The link here will take you to an article that appears in the current issue of ‘Food & Wine’ Magazine. It was written by my friend and colleague Greg Baker. He is a long time veteran of the restaurant world. Here he takes his pen to paper to assess the…
Posts
A Word On Food: Tropical Fruits
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…
A Word On Food: Pumpkins
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…
A Word On Food: Guavas
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…
A Word On Food: Blackened Seafood
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…
“Forward to the Future” by Joseph Hayes
The highly talented and ever curious journalist Joseph Hayes writing for @edibleorlando peers into what is possibly coming our way as we make ourselves bravely (like it or not) into 2021. Please hit the link to read his words and see the fine photography. Wishing you all a safe, healthy…
A Word On Food: Moros y Cristianos
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…
A Word On Food: Halloween
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…
“CHAIR THE LOVE”. Orlando Sentinel Feature
Orlando based journalist Amy Drew Thompson and I were talking about life in these challenging times. She asked me if I was doing much cooking. I had to laugh because our home kitchen looks like it would be the test kitchen for a cooking school meets a TV production studio…
A Word On Food: French Dip Sandwiches
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…
A Word On Food: Foraging
A few years ago my wife, Janet and I were at the farmer’s market on Biscayne when a young woman walked up to me and asked if I was Norman Van Aken. I nodded yes. She said, ‘Good. Can you wait a minute? I want to give you a book…
The Ment’or Culinary Council
I am proud to be a member of The Ment’or Culinary Council a network of prestigious industry leaders who provide their culinary expertise and knowledge to the Foundation in a variety of significant ways. I am very appreciative of their commitment to inspiring Culinary Excellence in America. As you can…
A Word On Food: Chilies
The New World endowed the rest of the globe with one of the spices of life: chilies. The word comes from the Aztecs’ Náhuatl language. The Taino Indians called them ajíes, and in the Incan Quechua tongue they are known as uchu. The 1st of January is a festive occasion…
Cigar Aficionado: A Look Back Essay
NEW WORLD CHEF For Florida “fusion cuisine” pioneer Norman Van Aken, co-owner of NORMAN’S in Coral Gables, the kitchen is his classroom. By Mervyn Rothstein January/February 2000 ~~~~~~ On West Flagler Street in Miami, not far from Calle Ocho, the long street that’s the…
A Word On Food: Barbecue
Few food topics unites us and divides folks in the USA like barbecue. I am of the belief that it is because it touches us in a very passionate place. Our sense of hunger mixed with tradition. What we grow up with. The Chinese philosopher Lin Yutang wrote, “What is…
A Word On Food: Ventanitas
In 1971 when I … and three other wanderers .. crossed the short span named the ‘Cow Key Channel Bridge’ from Stock Island .. the island to the immediate north of Key West I passed forevermore through a magical window of life. What was unfolding all around me that Spring…