Entries from The Amateur Gourmet tagged with 'food'
When You Can't See Your Food (Michael's Genuine)
Once I was throwing a party in Atlanta and I had the fluorescent lights on in my apartment and my friend Ricky came and said, "Adam, no, no, no, turn off the overhead lights and turn on the lamps; this is a party, not a doctor's office." The lesson I learned then is a lesson that successful restaurants have long understood: lighting matters. You may take it for granted, but the difference between the corner diner with the buzzing, yellowing strips of light and the trendy, upscale bistro two doors down with sconces and a soft, ambient glow is more than just the quality of the food. Dining is theater--people go out to see and to be seen--and if a restaurant makes you look bad, or makes the food look bad, you won't likely go back....
101 Foods with Mark Bittman's Initials (COMPLETE!)
After Mark Bittman's third foray into 101 lists, I thought it'd be fun to make a list of 101 foods with Mark Bittman's initials. Here we go.... **UPDATE: Thanks to the help of my brilliant readers, we have completed the list. Check it out!** 1. Meat Balls 2. Malt Balls 3. Matzoh Balls 4. Melted Brie 5. Melon Balls 6. Matzoh Brei 7. Mashed Banana 8. Mango Beef 9. Marinated Beets 10. Marinated Beef 11. Mushroom Bolognese 12. Marble (rye) Bagel 13. Melted Butter 14. Mexican Breadfruit 15. Milk-chocolate Brownie 16. Marinated Beans 17. Mung Beans 18. Maitre (d'hotel) Butter 19. Marrow Bones 20. Mont Blanc 21. Mountain Berries 22. Monkey Bread 23. Multigrain Bread 24. Marshmallow Brownies 25. Marshmallow Bunnies 26. Mrs. Butterworth's 27. Malted Beverage 28. Minced Beef 29. Mocha Beans 30. Mozzarella Bocconcini 31. Mesquite Barbecue 32. Mars Bars 33. Macerated Berries 34. Mushroom Burger 35. Mixed Bag (aka leftovers at Val's house) 36. Mint Brownies 37. Minced Buffalo 38. Mixed Bivalves 39. Mushroom Burrito 40. Mexican Burrito 41. Mashed Brains 42. Mooshu Beef 43. Mushroom Bread 44. Marmite Bread 45. Milk Bread 46. Mandel Bread 47. Matrimonial Bars 48. Macaroon Bars 49. Marzipan Bars 50. Macadamia Bars 51. Maple Biscuits 52. Maple Butter 53. Macadamia Butter 54. Mint Butter 55. Marmalade Butter 56. Malt Beer 57. Masala Beef 58. Maple Biscotti 59. Meaty Borscht 60. Mashed Beans 61. Mandarin Beef 62. Minced Beets 63. Marinated Bruschetta 64. Margarita Balls 65. Mexican Beans 66. Marinated Broccoli 67. Mushroom Bisque 68. Monkfish Bisque 69. Margarine Blend 70. Multi-grain Bagels 71. Miller Beer 72. Macaroni Bake 73. Marie's Blue (cheese salad dressing) 74. Maytag Blue 75. Mini Bagels 76. Melted Bark 77. Milk Bones (for the pups) 78. Mushroom Beignet 79. Marbled Beef 80. Meunster Blintz 81. Maple Bacon 82. Mozzarella Balls 83. Marisco's Burrito 84. Mushroom Brioche 85. Mocha Bars 86. Mongolian Barbecue 87. Malted Barley 88. Macerated Brambles 89. Mango Bellini 90. Mashed Banana 91. Millet Breat 92. Marion Berries 93. Magic Bars 94. Macadamia Brownies 95. Marble Bundt (cake) 96. Minted Berries 97. Melon Bread 98. Meat Bread 99. Mango Butter 100. Mango Beer 101. Mmmmm Bacon (thanks Anna) Thanks for all the help everyone! Some are stretches, but it's the spirit of the thing that counts....
The Food World & The Theater World
The James Beard Awards were last week, this week the Tonys. It's often occurred to me that theater geeks have much in common with foodies and now I'd like to make a list of how the theater world is similar to the food world and vice-versa: * The food world and the theater world are both often seen as elitist; * The parts of the food world that aren't seen as elitist (the Food Network, fast food, movie theater nachos) are considered by the elitists to be lowbrow just as populist theater (jukebox musicals, movie-to-stage adaptations) are frowned upon by theater elites; * Still, both worlds are niche worlds with communities of passionate people who follow the ups and downs of their industry with fierce fascination; * Restaurants fear Frank Bruni the way that producers fear Ben Brantley; * New voices are celebrated to the point of exhaustion--David Chang meet Stew; * Newish voices take a while to be noticed but once noticed are also celebrated to the point of exhaustion--Wylie Dufresne meet Tracy Letts; * Older voices get their moment in the sun after long careers of hard work--Jean-Georges meet Patti LuPone; * It's expensive to eat at James Beard award winning restaurant; it's expensive to see a Tony-winning play (or any play or musical, for that matter); * Both communities have lively message boards: foodies have chowhound and eGullet; Theater geeks have All That Chat and Broadwayworld.com; * If you make it in theater, you often flee to Hollywood to do movies and TV (see: Cynthia Nixon, Mary Louise-Parker); if you make it in the food world, you often flee to "Hollywood" by way of Food Network, the Home Shopping Channel, the frozen food aisle, and restaurant franchises (see: Wolfgang Puck, Mario Batali); * Las Vegas: both restauranteurs and theater producers go there to offer watered-down versions of "high" culture; * Modern American food culture owes a debt to gay men (notably James Beard & Craig Claiborne) just as modern American theater owes a debt to gay men like Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, and Stephen Sondheim; * People turn their nose up at foods they consider weird (offal, for example) the way that audiences walk out of plays they consider weird ("Top Girls," for example); * People don't dress up any more to go to the theater much like they don't dress up any more to go out to dinner; * Some save menus, some save Playbills; * Celebrity chefs fill restaurant seats just like celebrity cast members fill theater seats, (despite frequent bad reviews, Julia Roberts); I'm sure I can go on and on, but we can leave it at that. Thank you for indulging my desire to point out how the food world is similar to the theater world. Carry on, designers. (Oooh, that leads to the fashion world... but that's another post.)...
Music While You Eat (4/24/08)
