Wine
“Great wine works wonders and is itself one.” Edward Steinberg, Making of a Great Wine ‘Tis is the season for sumptuous food and memorable meals, complemented by scintillating wine and sparkling champagne. In the past, we’ve explored exotic cocktails, but herewith we pay tribute to wine – the nectar of the gods. For millennia, man has labored to perfect and preserve the ambrosia of the glorious grape. The love affair is unending, and the history of the handkerchief records this passion. A Merry Christmas/Happy New Year greeting features celebratory champagne. A nascent tower of...
Read MoreTexas & The West
We’ve traveled through Kansas and Oklahoma in our sojourn west, and I’m sure a few Texans are wondering when we’re going to give a tip of the ten gallon to the Lone Star State where The Stars at Night are Big and Bright. (Sorry, couldn’t resist. Did you know there are 100++ songs devoted to Texas? from Abilene to Amarillo, Big D to Brownsville, Galveston to La Grange, Luckenbach to San Antonio…Texans love to sing about their state!). There’s just so much to see and do there. If ever you find yourself in Texas, I’d strongly recommend a road trip of this fantastic state. Some...
Read MoreFruits and Veggies
Is there anything better than fresh corn, asparagus or vine ripened tomatoes in summer? Fresh blueberry, cherry or strawberry rhubarb pie? Fresh peaches in August? We’re approaching the season that is truly “ripe” with pleasure. You can tout all the highfalutin’ flash freeze phenomena you want; nothing beats the real deal ripe off the vine. “The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all…Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America: Culture and...
Read MoreNew Orleans
It’s no surprise that a city as diverse in culture, cuisine and citizenry requires multiple monikers to capture is magic. New Orleans is known by turns as “The Big Easy’, The Birthplace of Jazz”, “The Little Paris of the New World”, “Mardi Gras City” and “The City that Care Forgot”. The current favorite sobriquet? – “The Big Easy”. In the early 1900’s New Orleans had a dance hall named The Big Easy, but it wasn’t until 70 years later, when Betty Guillaud, columnist for the Times-Picayune used the term to compare New York (The Big Apple) to New Orleans (The Big Easy) that the name took...
Read MoreSan Francisco I
“San Francisco, open your Golden Gate You’ll let no stranger wait outside your door San Francisco, here is your wanderin’ one Saying I’ll wander no more.” From the 1936 movie “San Francisco” music by Bronislaw Kaper and Walter Lurmann, lyrics by Gus Kahn Trying to describe the magic of San Francisco is impossible, as her features and flavors are endless and ever changing. We encountered this same conundrum when attempting to showcase New York; some places are simply beyond description. To keep the locals happy, however, we’ll do a quick fly-over before moving on. From the Golden Gate Bridge...
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