My first attempt at Edna Lewis’s biscuit recipe. Biscuits and Gravy -Geoff O’Keeffe The premise of this review is that I regard biscuits and gravy as an indicator dish for the overall quality of a good American breakfast joint, much like the role chiles rellenos plays on a Mexican menu, or Quiche Lorraine in a … [read more]
Humor
Hamburger Creed
I’m no gourmet. I grew up on fish sticks for Friday dinners, waffles, pan-fried chicken, creamed peas and potpies. I understand a little about good cuisine, but like with wine, where I am very clear what I prefer but know little about it, I am hopeless when it comes to having the encyclopedic knowledge of … [read more]
TSWB by Bob Woodward
Woody at Sierra Designs’ second location, Fourth and Addison,Berkeley, early ’70’s. Almost everyone in my old Berkeley neighborhood had a nickname. There was “Walking Wally” who dressed daily in a safari outfit (complete with pith helmet) and walked a huge Old English Sheep dog all over town for hours on end. His housemate, Eddie, also … [read more]
In the Eye of the Beholder
I am reminded of that financial planning tv commercial with Dennis Hopper, admonishing boomers, “You gotta have a plan, man!” Indeed. Plans are a good idea. Just so I don’t hitch my emotional wagon to them. They are liable to change. Thursday morning I had ambitious plans, but they were not to be. On a … [read more]
Opening Day, 2017
Happy Opening Day! Ahh, baseball. Maddening to the uninitiated, like watching Bergman’s Seventh Seal. To the cognoscenti, a beautifully out-of-square cipher, as Carlin told us, with an arrhythmic cadence, arcane rules, ancient grudges and secret histories. I don’t care what a linebacker’s glove smells like, but a catcher’s mitt? Yes. Which toxic tube snack is … [read more]
Flipping The Bird: A Primer and a Prescription
Ahh. The venerable bird, that ancient gesture of abandonment of civility and any pretension of effort to understand the other. “Fighting words”, as it were, in one finger. Let me preface these brief remarks by saying that by no means do I recommend any of us traipse about our lives flipping one another off. Doing … [read more]