May 2009

Foodville Part One: Welcome to the Food Fashion Era

1.

Not many people will remember the story of Pittsburgh food critic Mike Kalina. But, as strange as it may seem, I think we should remember him. 

Kalina's story is quintessentially of his era. He wrote restaurant reviews for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in the late ’80s and early ’90s under the name “The Travelin’ Gourmet,” which was also the name of his television show and his 1990 cookbook. That book is out of print, but you can still find copies online for as little as $0.99 US. It has recipes for things like Chicken Wings in Oyster Sauce, Crab Cheesecake, and something Kalina called Enraged Spaghetti, which was his cute name for that Italianate standard of last-minute gourmandery, spaghetti tossed with garlic, hot pepper flakes and olive oil.

Posted: Monday, May. 4, 2009 10:00pm
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Napa and the North

For Western Living Magazine
Napa wines, we all know already: super-cabs and fruit bomb pinots, rich chardonnays and saugnvinon blancs bright with citrus. But food in Napa is becoming as rich a story. So, on a recent tour around the valley with chefs Barbara Alexander and Adam Busby, it seemed impossible to stop the car without encountering some exquisite barotta cheese or strawberries so pungent we could smell them before opening the car door or, for that matter, wild asparagus and fennel growing rampant along the roadside.
Posted: Monday, May. 4, 2009 10:00pm