian Journalist
Buenos Aires - It seems that among the many things that fascinate people headed here for vacation or business or an expat life, is the interaction between the press back wherever they’re from, and how it impacts life [...]

Hey, Ya Wanna Smoke a Turkey?

Monday, December 25th, 2006

 The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise”
- Benjamin Franklin, Statesman, Scientist, Philosopher, Inventor
Buenos Aires - I’m not catholic. I’m not christian. But I grew up in a neighborhood where most folks were. I remember christmas eve being a relatively quiet time - families and friends gathering, having small holiday parties, music playing, [...]

Radish Night, Part Two

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

 We signal the captain, taking time out against the wall. He frowns. He groans. His feet hurt. His ulcer rages. He hates his wife. The risotto will take 25 minutes. Lasagna will take even longer.”
- Gael Greene, Restaurant Critic, on Manhattan’s Italian Pavilion restaurant, “That’s Italian”, January 1985
Buenos Aires - Picking up on the long [...]

Radish Night, Part One

Saturday, December 23rd, 2006

 Cua nque’ msaa”
- “Good Morning” in the Chatino language
Buenos Aires - And a good morning in English as well. I decided to split the Casa SaltShaker dinner this week up into parts. Not for the people eating it, they get to dine continuously on the five courses, but in terms of presenting it. That way [...]