Michael Ruhlman wrote a great piece on filming on farms and making them more transparent. It’s worth reading: Farm Transparency v. Farm Secrecy | Michael Ruhlman
Apr 112013
Mar 242012
Durian pastry.
Mar 062012
A couple of years ago or so, I subscribed to the Gevalia service. I make coffee every morning for someone close to me, and it’s nice to have a consistent supply of coffee. We had picked up some specialty coffee at one point, so I changed my subscription in late summer to deliver every six weeks or so. In August, Gevalia decided to upgrade their website; I received the following bulk note from Dana Vogel, a manager at Gevalia:
In October, we will be launching a brand new website and making it easier for you to
order any of the rich, always smooth and never bitter coffee you love.Plus, our improved auto-delivery program is going to be simpler to manage and now
you’ll be able to get our most exclusive varieties year round.
Aannnddd when October rolled around, I stopped being able to manage my coffee orders. Of course, they have helpful links to contact customer support. I sent two email messages and heard nothing. Over the past couple of months I’ve tried to manage my account, but my email address and password do nothing.
I called up Gevalia today; I figured that I would try to fix the subscription. I chatted with a nice gentleman named Gary who was not able to help me with the account problems other than to say that it was a “system problem,” and I should try again in 30 minutes. He wasn’t able to say why I had never received a response from email; he was not able to troubleshoot the problem at all.
So goodbye, Gevalia. I’m not going to pay a premium for bad customer service. There are plenty of places in New York City to purchase high-quality coffee beans. I’m not sure why I should support roasters out of the city if you don’t offer convenience.
Feb 102012
Via Eater, a fun video on the decline and resurgence of small brewers in the United States
The American Beer Revival from visually on Vimeo.
Nov 252011
I found this story about Patsy Grimaldi opening a new pizza restaurant in the former Grimladi‘s location fascinating.
Jul 202011
I’m headed to Meatopia this weekend with Patti. It should be a lot of fun.
Jun 102011
Jun 022011
Jon Stewart went on a rant against Donald Trump’s choice of pizza and pizza eating techniques. It’s the best pizza rant I’ve ever seen, in person or on television.
May 262011
One of Larry’s coworkers is a hunter and gave him a couple of venison steaks. We cooked them last night. I made a béarnaise sauce; we also had sauteed mushrooms and asparagus. We opened on of Larry’s bottles of Clos Saron. The meal was delicious.
May 092011
Patti was on NY1 this morning during their Zagat segment talking about cooking at i Trulli. (NY1 is Time Warner’s New York City new channel.) It’s an interesting segment that also features Dora and Nicola, “Zagat: I Trulli Makes Fresh Pasta With Mother’s Love”.