eat.shop

punxsutawney phil sucks

jon — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:36:58 +0000

Though it is only 20 or so days til spring and we have had an entire Olympics since Punxsutawney Phil did or didn’t see his shadown, NYC is crippled by a late winter storm. This makes trying to get out of town panic-attack inducing. My phone’s vibrate function is now nearly broken from two days of text messages about flight delays and cancellations. The latest crippled buzz: another cancellation.

This inconvenience buys 26 more hours in NYC. On most days of the years, this would be more like a lucky treat, than a major inconvenience. But when it’s impossible to get a cab and walking to the subway is through more snow than the nordic combined track has in Vancouver, you start to think strategically.

The way my mind works is to think about proximities. Where do I want to spend a long, isolated winter day where the most that is asked of me is if I would like another beer? Easy answer. The ultra-cozy and ultra-satisfying Diner in Brooklyn. So I call a friend who lives across the street there and is conveniently out of town for work. I move into his killer apartment and start planning my lunch and dinner at Diner and be ultra thankful for the kindness of friends.

a deep fried birthday

anna — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:09:53 +0000

Six 16 0z bottles of oil later, these russet French fries and this buttermilk fried chicken (thanks to Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home cookbook) were served up to me by my husband for my birthday dinner. So insanely delicious, so ridiculously indulgent, this seemed more like a Last Meal than a Birthday Meal.

been on vacation

kaie — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:52:41 +0000

It’s been glorious living in Hawaii since November 22nd 2009 in my little shack right on the beach. No electricity, no running water. Spending everyday eating fresh fish caught by my daughter and husband with their hand-whittled spears.

Okay, fine. This was just a fantasy and I’ve actually been at home in rainy Portland, Oregon for the last three or so months glued to my kitchen counter working on the upcoming Spring eat.shop titles for Paris, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Twin Cities.

Where has the time gone? Certainly not to this blog. But now I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m trying to think of another cliché to add here for drama, but it alludes me. Feel free to add some cliché suggestions…

neo craft

anna — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:29:59 +0000

I just got back from staying with my sister and her husband,while working on the latest edition of eat.shop los angeles (coming to you in May of 2010). My sister Amy and I decided that we need to start a craft revolution—a Neo Craft movement, if you will—and judging from her craft room and studio and her multitude of projects (needlepoints, letterpress, crochet, feather-headbands, jewelry—she has no limits), she should be our leader, our revolutionary, our Che Guevara. For those of you who want to join the resistance, here’s a few inspiring photos from Amy’s workspace.

new editions are out this week!

kaie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:47:54 +0000

I have a phobia about certain types of launch parties. You know the type—where lots of C-list celebs show up so they can get their picture taken in their frozen America’s Top Model pose (toe pointed, knee tucked in, gut sucked in) in front of the step-and-repeat and then get a some swag. But when the good people at Club Monaco (where the books are now being sold), asked if they could throw parties in honor of the new editions of eat.shop chicago, boston and vancouver (there’s also new editions for seattle and new england), I changed my tune.

Tonight is the first party in Chicago at the Damen location. Anna will be there, as will goodies from Southport Grocery and Sarah’s Candies. Drop by between 7 – 9p. You will find Jon and I happily ensconced at the Vancouver party this Thursday the 19th at the Robson location from 7 – 9p. Come have a drink with us and grab a book while you are at it. And then Tuesday the 1st of December is the Boston party at the Prudential Center location. Same time as the others. Anna will be there will bells on.

worth the guilt

jon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:12:25 +0000

I’m going to H. E. double tooth picks, but it was so worth it. My most recent eating offense was when I learned about the Neapolitan specialty—the sfogliatella riccia, which exists somewhere between a croissant, a strudel, and a caramelized potato chip. This orgasmic pastry is made of thousands of layers of hand-pulled dough and baked around sweetened ricotta cheese flavored with cinnamon, limoncello and bits of candied citrus. Eating one piques all of the sensations. The dough is extremely flaky, better yet crispy, but as your teeth reach the rich center the filling is like the most glorious cheese danish. Oh, and did I mention these are made fresh all day and served warm throughout Naples? It is a good thing I was only in Naples for one day.

even the subway is fancy!

jon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:01:50 +0000

This little video illustrates the difference between Paris and other big cities around the world. While in New York subways, a few weeks ago, I entertained myself by counting rats scampering amongst the Dunkin’ Donut cups discarded in the tracks. (I saw 8 in a week!) But in Paris, small impromptu chamber orchestras play pretty music for you while changing trains in the incredible metro system. Ahh… douceur de vivre

quotidian beauty

anna — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:19:36 +0000

My daily breakfast is fairly humdrum and ordinary (grapefruit, oatmeal, tea) but succinctly displays why I so love Heath Ceramics: clean-lined, simple yet brilliant pieces that make even a measly Monday morning meal worthy of a photo shoot.

the elusive jon

kaie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:54:32 +0000

Though Anna, Jan and I have some admirers—Jon, the sole male in our eat.shop gaggle—has a pretty substantial fan club. It could be his rugged good looks or his impish charm or his special way with the written word. Who’s to say. When word began to leak out that he began working on the new edition of eat.shop paris last week, some of Jon’s Club wanted to see if they could catch sight of him trodding the cobbled streets. I’ve attached a picture so he’ll be easier to spot.

playing with food

kaie — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:59:03 +0000

I could blather on endlessly about my newly begun love affair with 2nd Ave Deli in New York and the funny, friendly, uber-competent staff there, but I will leave that mash note for the upcoming book. I will though launch up a couple of pictures of Sayed’s intricate food sculptures which live in the deli cases right next to the macaroni salad and roast chickens. Ge’oni.