Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Gherkins & Tomatoes
A Writer's Musings on Nature and Culture, Since 2008
Artist Maira Kalman turned the Inauguration of 2009 into an artistic rendition of universal experience. Antoine Vollon's eggs and butter caught my attention. I am offering this link in the spirit of the artist, as a celebration of America. And, of course, of food and community. Dine with your friends and sup with your enemies.…
Continue reading ➞ The Inauguration of 2009 Rendered in Art
Up at 6:30 a.m., out the hotel door at 8:00 a.m., a bit of my homemade granola rumbling in my stomach, lubricated with some 2% ultra-high-temperature milk. Down to the Third Street tunnel, completely devoid of cars, looking for all the world like the set of Wall-E the movie. But there were people there, thousands…
After much anticipation, we arrived at Palette for our inaugural luncheons-inspired menu yesterday at 12 noon on the dot. Alas, unbeknownst to us, the chef only parades that menu during the dinner hour. So it was a burger and fries and a turkey club for us. Both excellent, perhaps the best burger ever, served on…
Continue reading ➞ Palette Didn’t Deliver: Inaugural Dining on the Streets of Washington, DC
News has it that cookbook author and TV chef Tom Colicchio of the Craft empire saved New York Times food writer and cookbook author Joan Nathan's life last night. According to a local blog, the DCist, "The big save happened at a benefit for D.C. Central Kitchen and Martha's Table, where luminaries of the food…
Continue reading ➞ Eating in Washington, DC Hazardous to One Food Writer’s Health …
See all photos (unedited) by clicking HERE: Last night's dinner at the historic Willard Hotel almost didn't happen because as we walked down 15th St., we couldn't cross the street because the police had cordoned off the street to await the Obama motorcade's passing through on the way to Blair House. But at one point…
Continue reading ➞ The Willard Hotel, and a Near Brush with Obama’s Motorcade
Starting tomorrow, after tonight's dinner at the Willard Hotel, "Gherkins & Tomatoes" will share every tiny crumb possible with readers about G&T's food experiences during the inaugural frenzy in Washington, DC. A most pressing concern is how to get some food into the VIP area for the Swearing-In ceremony on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. It…
Alice Waters deserves more main-stream press recognition. Follow the link to see the detail about Alice's Restaurant (!) taking shape in Washington DC, where $500 gets you the best meal in town. (Note that $350 of that lump sum will end up in the coffers of local soup kitchens, and rightly so.) Aided by a…
Continue reading ➞ Uber-Chef Alice Waters Comes To Washington: Inauguration Week’s Best Dinner
The New York Daily News chimed in on November 10, 2008, suggesting three male chefs --- Chicago chefs Daniel Young, Rick Bayless, and Art Smith --- for White House chef. Then the next day Juliette Rossant of Super Chef Blog took a bit of umbrage at that. Why? Because The New York Daily News failed…
Continue reading ➞ The Race for White House Chef Heats Up
If the presidential campaign and election of President-elect Barack Obama revered a patron saint, Abraham Lincoln would be the man. The great American poet and Lincoln biographer, Carl Sandburg, tells a story about Lincoln and gingerbread in his Prairie Years II, a story that Abe told in his fourth debate with Stephen A. Douglas -…
Continue reading ➞ “A New Birth of Freedom”: Senator Feinstein Announces 2009 Inaugural Theme
A press release from Palette, a restaurant at Loew's Madison Hotel in Washington DC, captures the growing excitement about the 2009 presidential inauguration and its aftermath. From January 10-25, 2009, the chef, Arnel Esposo, and his dedicated staff announce that they plan to serve foods loved by many of our former presidents: For appetizers, guests…
Continue reading ➞ Inaugural Menu at Palette: Feeding Political Palates
