Sanctuary

I will never, and I mean never ever, understand the current coffee culture. I understand it in theory but there is something about it that offends my blatant hermit-like sensibility. There is a difference between the perfectly prepared ice cappuccino I enjoy on these warm summer days and the quiet me-time coffee break I allow…

Ok, Ladurée

I have never been one to worship at the alter of Ladurée. Every person I know who has been to Paris gets misty-eyed when they remember the macarons they enjoyed. Personally, I’ve always been partial to Dalloyau. I don’t know what it is, possibly the texture of the precious cookies offered. Now Ladurée is on…

Happy Palate

It was years and years ago that a former colleague looked at me, then herself in a full length mirror and declared that she prefers to eat to live rather than live to eat. In contrast to me, she scrutinized every morsel of food that entered her body. She called herself a vegetarian but she…

Spirituali-Tea

I have rituals and I realize that in this regard I am like everyone else. I think it’s the actions performed in solitude that are closest to who we are. Mine is tea. I enjoy coffee as well, but for me coffee is physical and tea is spiritual. A friend who is deeply involved in…

Because it’s spring…

  Spring is about new beginnings but since I am a habitual late-bloomer, I am only now beginning to bud. Only weeks from the start of summer. Something’s about to POP! It’s just the way that I am. I move at a painfully slow pace, glacial in fact and find it incredibly disruptive when I…

God, I love cheese!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love, love, love….cheese. Cheese is the best thing in the world. When I find myself in a genuine curated cheese shop, I literally want to drop to my knees and weep. Tomme de Savoie, Tallegio, St. Nectaire, Roquefort. I could go on and on. Actually, I have more…

April in Paris

It will always be true that I love April in Paris. More specifically, I love the last week of March into April. There is no time better when it comes to climate and mood. It’s always the same. The first few days after spring equinox, Paris seems to turn colder than ever. Then comes the…

Nothing doing

The best thing about being of a certain age is that I don’t care anymore. Or as it can be more correctly stated, I care more about things that truly matter. When I was younger I wanted to make a success, have nice things and live well. At this stage of life I’ve learned a…

Write this way

I never go to the movies…ever. I think part of the reason is that I live in Los Angeles. Not only do I live in Los Angeles, I live in a part of town where every single person I happen upon is in the business. This means I can not take in a movie on a saturday…

Petit-déjeuner

It’s the simple things that have the greatest impact. Breakfast is a simple thing that you do not want to get wrong. It’s a form of meditation that sets the tone for the day. It is my belief that the civilized world would actually be civilized, if people knew how to start the day. There…