food | ideas that taste good

It’s 1967 all over again

April 27, 2014 by antdina

That oak which sits in your front yard. Or at the top of the street. Or in the city plaza. Began as a seedling. Through many miracles it found water and light and grew to the sky. And while we admire the giant it has become, the seedling never went away. Instead, that young green shoot expanded out as much as it shot up. Elementary school explains this truth to the open minds of children. The cross cut of an old tree reveals […]

Categories: The Taste Lab • Tags: Chicken Surprise, easy recipe, Florence Hanford, food, home, Philadelphia Electric Company, puff pastry, salad

Don’t blend in…blend out

January 19, 2014 by antdina

Ask an evolutionary biologist about stripes and they will wax poetic about tigers, zebras and angelfish. In their view, these animals gained vertical striations for camouflage. To disappear into the environment. When we admire their physical beauty, it’s usually separate from where they prowl or hide. From a designers perspective, these natural patterns deliver appeal to clothes, drapes and rugs. Our brains delight in change. A departure from the homogeneous. Smart chefs have picked up on this trick. Sauces loaded […]

Categories: Design • Tags: El Chile, food, Izumi, Mexican, relleno, sauce, stripes, sushi, Umami Mia

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Mon Ami, Bahn Mi

December 29, 2013 by antdina

Time to hang another jersey in the rafters. Right next to Philly cheese steak, meatball sub, and the Dagwood, we have Bahn Mi. That irresistible combination of crusty bread, crunchy veggies, succulent pork and cilantro. The Vietnamese give the world another perfect sandwich. What most Americans expect from a bahn mi is a mashup of traditional Vietnamese ingredients and that which they stole during the French colonization: bread and mayo. From the sunny shores of LA to the icy waters […]

Categories: Meaning • Tags: baguette, bahn mi, chicken, Elizabeth Street Cafe, food, Nomnom Truck, pork, sandwich, taco, Taco Deli, Vietnamese

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Eating from the Witch’s Kitchen

December 15, 2013 by antdina

Our demeanor changes in the cold. When the temperature drops, we curse the breeze by calling it “gust.” We speak ill of “windchill.” Eyes narrow and brows furrow when feet step into icy air. And our palates change too. Stomachs echo the howls of the Winter. We hunger for rich flavors born from marathon cooking times. Spoons are promoted from the dessert position to their place next to the knife. We slurp up every last bit. No calorie left behind. […]

Categories: Meaning • Tags: Austria, bitter, bitter greens, brussel sprouts, Bufalina, cold, food, fruit, hazlenut, Munich, NoRTH, nuts, phonemes, salad, wind, winter, witch, witch's kitchen

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Fight back the winter wind with crunch and chew

December 8, 2013 by antdina

Jack Frost is a bastard. He sends gusts around buildings to infiltrates even the thickest down. And God forbid if any skin is exposed. It is here that the icy knife of winter penetrates through to the bone. The season of Sun has gone to sleep. The stomach cries for the rich and the savory. Research tells us that we prepare for cold with an increased calorie consumption. Makes sense. Store energy like a chipmunk. Except that our belts bulge […]

Categories: Food Finds • Tags: brain in our gut, chipolte cream, cold, crispy, crispy foods, crunch, food, Harvard, jalapeno, John S. Allen, linguini, mango, Nova, nueroanthropologist, oysters, potato chips, Syrah, The Grove, umami, wind, winter, Zelo

Introducing the edible portrait

November 10, 2013 by antdina

“After a while I murmured to Picasso that I liked his portrait of Gertrude Stein. Yes, he said, everybody says that she does not look like it but that does not make any difference, she will, he said.” ― Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas Picasso’s paintings strike with an unforgiving savageness. He paints raw truth in sharp relief. And sometimes his words carry that same poison tip. The quote about Ms. Stein opens the door for artists to decouple […]

Categories: Storytelling, The Taste Lab • Tags: bacon, bourbon, bourbon gruel, caciacavallo, celebration, duck bacon, food, gruel, jalapeno, mozzarella, peaches, Picasso, Pizza, portrait, smoked cheese, The Whittington, walnuts, Whittington

Behold! 3D cooking

October 20, 2013 by antdina

Italian restaurants tempt diners with focaccia and olive oil. Mexican restaurants lay out chips and salsa. Indians, papadum and chutney. These free snacks tame voracious appetites while dinners are planned. So if you find yourself in Malaysia, or maybe just Milpitas, look for Roti Canai and Curry. The Banana Leaf, a Malaysian restaurant in Milpitas CA, sculpts their pan bread into three dimensional shapes. Flour, water and oil make the dough. A line cook pulls and spins until a frisbee […]

Categories: Food Finds • Tags: bread, cook, curry, dough, food, griddle, Indian food, Malaysian food, Milpitas, Pizza, roti, roti canai

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Starting an adventure is a matter of taste

October 13, 2013 by antdina

A boy sits alone. His fingers press the soft, musty pages so that the spine nearly creases. In one breath, he exhales the weight of day: the noises from the other room; the taunting from school; the meagerness of his lunch. He plunges into the story, head, heart and all. His feet land on an island swarming with pirates. The salty breeze gives way to damp boots of sailors who hunger for gold at any price. This is a world […]

Categories: Food Finds, Uncategorized • Tags: adventure, bite, celebration, dosa, dosas, food, food court, Indian food, Journeys of the Imagination, peripeteia, Pringles, San Diego, story

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Before anything else, we taste the name

September 29, 2013 by antdina

Funny how some words we just know. Like the word “menu.” Do you remember ever looking it up the dictionary? Or asking somebody for a definition? Chances are that you did not. It came into your vocabulary as if by osmosis. It is older than your teeth, as my Latin teacher would say. The fact of the matter is that “menu” is a French term that remains virtually unchanged across languages. Travel to Holland or Italy and the waiter will […]

Categories: Meaning • Tags: american heritage dictionary, dish, evil wiener, food, menu, minutus, restaurant

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An everyday thanksgiving

September 22, 2013 by antdina

Jeff and Trudy came into our lives as teachers for our two boys. They brought the love of lacrosse and the love math to our children. They also brought values of fellowship and discipline. They breathed life into the example of “bringing up children.” You know, the metaphorical image of physically lifting dead weight. What it costs them is dear. To open their hearts wide and without self concern. So when the children graduate, there are tears. A strange mix […]

Categories: Tribute • Tags: celebration, food, pasta, steak, umami, wine

ideas that taste good

storytelling through food

Tag: food

It’s 1967 all over again

Don’t blend in…blend out

Mon Ami, Bahn Mi

Eating from the Witch’s Kitchen

Fight back the winter wind with crunch and chew

Introducing the edible portrait

Behold! 3D cooking

Starting an adventure is a matter of taste

Before anything else, we taste the name

An everyday thanksgiving