A Mexican boy of 20 or so … in long baggy shorts with a baseball hat is cooking my eggs while his mother rapidly peels potatoes with a curved blade flicking the peels away from her into a bowl while she giggles at the conversation she is having with him. I can…

Controversies over the birthplace of certain dishes are part of the spice of life and landscape of any cuisine. A spirited discussion revolves around the origin of ceviches. This seafood favorite, made of raw fish and/or barely blanched shellfish marinated in citrus juices and laced with various adornments many maintain, was bestowed…

We were in Atlanta for the annual Atlanta Food & Wine Festival a few years ago. The folks who started this up, have hit the sweet spot on all manner of Southern cooking and drinking with this fest. My son Justin and I were busy as bees over the 3 days and…

I was out walking Bounder, the little dog our son Justin brought home from a shelter a few years ago, and almost back home when I spotted a McArthur Dairy milk crate brimming over with a harvest of 20 or more backyard grown avocados on the edge a neighbor’s lawn. Perfectly imperfect,…

You may be making plans to celebrate our day of “National Independence” from the once “Tax Mad” English by having friends and family over for backyard parties. Possibly your menu will be featuring one of the all-time icons of American gastronomy, “The Great American Hot Dog”. When most of us think of…

Have you seen that now classic commercial where a bunch of cowboys get all freaked out about a salsa that is produced in NEW YORK CITY?! Well, I found it similarly amusing to be in an elegant restaurant in NEW YORK CITY! recently where they were offering me a menu which included caviar…