Sap to syrup. Sugaring on the land where we live. Started tapping w assist from @talesofhoffman on 3/5 and finished up on 3/20. Firemaster at the helm was @sarpottery . Lots of energy—human and wood burning BTUs to get this magical gift of early spring. From left to right, earliest to latest. Earth’s gift to my breakfast yogurt and my Back Forty cocktail
Black sour cherry day @fixfarm . Talk about low hanging fruit. There were more cherries than people picking while sounds of Balkan music drifted thru the rows thanks to @macncheezbpt . Amazing how many people turn out to pick an esoteric fruit like black sour cherries driving many hours to get there on opening day. Obsessives from Poland, Ukraine, Russia and Iran all turned out. As we arrived at 9:30 scores of vehicles were already loaded up and departing. Imagine, you can even flag a yellow cab to get to the orchard
Mimi Sheraton and me @unsqgreenmarket in late 2015 to taste heirloom and new variety apples from @samascottorchards Once feared by chefs and restaurateurs during her 8 years as the restaurant critic @nytimes she was what every artist (and chef) wants: a trained discerning person mirroring back to us what our work means to them. Mimi wasn’t about swagger and flash; she was about taste and searched for it wherever it was to be found, pointing us to look beyond the midtown haute houses. The first non-French restaurant awarded 4 stars by the New York Times was Hatsuhana, the midtown sushi spot came from Mimi. She sought out places cooking authentic regional cuisines like il Corte Sconta hidden so deep behind the Arsenale in Venice that a map postcard was the restaurant’s swag. There, countless Americans tasted their first squid ink pasta and sardines en saor, the traditional sweet and sour dish. When asked by a tv host that moronic foodie question that just won’t seem to die “what would you like for your final meal” she replied “cold water, preferably New York City tap.” Let it be long and sweet, dear Mimi. New York thanks you for all you taught us.
My midwinter project was to build a wood fired hot tub- ofuro, the traditional Japanese method of soaking, relaxing and taking in the beauty of the natural world. We picked up the materials at a trucking warehouse in Albany on 1/8. A month later after a crash course in coopering a barrel and other challenging but stimulating tasks we were fired up and doing the soak by moonlight, and in the morning sun birds singing, and in the late afternoon waning light. @snorkelhottubs #ofuro #woodfiredhottub @sarpottery
Delighted to be on Mark Bittman’s podcast, Food with Mark Bittman, talking about cooking by the seasons, restaurant sustainability and what’s next for this chef. Great conversation with Melissa McCart and Mark. Bonus is my recipe for cooking beans in the fireplace, the perfect way to spend the next few days in this frigid cold, warm, cozy and watching the fire gently cook those beans. Link in bio for the podcast
We lost a wonderful poet and a good friend of Savoy this week: Charles Simic. Charlie’s wise words first appeared on our New Years Eve menu 1993 (photo #3). In spring 1997 we did a poetry dinner together- building menus from his work was a dream- monkfish w capers and olives, a macedoine of wild berries and of course sautéed shrimp w hot peppers (#2). I loved this poem so much that on a food junket trip to Spain in a pre-internet era I called up John Tucker and exhorted him to get me the poem and fax it overnight to the hotel so I could read it to the raucous and exuberant Spaniards we were traveling with. In the morning slipped under my door on that heat sensitive telex paper, relic of a former time, was the poem. With a willing Argentinian translator I read Charlie’s poem to a large crowd of wine lubricated hungry for more reasons to continue celebrating this glorious life. With the biggest voice I could command I shouted out to the gods “I’m crazy about her shrimp!” Thank you Charlie for your gifts of words. #savoy #charlessimic #foodandpoetry
The missing usher from the previous post. Made ever more poignant after seeing Strange Loop and experiencing the isolation and disconnect of the usher from the audience
Down in NYC for a few days 1. The view out our hotel window in Chelsea- Zaha Hadid 2. Santa making the rounds on the M train 3. Feeling the swell w Hopper’s magazine illustrations 4. Summer Stillness 5. The usher’s world is even more meaningful after seeing Strange Loop 6. Hopper from the Whitney window
It’s paperback pub day for What’s Good! Tales of the growing season and the seasoning of a chef. A year plus later I’m still proud when I revisit my words. @ruth.reichl calls it “an extraordinary memoir” and @alicelouisewaters found it “inspiring” Foreword by @adamgopnik7709@abramsbooks
