The assorted joys of nasturtiums
By the middle of June, nasturtiums are finished here in central California. But there are many places where they are just beginning to bloom
Spectator Life
An intelligent mix of culture, style, travel, food and property, as well as where to go and what to see.
In praise of the country store
Mosley’s hails from a past age but prospers fine in this one
March 24, 2022
The real food of Venice
The Venetians still love black food pulled from the lagoon that saved them
Table talk
Unknowingly, my parents were playing a part in a rapidly disappearing American scene: families conversing civilly around a table
Spring’s perfect roast
For Easter, why not plan a crown roast of lamb?
March 21, 2022
The sad demise of Amish family-style restaurants
A simplified but real piece of their legacy culture is disappearing
February 20, 2022
Be my Valentine
A French Valentine classic
Welcome to Waffle House
Long live the short order
The pan handler
In our anemic age, cast-iron pans are just what we need to re-enrich the American bloodstream
February 11, 2022
The restaurant that set Miami ablaze
Café Habana came to town extolling Castro, and Cuban Americans pushed back
January 24, 2022
A load of old crêpes
Eat crêpes on Candlemas, enjoy a year of happiness, says a traditional French-Canadian proverb
Marmite man
On a cold day in winter, there is nothing as cozy as buttered toast with a thick smear of Marmite and a cup of tea in front of afternoon TV
The millennial kitchen
Millennial chefs are phoning it in
January 3, 2022
How to survive eating out
The greatest human spirits would view the new era of show-your-papers dining not as a hardship, but as an opportunity
January 2, 2022
Making a raclette
One thing we all agreed on was cheese, cheese, cheese and more cheese — calories be damned
November 25, 2021
Talking turkey with William F. Buckley Jr. on Quemoy
Chopstick diplomacy would not be enough now
November 18, 2021
What’s good from the goose
Goose used to rule the roost
I ate Audrey Hepburn’s kidneys
I had contemplated knocking on my famous neighbor’s front door and asking if she had any suggestions for cooking veal kidneys
October 18, 2021
In defense of the English original sandwich
Yank yearns for ye olde English sandwich
Mums the word
Chrysanthemums signal the beginning of fall and the harvest
September 15, 2021
Burrata inamorata
A thrifty Italian is to thank for burrata
August 25, 2021
Bread is the staff of life
In times of scarcity and anxiety, it seems that we like to have proper bread back on our table again
In search of lost French restaurants
It was a sad day when La Petite Auberge passed from the scene a decade ago
August 21, 2021
The American dream has no time for offal
Why is the US taste in meat so blinkered and narrow?
July 21, 2021
Lessons from a lobsterman
‘He’s a guy’s guy’, my father would say of Willard. Less known was that Willard was also a lobster gal’s guy
July 20, 2021
The culinary wisdom of charity cookbooks
The Ladies’ Charity Cookbooks are neglected historical artifacts
The man in the White Castle
From the pioneers of the bun to the cheek of Earl Butz
June 21, 2021
My night at the Cheesecake Factory
The Cheesecake Factory is what a fashionable French writer would create in a novel if he needed a restaurant to embody American food excesses
May 25, 2021
Hell hath no fury like a restaurateur scorned
Keith McNally dines out on Graydon Carter
