Writing about food since 2004.

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Stories and Rants

  • The Used Cookbook Sale at The Hollywood Farmer’s Market

    The Used Cookbook Sale at The Hollywood Farmer’s Market

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    On Sunday, my friend Ben Mandelker of The B-Side Blog invited me to the used cookbook sale at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. As many of you know, I’m kind of a cookbook junkie (see here) so this was a no-brainer. When I got there, I found mostly generic cookbooks (many, many diet books) and old…

  • My Name Is Adam and I’m A Squatter

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    This San Francisco Chronicle article addresses the problem of coffee shop squatters and how they hurt business. This resonates a lot for me because, um, it’s about me. Here in L.A., I can tell which coffee shops are cool with the squatting (Coffee Commissary, Broome Street General Store), which probably aren’t (Proof, though I still…

  • Stay Sharp

    Stay Sharp

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    Any time I put a new razor head on my razor and I shave I have a little monologue in my head that goes: “You should do this more often because you don’t cut yourself and it’s so much smoother and, really, it’s worth it.” Now that same monologue is going to kick in when…

  • Omelet Issues

    Omelet Issues

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    I’m at the point now where I really think I could make a good omelet, only I’m held back by a cruel and powerful force: a sticky non-stick skillet. David Lebovitz warned me, ages ago, not to flambé in my new non-stick, that it might ruin the coating, and did I listen? I did not.…

  • Clamming For The First Time

    Clamming For The First Time

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    I don’t know if Instagram is making me seem like a good photographer or if I’m really a good photographer and I didn’t know that until I had Instagram. Either way, look at that picture I took of Craig standing on rocks the day we arrived on Eliza Island, where Craig’s parents have a cabin…

  • The Night People Paid To Eat My Food (A Charity Dinner in Bellingham)

    The Night People Paid To Eat My Food (A Charity Dinner in Bellingham)

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    A few months ago–what seems like an eternity ago–Craig’s mom, Julee, asked if I’d be willing to donate a cookbook dinner for a charity auction to benefit the Whatcom Center for Early Learning in Bellingham, Washington, where she and Craig’s dad, Steve, live. I said, “Sure” and didn’t think twice about it. Of course I’d…

  • New Apartment? New Oven? Buy This

    New Apartment? New Oven? Buy This

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    This is an old school food tip, I didn’t invent it or anything, but I wonder how many of you actually do this? I’m here to tell you that I do this. When I move into a new apartment, I buy an oven thermometer to calibrate the oven. If you don’t do that, you don’t…

  • Good Garlic

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    There was this time, long ago, when I was writing my first book and talking on the phone to Amanda Hesser who I revered and who kindly agreed to give me tips about shopping at the farmer’s market. I was trying to get a grasp on how to know which ingredients were in season, which…

  • The Art of the Cheese Plate

    The Art of the Cheese Plate

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    Bar Covell is one of L.A.’s (and the country’s) most celebrated wine bars and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite places to go in the early evening to meet a friend before grabbing dinner. The wine is always interesting and carefully selected and, if you’re hungry, they make a cheese plate that pretty much…

  • The Case of the Cat and the Water Glass

    The Case of the Cat and the Water Glass

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    In the middle of the night, a few weeks ago, I heard a noise that sounded like the sound you make when you’re licking your chops after eating a big piece of cake. Only the chop-licking wasn’t chop-licking, it was water-lapping and it was happening on my nightstand at 3:30 in the morning. Lolita, everyone’s…