Archive for September, 2008

Postcard from Vienna

Monday, September 29th, 2008

The line for a table at Demel snaked up two flights of stairs, past the glassed-in kitchen with its broad marble countertops, past scores of other escapees from the rain already enjoying pastries and coffee mit schlag.  I’d convinced new friends from the biking trip to join us, but the afternoon was growing later and [...]

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Postcard from Mautern

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Ahhh, Austria! My stomach is smiling.
I loved everything about our dinner at Landhaus Bacher, the Michelin two-star restaurant in this pretty Austian village. Seated in the cozy library, we feasted on a goose-liver terrine with plums, salted pepper-caramel and brioche. Warm brioche, the perfect accompaniment to a silky terrine.
Next came a clear, strong consomme  with beef struedel and then filet [...]

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Postcard from Cesky Krumlov

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

Even in the rain Cesny Krumlov is beautiful, but in the cold rain, the sightseeing loses some of its appeal.
And for our only day in this Bohemian village the rain was cold and whipped by a near-freezing wind. But we persevered. Through the twisting streets to the art museum. Down the hill to the marionette [...]

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Postcard from Prague

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

In Prague restaurants of all price ranges I’m finding a rather retro holy trinity of ingredients: arugula, pesto and balsamic vinegar. Lots and lots of balsamic vinegar. The scattering of arugula leaves on this pizza was fine–and although ricotta, fresh pears and pine nuts sounds like a caricature of a pizza, it actually was quite [...]

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Field Notes on a Feast

Monday, September 8th, 2008

In a few hours I leave for Prague, Vienna and bike routes in-between. Am I ready? Pretty much. Do I have time to post an account of my recent — and stunning –meal at Manresa? Not really. But I want  at least to share the menu and some notes I scribbled on it in hopes [...]

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Filled, Fried and Fabulous

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

I was re-reading, for the umpteenth time, Calvin Trillin’s “Alice, Let’s Eat,”  smiling at his account of approaching the home of a superb cook — “Alice claims that when we are walking there for dinner she is often forced to grab me by the jacket two or three times to keep me from breaking into [...]

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