Category Archives: Culinary Blogs

The Art of The Iberian Pig – A Week in The Heart of Spanish Pork Country – Part 1 – Segovia and Avila

Posted on February 3, 2014 by John Sconzo

The eating of pork is taboo in some religious cultures, but for many others who eat animal flesh, the pig is widely considered the most delicious of meats. Few, if any, cultures have done more to enhance the ultimate deliciousness [...]

Posted in Culinary Blogs, Culinary Personalities, Family, Fine Dining, Food and Drink, Hotels, Madrid Fusión, Regional, Restaurants, Slow Food, Spain, Top Tastes, Traditional Ethnic, Travel, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mmmmmm, Coffee….

Posted on January 23, 2014 by John Sconzo

I have always liked coffee, though my tastes and priorities have changed and evolved over the years. I started drinking coffee as a child in the ’60′s. Then the coffee I drank was awash with milk and sugar. I couldn’t [...]

Posted in Cocktails & Libations, Cooking, Culinary Blogs, Culinary Personalities, Culinary Shopping, Food and Drink, Musings, Photo Posts, Slow Food, Top Tastes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cultured – A Pickle Shop in Berkeley – Part 3 – Cabbages and More

Posted on December 18, 2013 by John Sconzo

In Part 1 of this Conversation and Tasting with Kevin Farley, we discussed kombuchas. In Part 2, Kevin talked about his Indian lime pickles. Here, the topic turns to the bulk of what he does – fermented cabbages and other [...]

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Cultured – A Pickle Shop in Berkeley – Part 1: Kombucha

Posted on December 16, 2013 by John Sconzo

Kevin Farley makes pickles, but not just any pickles. The pickles that Farley makes along with his wife are possibly the most creative and delicious across a wide spectrum of types that one is likely to find in the United [...]

Posted in California, Cocktails & Libations, Culinary Blogs, Culinary Personalities, Culinary Shopping, Fermentation, Food and Drink, Science, Slow Food, Top Tastes, Travel, Video | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Aubergine – Carmel Cool

Posted on December 3, 2013 by John Sconzo

While by no means exclusive to the West Coast, cool jazz is the style of jazz most closely associated with it, especially the sounds of Dave Brubeck, Chico Hamilton and Gerry Mulligan amongst others. Cool is a more laid back, [...]

Posted in California, Cheese, Culinary Blogs, Culinary Personalities, Fine Dining, Food and Drink, Hotels, Pastry, Restaurants, Slow Food, Top Restaurant Meals, Travel, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sunday Photo – Tryptophan

Posted on December 1, 2013 by John Sconzo

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Friends and family have congregated and dispersed and many turkeys, cranberries and pies have been eaten. With a feast like Thanksgiving, one of the great traditions is the post-prandial stupor. The amino acid tryptophan, [...]

Posted in Culinary Blogs, Family, Food and Drink, Holidays, Musings, Photo Posts, Science, Upstate NY | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sunday Photo – Unexpected Pleasures

Posted on July 14, 2013 by John Sconzo

When I travel to eat I like to do my research and generally plan my meals in advance and go to restaurants that have caught my imagination in one way or another. Early this past week, returning from a culinary [...]

Posted in Culinary Blogs, Food and Drink, Photo Posts, Restaurants, Slow Food, Traditional Ethnic, Travel, Upstate NY | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Taste of Asia in Flushing: Part 1 – China

Posted on May 28, 2013 by John Sconzo

While the entire metropolitan area of New York City has wonderful ethnic foods of all kinds, Queens has become the epicenter of ethnic dining in the region. As part of this, Flushing has become the epicenter of Asian dining in [...]

Posted in Culinary Blogs, Culinary Personalities, Family, Food and Drink, New York City, Restaurants, Slow Food, Top Tastes, Traditional Ethnic, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fermented Elements – Dinner With Matthias Merges and Kevin Farley (The Cultured Pickle)

Posted on May 24, 2013 by John Sconzo

Fermentation has been around for as long as humans have been eating food and drinking beverages other than water. Many cultures have used it to create their most iconic foods. It is only recently, however, that the techniques of fermentation have gained [...]

Posted in California, Chicago, Cocktails & Libations, Cooking, Culinary Blogs, Culinary Personalities, Culinary Shopping, Fermentation, Fine Dining, Food and Drink, Food Events, New Jersey, Pastry, Restaurants, Slow Food, Travel, Wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Art of Chocolate – Francisco Migoya’s Hudson Chocolates

Posted on May 16, 2013 by John Sconzo

If there is someone making chocolate confections more creative, beautiful and delicious than Francisco Migoya is doing at his new Hudson Chocolates in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. I am unaware of it. I recently stopped there on my way down to NYC [...]

Posted in At the Market, Culinary Blogs, Culinary Personalities, Culinary Shopping, Food and Drink, Pastry, Slow Food, Top Tastes, Upstate NY | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment