Naturally due to the pandemic, we take many measures to be as safe as we can. But we are happy that our son, Justin, daughter-in-law Lourdes and granddaughter Audrey have returned to the mainland after a few years of living in Key West. Now we can now visit with them…

We can argue on what is and what is not ‘real’ barbecue. We have and will continue to .. forever. It is one of those things so core to our identity and personal provenance. If a person from Texas says he or she is making barbecue likely you will be…

We had a bit of a cool weather pattern last week. My hungers turned back to earlier times in my life as weather can do. Our minds are switched in different directions with things as transformative as weather can be. It is funny to watch the foodies of South Florida’s…

The first time we tried to check out the place that inspired me to write this show it was closed. But that made sense in that it was New Year’s Day. I was prepared for that possibility. Heartbroken but prepared. I’ve long been a proponent of ‘word of mouth’ recommendations…

Several years ago. Okay… Many … we were sitting on the verandah of a hotel overlooking Waikiki beach resting. The mighty Pacific Ocean purred like a Lamborghini in the shimmering distance. Earlier my wife, Janet and I had spent hours walking in Honolulu’s incredible Chinatown. A keen hunger was rising….

My friend Denny and I have been talking about menu collecting as of late. I love conversing with him about food and music. It might be fun to take the titles of the almost 400 ‘A Word On Food’ shows I’ve done, put them in one of those lotto spinners,…

It is the beginning of a New Year. The hopes we have for 2021 might be as wishful we’ve had for any year in our lives. I think it has been nearly universally acknowledged that last year was the toughest. And we are not out of the woods yet. But…

People of all faiths have woken today and know it is the day after Christmas. It is such an impactful holiday. The moments of hope for humanity touch deeply at times like these. It is a time that calls for the most magnificent celebrations and gratitude for life. As far…

As we now are ending the longest year of our collective lives it is time to end a number of things.  Of course there are loftier things to ditch. Discrimination, bullying, science haters and others. But one has to do with the particular field of work I chose to till…

Some years ago my wife, Janet … sort of like that acting thing Peter Falk did in his memorable role as ‘Colombo’ inclines to go back just when we are leaving a place. ‘Oh …. one more thing’. Why? Who knows. It is a trait you try not to be…

We had a very nice, very small gathering for Thanksgiving 2020. I hope you did as well. Virus testing was done by all in the preceding days. We greeted with masks and face turned hugs. We had our doors open for much of the day. Luckily it was good weather…

She stood at a bus stop … waiting. There was no room left in the canopied area of that bus stop. She was holding … something over her head with one hand to block the direct sunlight. As our car got closer I could make out her makeshift “parasol”. It…

Very recently we went to a pop up at what is usually the restaurant ‘Navé’ in Coconut Grove. As 2020 arrived the team there were just getting underway with a menu featuring seafood and pasta complete with a special pasta production room. But then the pandemic struck. They closed entirely…

I cannot say when I first had the combination of black beans and white rice often named “Moros y Cristianos”. But I can tell you where. Key West. Life changed for me on the Island I came to call home while still a very young man. The exotic nature of…

We already know that this Halloween will be different than it has ever been. This time the scary is real and it is not reserved for just one day. But … we have customs and traditions to keep. We can’t erase the things that give childhood it’s magic!  And oh…

Though the origin has been disputed many say it went down this way.  “The year was 1918, and as Andrew Binder tells it, “Philippe Mathieu was making a sandwich, and the roll fell into the pan drippings of some beef. A customer (supposedly a police officer) was in a rush…