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12 Hours in Paris – A Pastry, Bread, Chocolate, Food and Art Layover Visit
We were to arrive late night in Paris and fly out 36 hours later. What are 2 French food-starved food lovers to do? Maximize! We spent the whole day shopping in clothing and food stores, interspersed with eating. In fact, Plan A was to visit Du Pain et des Idées, which came highly recommended. So blinded were we by the beautiful streets of Paris that we never even referred to our plan. Luckily copius eating fell into place on its own. View this post on Instagram Le Grande Epicerie Paris might be the most insanely…
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First Time Using My Portuguese Alembic Copper Still Wasn’t a Disaster After All
Weeks had passed since I had arrived home with my 3 liter shiny copper still, which I bought in a little shop in a town whose name I don’t even know between Porto and Nazare in Portugal. It was the kind of hand-hammered copper still you see for sale on the Internet, only it was 60 Euros. I had a goal to find such a still and was thrilled to pack it up and bring it home. The thing was I had no idea how I would use the still. At the time my goal was to make essential oils from the rosemary, lavender, mint and other herbs that grow…
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A Visit To Costco In Mexico and Incidents There
To be clear, Costco is not a city in Mexico. It’s really Costco. In Puerto Vallarta. It all makes sense. Of course a city with tons of retired Americans has a Costco. Talk about creature comforts! Upon discovering the Costco, we hopped in an Uber (another export), to see what was the same and different at El Costco. The underlying mission was an homage to my dad, one of Costco’s biggest fans. We had traipsed to Mexico to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, and a toast to dear old muerto Dad was in order. Costco did not disappoint. Their mango smoothies, with which we toasted, were off the hook—pretty much…
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Kids Cooking Class – Cookie Making With Archimedean Principles
RIP Ernest Miller — one of the most intelligent, vivacious, creative food educators. The ultimate Epicuring experience – applying principles from Greek mathematician Archimedes to an experience to which Epicurus (of “epicurean” fame) would flock. On June 7, 2014 it’s for parents and kids, with very few tickets left. Such a cool idea, you can hear about here. It’s sold out but you can get tickets with a very well-priced reward on the Chocolate Chip Cookie School Kickstarter campaign, a project I recently launched to help kids develop critical thinking through cookies!
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Planning a Food Centric Trip to Morocco
The excitement our first trip to Morocco is building. As we research and get recommendations, I’ll update this post with cooking school and dining finds we’ll be checking out. Oh so many cooking schools in Marrakesh! In addition to the official schools it seems many riads (historic buildings-turned-inn) are game to teach anyone motivated to learn Moroccan culinary arts. Lonely Planet names Faim d’Epices as the best (and their combo cooking school and spa afternoon is…well, can life get better?) Other half-day pastry classes as some other mentioned schools have me drooling. Rough Guides ditto the Faim d’Epices recommendation and also recommend La Maison Arabe (as do many Trip Advisor…
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A $25 Leisurely Afternoon in Oakland
Somehow the holidays passed by with no R&R in sight. So I decided to indulge with an afternoon off near Lake Merritt on a Friday afternoon. The streets bustled, I guess with likeminded folks enjoying this mid-week New Years. Here’s how I spent a 6-hour leisurely afternoon in the corridor that bustles between Mandana at Lakeshore horse shoeing over to Mandana at Grand Avenue. First take my “pro parking tip” and see if you can get an all-day parking spot by Walgreens and Trader Joe’s just where 580 dumps off at the Lakeshore exit. I kind of feel bad letting the secret out as it’s probably good employee parking, but…
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Celebrating Sonoma’s Wine & Cheese Connector – Sheana Davis
You roll into Sonoma, bumping into the square to which most roads lead. You park just off the square and note the wooden cow with the hollow face, ready to poke your head in as a souvenir. This playful touch welcomes you to The Epicurean Connection, the perfect point of embarkation for a Sonoma tour. It’s uniquely Sonoma, adorned with art from locals with painted windows reflecting the season. You’ve entered happiness, a place where long time cheese monger / cheese maker / cheese lesson-giver Sheana Davis welcomes you… along with very friendly, very capable hometown kids, friends of Sheana’s daughter. In fact, this cheese shop / cafe reflects the…
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Plan a Tour to San Francisco’s 2 Saturday Farmers Markets
Saturday morning in San Francisco is a farmers market lover’s paradise. And while paradise is best visited by car, it’s well worth the trip: STOP #1: The Ferry Building’s CUESA market teems with all sorts of great coffee and breakfast food vendors, not to mention produce, cheeses and breads in both front and back. OK also not to mention classes and activities. Getting there: For the Ferry Building, drive and park on Howard near Embarcadero. You can get validated at the market. STOP #2: Around the bend, if you’re on the freeway anyway, lies the historic Alemany Farmers Market, which San Francisco started in the 1940s to connect the city…
- California Culinary Travel, California Food Fairs, Fests & Markets, Food Destinations, Food Haps Blog
Get Thee to So Cal and Patchwork Edible to Eat, Learn, Craft
October 5-6 – Come hang with me and 100 food vendors at Patchwork Edible in the beautiful SoCo mall. I’m no mall rat but when I saw that place, I was like dude. Put it this way: there’s a Surfas chef supply store. Patchwork Edible is going to have a lot of great panels, little workshops, munchies, and stuff to buy. Fun for kids too… especially fun! More Fall Fodder For the Food-urati Then on October 13 in LA the fabulous Evan Kleiman with KRCW hosts a discussion UpClose: California Cuisine – What It Is & Why It Matters with Roy Choi, Joyce Goldstein, Eduardo Ruiz, Nancy Silverton, and Sang…
- California Culinary Travel, California Food Fairs, Fests & Markets, Food Destinations, Food Haps Blog
Cool California Food Event Picks from Epicuring – Early Fall 2013
EARLY FALL 2013 FOOD EVENT PICKS Check back here for updates & Facebook for last minute picks Every Saturday: CUESA Kitchen Demos feature local chefs and authors sharing tips and recipes. The best free and delicious Saturday activity for all ages. Sept. 6, San Francisco, Lucky Rice Fest at Ferry Building Marketplace Sept 7, Sonoma – Kathleen Hill in Conversation With Elaine Corn Join this talk with Sonoma’s culinary maven Kathleen Hill as she talks kitchens, food, and a lifetime of collecting gadgets with Capital Public Radio’s contributing food and lifestyle reporter, Elaine Corn. The talk celebrates the opening of a Sept 7 – Dec. 1 exhibit of catalogues, collections…
