Gastronomy 101

I got sick again last week, which means that I spent most of the week in bed with some sort of cold/flu , sweating and hacking and trying to shield my precious lungs from the fire-polluted air, and shield the rest of the world from my diseased germs. But I think I'm up to snuff now, aside from a lingering cough, so hopefully my writing skills are back up to snuff as well. I have a small girl-crush on chef Suzanne Goin. It goes right along with my girl-crushes on Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy. Chef Goin is elegant, stylish and at the same time talented and successful. She has three restaurants and is raising twins, and yet every time you see her she looks calm and well-put-together. I also now know she's a lovely hostess and a very friendly person as well. The other weekend, I was lucky enough to get to attend a wine and cheese tasting event at AOC hosted by Chef Goin and her restaurant partner, Caroline Styne, which was followed by a four course dinner in the private dinin

Some people wonder why the French seem not to take to kindly to us Americans. Perhaps it's the way we mangle their language? Perhaps it is our freedom fries? Perhaps it is our faux champagne. Close, mais non ! It is our Chablis. We have stolen the name of an innocent village that makes lovely wines and slapped it on our cardboard box vintages and sports snack bar plastic cups. In France, Chablis means an elegant, mineral wine. In America Chablis means your mom's 70s dinner party, and half-time at the Rose Bowl. Wouldn't you hate us too? Chablis is not a grape, or a generic name for pseudo-classy wine. Chablis is a village in Burgundy, about two hours from Paris. It's the farthest north that you can grow chardonnay and still make good wines. Chablis wines (the real ones) are made with 100% chardonnay grapes, but they are distinctive from other white burgundies, such as those of the Cote d'Or, which are warm and rich in contrast to the cool crispness of Chablis. Other

The universe must think I'm a good girl lately because two of my favorite food purveyors have come together to make an event that I could swear was designed just for little old me. The Artisan Cheese Gallery and Scoops Gelato teamed up for one night to do a cheese tasting in concert with a tasting of specially crafted gelatos made with different cheeses. Gelatos made with cheese, you say? That's a tame ingredient for the man who regularly serves gelatos with bacon, foie gras, and wasabi among other ingredients. I'll just let out a spoiler right off and say that they were all good, although there was one we missed out on that looked a little questionable. You'll see. In addition to our cheese and gelato, we were provided with some palate cleansers of nuts, dried fruits, ginger and chocolate, as well as bread and a seemingly unlimited amount of water and pear cider. The courses we received, were: 1. Amuse Bouche: Ricotta and Orange Blossom Honey Gelato: This was a just

It's October now, and my last vacation was in March. I'm not sure when my next vacation will be. In addition, some friends just left on their vacation to Japan and I spent an evening reminiscing in detail, so I'm starting to get nostalgic for this year's vacation to Japan . I am wanting miso soup and green tea, and tatami mats and manga. I want mile high department stores and the corresponding department store basements with every food product in the world. I want to be somewhere else. The next best thing of course, is to just go get something that will make me feel like I'm in Japan for a second. What better way to do that than by drinking Ramune , a distinctive soft drink of Japan? Ramune is as much an activity as a drink, and opening it is ritual enough to satisfy your most addictive personality. The drink comes in a special glass bottle sealed with a marble. To open it you have to go through a few steps that culminate with plunging the marble into the neck of t