The great epicure and writer Joseph Wechsberg once wrote that the hallmark of a good schnitzel was the absence of a grease stain on your pants if you sat on it. Why anyone would sit on a schnitzel is a mystery to me, but the principle stands, that the ideal thin fried cutlet must be…
Sodium lurks in surprising places. See if you can identify the biggest offenders with this quiz.
Good morning. I had a lovely run of Brooklyn sandwiches going, before work, school and Easter intervened to send me back to the kitchen. There was a classic Saigon-style bánh mì from Ba Xuyen in Sunset Park. A colossal roast beef, fried eggplant and mozzarella hero from Defonte’s in Red Hook, with hot peppers, gravy…
On the subject of raisins in carrot cake, the food writer Allison Robicelli once wrote for Taste Cooking, “They don’t just get to show up in desserts, acting like they belong there when they have no business stepping outside of the world of trail mix.” However you may feel on the matter — raisins or…
In the early 1950s, Lucinda Moore founded a church ministry from her home in Blount’s Creek, N.C. The property anchored the charity work she became known for: nursing sick people back to health in her house, giving needy people the clothes that hung in her closet, leading religious ceremonies in the church she helped build…
After the quiet winter months, spring heralds the return of longer days and gathering over leisurely meals. The best dishes for those get-togethers are the ones that feel celebratory enough to serve to guests, but are simple enough to ensure you’re not spending all day in the kitchen. These three cheery mains — a salad…
Good morning. What I smelled during a 10-minute bicycle ride today: wood smoke, diesel exhaust, grass, frying bacon, rotting wood, bleach, balloon rubber, dollar pizza, a tendril of burning weed, the sharpness of electrical ozone, cart coffee and, last, the strong, sweet scent of lilies — Easter in the air. Good Friday! There’ll be ham…
Austria is best known for its white wines, grüner veltliners and rieslings primarily. But it also produces brilliant reds, which, because they often seem like afterthoughts, can be great values. Why do they seem so relatively obscure? Partly, it’s because grapes like blaufränkisch, which has great potential for making complex, contemplative wines, and zweigelt, the…
In the business of reporting on and reacting to culture — whether it’s theater, film, music, books or restaurants — eventually something you write will end up in promotional advertising. I’m a living example: If you’ve ever ordered a fish taco from Tacombi on a delivery app, then you might have noticed its description starts…
For almost two years, I had managed to avoid a New York inevitability: attending an improv comedy show. That streak came to an end this month. Thankfully, it was at the hands of my hilarious friend Meg, who invited me to her improv class’s showcase. Equipped with a classmate’s prompt about working at a farmers’…