April 2008 archives

I figured out why I don’t really like traveling. Or more specifically, why I don’t like staying in hotels.

It’s not the stack of singles that you have to peel off every time someone smiles at you. Nor is it the way they swarm your car when you pull up to the front, yank out all your luggage and pull you out the door before you’ve even had time to collect your things. And it isn’t the lousy, weak coffee that you have to drink four cups of just to get a suggestions of caffeine in your system. (Do the people working there drink that coffee, too?)

No, what drives me nuts is having to wear clothes.

Continue Reading Robe-ism…

I don’t think I could say it any better than this…

When you fly in to Charles de Gaulle airport, there’s a mad rush to get off the plane. Then you’re herded to a holding pen-like area, where you wait to go through passport control. It’s complete chaos: everyone surging forward, en masse, trying to get around everyone else, regardless of who got there first. That is, except for the Americans, who wait patiently for their turn, but quickly learn that if they don’t assert themselves, they’re going to spend their entire vacation in that stifling, airless space.

If you leave 4.5-inches of space in front or behind you in France, you may as well not even be there as people take that to mean you’re not waiting. I know that because they act very surprised when I tap them on the shoulder and point out that yes, I are indeed standing in that line with my luggage, just like they are, to check in to my flight. I’m not just hanging out at the airport with a suitcase because I had nothing better to do.

So you have to constantly be on your toes and you can’t let your guard down for a second. If you do, you’ll never get anywhere. It’s pretty exhausting.

Continue Reading Crazy Americans…

I wish I could take credit for this.

Well, kinda.

After thinking about the world’s most unhealthiest combination of foods, chocolate and Fritos, en route to my class in Austin, I was thinking, “I’m wonder what white chocolate-coated Fritos would taste like?” And thought I’d add them to my class repertoire, as a garnish to one of the desserts.

Exept when I showed up, I learned someone had beat me to the punch, when Christy, one of the terrific assistants at Central Market, handed me a bag of candy. Inside were chocolate-covered Fritos with chipotle.

I wish I could say I came up with it first, but I can’t.

I did manage to eat most of them, but maybe I’m better off not taking credit. I had kinda a chocolate-Frito induced hangover the next morning.

And I know it couldn’t have been the margaritas…

Tempt Chocolate
512-636-9630

The great thing about being back in America, is that we’re on all the same page about a lot of things. I feel comfortable going into stores and asking for help and thankfully, there’s literally hundreds of shampoos to choose from, because really, they’re all that different.

Really.

Sure we disagree about politics, religion, and Lou Dobbs (Can someone just say to him, “Okay. We got your point.”) But one thing that we all agree on is how important, how vital, how absolutely critical it is to know the weather forecast.

On every morning news show, the weatherperson is there, breathlessly reporting each droplet that might fall from the sky, that there’s a chance of a storm coming this weekend, or possibly to expect the possibility of wet weather.

And if that’s not enough, there’s constant play-by-play recounts throughout the day, at five minute intervals, via news-breaking worthy weather alerts with heart-pumping names like Weather Watch or Action Weather, and the most fearsome of them all—First Warning Weather.

I guess it’s nice in the newsroom, to know you’ve gotten there first with the weather report. But does it really matter?

I don’t know. I don’t have time to think about it.

They say there’s a chance that it might rain, and I gotta go get ready for it. Somehow.

“Do you want Texas barbeque, or Mexican food?”

Honestly, have you ever heard such sweeter words?

When my friend picked me up by the airport in Austin, those were the first words out of his mouth. How did he know?

Since I’d never ventured out much into the outskirts of the cities in Texas (it’s hard when you don’t have a car, or time), here was my chance, and after much careful consideration—okay, maybe about four seconds of discussion, we floored it outta Austin.

Continue Reading Kreuz Market BBQ…

They say that two of the worst things that you can eat are Fritos and white chocolate.

I’ve been here less than 24 hours and I’ve already slipped on one.

Guess I’ll just have to stick with laying off the white chocolate.

Christian Constant has a mini-empire of restaurants in the 7th arrondissement, taking over an entire side of a city block. On one corner is the Café Constant, bookended by his upscale bistro, Le Fables de la Fontaine. Violon d’Ingres was his high-end joint in the middle until he decided to go ‘downmarket’ and turn it into a more everyday dining experience. With linen table runners replacing the starched tablecloths and waiters shucking their Hugo Boss togs (which the menu duly noted), the food is some of the best in town and now it’s more accessible to many more diners.

I had a terrific roasted Guinea fowl braised in a casserole, and learned an obscure new French word; “luttée”, which I thought meant ‘fight’ (lutte), although here it meant a luting paste.

Continue Reading Le Violon d’Ingres…