We recently spent ten days in Paris on what was, essentially, a food and wine trip. We enjoyed some wonderful culinary adventures, including at the Michelin starred L'Atelier Maitre Albert - a sleek, dark, sexy, romantic rotisserie restaurant headed by chefs Guy Savoy and Emmanuel Monsallier. We loved how the restaurant mixed old and new decor. It was a fantastic juxtaposition with a medieval stone fireplace (with a wood fire burning all night) and wood-beamed ceilings, mo

If you know us, you know that we're not automatically huge fans of Chef Bruno Davaillon's efforts. We frequented The Mansion on Turtle Creek for years while he was in residence, and were rarely wowed. Near the end of his tenure, things got a bit loose, with soggy-skinned fish in tepid broth, overcooked and under-seasoned duck, and service that was anything but friendly. D Magazine commented that his tenure at The Mansion was restrained by the confines of a hotel kitchen.

If you're like most people who don't live in Scotland, you're confused by the whole concept of "Burns Night." Does it have to do with Mr. Burns on the Simpsons? Do you burn things? Who is this Robert Burns guy anyway? Well, those are all pretty fair questions for the uninitiated, so here's a quick cheat sheet: Robert Burns was an 18th century Scottish poet. He wrote a famous poem about a traditional Scottish food named haggis, but, most importantly, wrote a little song w

The saying goes that there is nothing new under the sun. And that's probably true. Especially with regard to Springbank 10--a scotch that's been around for ages. That said, it is somewhat hard to find, expensive for what it is, and certainly a dram I had not yet tried. So, I thought I'd give it a taste out of a couple of convenient sample bottles a friend so kindly stopped by. The nose has rosewater, perfume, and hints of spicy lychee. Very complex. The palate is extremely i

Ok, so we don't normally go for the whole "30 minute meal" fad, much less meals that can be made in less time. Neither of us can remember the last time we used our crockpot (I'm not even sure where it is). We're more of the "enjoy cooking together while sharing some wine and decompressing after a long day" crowd. On weekends, it isn't abnormal for us to spend most of the evening cooking a multi-course dinner for each other--just because. That said, I was browsing Facebook