Santa Cruz, where I went to university, is a town that had a big impact on me. So, it was really great to go back last month and research and write, "36 Hours in Santa Cruz" for The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to ..." follow the purple-clad Prince footsteps in Minneapolis on the 10th anniversary of his passing. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/t...
I've recently traveled to Minneapolis twice for various assignments. I wrote and reported on this piece in November but updated it last month after the invasion of ICE traumatized the entire city. MPLS needs some love right now and I'm happy to give it.
www.cntraveler.com/story/eating...
I've been a fan of and advocate for Georgian cuisine for years and so I was happy to see the sudden explosion of Georgian restaurants in NYC recently. I wanted, though, to find out why. @eaterny.bsky.social let me do just that. ny.eater.com/dining-out-i...
Cecilia Jimenez, the woman in Borja, Spain who mistakenly turned the mural "Ecce Homo" (Behold the Man) into "Ecce Mono" (Behold the Monkey) died today. I hope she's in heaven sitting next to Monkey-Jesus. I loved seeing it with my own eyes and writing about it. www.bbc.com/travel/artic...
I Would Try Tofu, Baby and Some Broccoli Too
Erotic Seedy, Parsley Control - tofu, sesame seed, parsley, this is what it sounds like when spuds fry
Aioli Want to See you Laughing in the Purple Rain - egg, rice bran oil, garlic
Let’s go Grazing - marin sun farms grass fed, aged ribeye, olive oil, black pepper
I Just Want your Extra Thyme and your..... Grits! - cornmeal polenta, thyme, cream, shaboogie bop
Little Red Courgette, Raspberry Puree - zucchini, raspberry vinaigrette
A friend of mine once worked at AirBnB and they used to have themed lunches for employees. On 11/4/2013, it was a Prince-themed lunch. Here's the menu:
Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here to get through this thing called lunch....
Mis en Prince
Live from Menuapolis · November 4th, 2013
If you're going to gift someone just one book about Italy and the search to find the lost foreskin of Jesus, make it this one! a.co/d/a5DCVx4
Today is as good a day as any to remember that “pavo” means “turkey” in Spanish and “pavo real,” literally “royal turkey,” is a “peacock.”
In this airport lounge in Budapest, there is a low-level hum of the blending of different languages along with a few very boisterous pockets of confident American accents broadcasting to us all what they did on their trips along with various details of their life stories. #AmericansAbroad
I love writing about restaurants that I love. In this case, The Infatuation let me pen mini love letters to my favorite places to feast in Prague. www.theinfatuation.com/prague/guide...
In 2002, Thailand began wielding soft power with the Global Thai program, subsidizing Thai restaurants abroad. There were 5,000 Thai spots abroad in 2002. Today, there are 17,500. 6 years ago, Czechs began a "beer diplomacy" program aimed at craft brewers in North America. It's been a success.
...a UK PR person said it's because I write for BBC Travel and the Telegraph. Huh. I also write for the LA Times and San Francisco Chronicle, but no one assumes I live in California. I write for the Washington Post frequently, but no one has ever mistaken me for a DC denizen. I'm still confused!
About 2x per week, I get an email from a London-based PR person inviting me to an event in London or implying in the email that I'm UK based. I'm baffled by this since 1) I'm not British and 2) I've never lived in the UK. When I recently expressed bewilderment about this...
One of my favorite things about living in NYC is fetching money from an ATM in Queens where, often, you have the option to conduct the transaction in one of 16 different languages. I always do it in English—I'd be lost in Hindi, Thai, etc.—but I just love what that says about the place I live.
NYC
As she was walking out, Park Posey marched in toward the cash register, strode past Japanese girl #2, grabbed her glasses, and then walked out. Japanese girl #2, held the door open for her, and Parker went about her day, having no idea about the drama over her sunglasses that had just taken place.
There was some heated talking as Japanese girl #1 pointed at the sunglasses that Japanese girl #2 was holding and then pointed in the direction back inside the restaurant.
30 seconds later, Japanese girl #2, shrugged and walked inside and put the sunglasses back on the counter.
They walked out after paying and her sunglasses were still on the counter.
A minute later, two Japanese females went up to pay and one of them took Parker’s sunglasses with her. When they got outside, I could see Japanese girl #1 lecturing Japanese girl #2, about the sunglasses.
One day about 17 or so years ago, I was eating breakfast at Veselka in the East Village, and I saw Parker Posey and Ryan Adams eating a few tables away. This is when they were dating. Eventually, they went up to the cash register to pay. Parker was holding these over-sized sunglasses.
Since everyone’s talking about Parker Posey at the moment, I recall having a few encounters with her, one of which was randomly encountering her near her E. 10th Street apartment and chatting about her little white dog.
The other, though, was the most memorable:
After asking him a few questions about the film he was promoting, I posed an oddball question: if you were my alarm clock and had to wake me up, how would you do it? He paused for a few seconds and then said, "I have no idea. Next question." RIP Val Kilmer. When I die, please don't wake me up.
I was ushered into the suite and placed at a table. Mr. Kilmer, sitting on a couch about 30 feet away, spent about 3 long minutes sitting there before getting up and walking toward me. It all felt very choreographed (because it probably was).
"I have good news," said the PR person in the elevator, as we made our way up to a suite in the Fairmont San Francisco. "He's in a good mood today." She was referring to Val Kilmer. I was about to interview him and apparently he was known for being not so gracious in these situations.
Trump's talk of running for a 3rd term is just a diversion to 1) get the media to turn away from the Signal-gate scandal and 2) to keep any Republicans from announcing they're going to run for the 2028 nomination, so the attention remains on Don and also so he doesn't look like a lame duck.
No one can drive you crazy unless you give them the keys.
the HEAT MEAT!
Impressive alliteration!
