Open and become a part owner in a restaurant in Italy? Sure, why not?
That’s exactly what happened several years ago when chef Jeremiah
Tower and I decided to try our hand at operating a ristorante
in a small hill town in Umbria, Italy. What no one tells you before
you arrive to attempt such an endeavor are the hoops you must jump
through, and the circus-type feats you must attempt to get the
necessary licenses and permits to start a business in Italy as a
foreigner. Madonna! It was like trying to squeeze olive oil
out of Cararra marble. Endless meetings with lawyers, police chiefs,
and building inspectors and we still didn’t have the necessary permits
and documentation to operate a business.
It all started in 2003 while on a three week trip to southern France and Italy. Italian friends told us about a small restaurant where the owner of the property (a small hotel along with the restaurant) was looking for a chef to become a part owner in the restaurant. Ristorante Carleni was located in Amelia, a small hill town in Umbria not too far from the well-known town of Todi, and relatively close to the A1 auto route. The A1 connects Rome to Florence and is heavily traveled. We looked at the restaurant and were intrigued. We initially thought that we might operate it on a seasonal basis opening in the spring and closing in the fall. We went back to try it out in the spring of 2004. After much effort and hand wringing we both decided that there were far too many roadblocks and difficulties, and opted not to proceed with the project. But this post isn’t really about the restaurant, it’s about beans.
If you want to experience authentic native Hawaiian food, as opposed to the fusion of Hawaiian, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese that is common today, you must eat at Helena's Hawaiian Food. I've been going to Helena's since 1977 and while Helena is sadly gone and the location has changed, the food is exactly the same as it ever was. Absolutely delicious. But don't just take my word for it, Helena's was actually recognized with a James Beard award for outstanding American regional cuisine in 2000.
The state line runs down the middle of Kansas City, one part in Kansas,
one in Missouri. And even though most of the famous barbecue joints
are in Missouri, because of the proximity, you can easily vote in
Kansas and eat barbecue for lunch in Missouri, or visa versa. A little
thing like the state line doesn’'t divide barbecue lovers. Here then,
is a quick run down of my favorite barbecue joints in two states and
one metropolitan area.
I remember a conversation with my good buddy and talented food writer, Monica Parcell, a few years back. The gist was the proliferation of food bloggers and the common themes. We basically bitched 
When I told friends I was going to spend four weeks in St. Tropez last summer, more than one of my foodie friends told me I must try the Tarte Tropezienne—which was described to me as a giant brioche filled to the heavens with a creamy vanilla custard. This sounded like a dream come true. As I child I loved pudding—homemade butterscotch pudding, or bread pudding, or crème brulee, were the best—but mostly we ate packaged pudding, the Jell-O Brand. I liked vanilla and my brother, ten months older, liked chocolate, and my father told us that as toddlers we would sit facing each other in twin highchairs and smear our respective puddings all over our faces, smiling in ecstasy.