I have always been the baker; I baked jam tarts for my dollies; I baked cookies for my brother and his friends when they were teenagers and had the munchies; I bake everyone their birthday cake and was given a plaque from my daughter's grade school for baking every month for seven years.You might surmise this is compulsion is borne of generosity; perhaps, but it is also … [Read more...] about White Pecan Balls
The Pitfalls of Reviewing Restaurants
Think it's easy to be a restaurant reviewer? Nancy Rommelmann has a few words on the topic I began my journalistic career as a reviewer of bars, a job that drew the drooling envy of my friends, and more comments than I can count along the lines of “I can’t believe that you get paid to drink!” Then, as people turned thirty, paired up and had kids, I noticed less envy, more … [Read more...] about The Pitfalls of Reviewing Restaurants
Reviewing the Restaurant Reviewer – What Do Ethics Matter?
A forward: I hope Nancy doesn't mind me jumping in on her story. Shortly after this story was written, Robb Walsh, restaurant reviewer of the Houston Press pulled a double review at a restaurant at which he is recognized and the results are rather interesting:"As for the experiment, it's clear I was treated much better than Josh. The point isn't to punish Gravitas for … [Read more...] about Reviewing the Restaurant Reviewer – What Do Ethics Matter?
My Oven, J’Accuse!
Cookies, like kids, do better with boundaries There are certain things in life we just need to admit. For instance, if you were the tallest man in the world, you’d have to cop to it. If you wrote like Joan Didion—whose beam on the unalloyed truth moves her to write even when she is mad with grief you’d have to acknowledge that the process you call “discovering what's on my … [Read more...] about My Oven, J’Accuse!
Why You Don’t Want the Pie
If you have ever been to Nancy Rommelmann's house, you will have had many baked goods pressed into your hands, some of which are the best darn chocolate chip cookies, pies, truffles I've had. Her kitchen is like a bakery where the proprietress has plenty of time to chat and offer sage advice with a warm slice of pie. FDWhy You Don’t Want the PieI recently walked into a … [Read more...] about Why You Don’t Want the Pie