à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Family
The Perils of Travel (and Food) Snobbery
Comparison is the thief of joy. – Theodore Roosevelt As a fairly well-traveled person with an educated palate, I once took pride in having sampled authentic cuisine in dozens of places around the world. Too much pride, at times. Having tasted what I thought was “the best” or “the truest”, I couldn’t comprehend how many Americans enjoyed meals that … Continue reading
Remembering a Holy Maverick: Encounters with Reb Zalman (z”l)
The world lost one of its luminaries, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (z”l), in early July. At a moving celebration of his life last weekend, I recalled a few of the more powerful times when my life intersected with this amazing being, with a “heart as big as the world”, if not as large as the cosmos. Grief introduced me to … Continue reading
Menu of Awareness: Food
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” – Anthelme Brillat Savarin At a group dinner at a bright cafeteria style restaurant in Santa Fe, nearly half of us ended up ordering fish tacos from the diverse menu. A late arrival, surveying our plates, wondered if someone had told us that the … Continue reading
The Primal Power of Food Memories
The photo essay 33 Hungarian Foods the Whole World Should Know and Love grabbed my attention last week. Topping the list was lángos, a thick fried dough slathered with sour cream and sprinkled with cheese: Fat upon fat upon fat! Seeing the photograph, my saliva glands erupted geyser-like as I recalled this snack. Gulyás (goulash) was … Continue reading
Identity and the iPhone
As a child, I loved getting the mail. I watched impatiently as the postman turned his vehicle onto our street, first delivering letters on the other side. Sometimes I stood at the edge of the driveway to track the truck’s progress as it lurched from one house to the next, the driver oblivious to my … Continue reading
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