Skip to content

Cheese Ball

The French concept of terroir, a confluence of elements – soil, atmosphere, weather, and other factors – that gives something a certain taste or flavor to foods and wine, is often spoken of as an elusive concept outside of France. But it does exist in the United States, as well as other countries. We just don’t have a word for it. The French, being so…

4K Shares

Continue reading...

Zuni Cafe and Chez Panisse

I tried. I gave it my best shot to try and make it through the list of the new places that were on my radar for my visit to San Francisco, the one that I’d been scribbling down for the last few month. But getting felled by a bout of whatever it was that I picked up on my flight sapped me of a bit…

106 Shares

Continue reading...

Al Bohsali: Middle Eastern Pastries

It’s too bad that so many people are only familiar with Middle Eastern pastries that aren’t so well made. If you sample them far from where they originate, often they’re made with old or stale nuts, they’ve sat around too long in plastic packages, or the cheeses aren’t exactly fresh. While it’s true that some of them can be a bit sticky-sweet for Western tastes,…

2K Shares

Continue reading...

Sharjah Market

I have a really dumb habit of always wearing flip-flops, or similar sandal-style shoes, then discovering that I have to do something really precarious a little while later. I remember scaling down rocky cliffs at beaches and almost killing myself, as well as assorted other idiocies attempted with rubber-clad feet. Really, it’s amazing I’m still alive. Like the flowing robes, sandals are part of the…

1 Shares

Continue reading...

Fruitcake Bar Recipe

I’ve been making these Fruitcake Bars more and more as the holidays approach. Not only are they incredibly simple to put together, unlike other fruitcakes, these really do taste great. They can be made up to a week in advance, which will undoubtedly help alleviate holiday stress. It’s from my archives but thought it worth sharing again since folks enjoyed them so much at a…

6K Shares

Continue reading...

Apple Spice Cake

Recently I ate at one of those small neighborhood restaurants whose fame spreads beyond the quartier and people come from other neighborhoods, as well as from other countries, to eat at because it is très reputé. Le Repaire de Cartouche (99 rue Amelot) is one of those restaurants in Paris. It’s known for very good food and an especially compelling wine list. The prices aren’t…

383 Shares

Continue reading...

Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe

In my high school locker room, when the jocks congregated after winning a big game, they’d all jump around, yelling the word, “Sah-weet! Sah-weet!“ adding a big, tight, thumbs-up for emphasis, while jumping all over each other celebrating their victory. While not as exciting as a group of sweaty, nearly-naked high school athletes jumping all over each other, I don’t know about you, but what…

Continue reading...

Friendship Bars (aka Fruitcake Bars)

You will love those Friendship Bars. Packed with dried fruits and nuts, and low in fat, they’re great for an energy boost at home or on the go. I like to bring them on trips with me but they’re also good around the Christmas holiday since the flavors resemble fruitcake, but are much more welcome! Adapted from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich Feel free to…

145 Shares

Continue reading...

A Date For International Understanding

Although most of the comments and messages I get are friendly and kind, a few do slip through that are less-than-complimentary. A majority of them illuminate the errors of my ways by pointing out the faults in my cross-cultural observations. So I was delighted when I found Socio-Site Scan v1.01, some brand-new software which allows me to simply input all my blog entries, and tells…

0 Shares

Continue reading...

A

Get David's newsletter sent right to your Inbox!

15987

Sign up for my newsletter and get my FREE guidebook to the best bakeries and pastry shops in Paris...