Nancy Silverton to Massimo Bottura, Who the Hell Do You Think You Are?

UPDATE - June 14, 2016 - Editor's Note - Further proving American chef Nancy Silverton's point, last night Bottura's Osteria Francescana was named #1 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.

Three courses into a lunch this week at the renowned Osteria Francescana in Modena, Nancy Silverton put down her spoon after contemplatively savoring its hyper green contents, took a long sip of leggy red wine, slowly shook her head, scowled and said "Just who the hell does Massimo Bottura think he is..."

"You don't like this food, Nancy?" interrupted Danielle Bernabe, a fellow diner who clearly didn't know Siverton well.  Nancy ignored the question and continued with her thought. 

"That he can just go ahead and make food that is so much better than everybody else's.  Clearly, he has left the brotherhood of chefs. He's not a team player. I hope aspiring chefs don't taste this food. They'll give up the profession. Who the fuck does Bottura think he is?" .

That particular comment - profanity included - was broadcast on news stations throughout Western Europe and initially drew outrage toward Silverton on both traditional news outlets and social media. In addition, many food critics who have adorned Osteria Francescana with every possible restaurant accolade, criticized Silverton for being not only jealous of Bottura's talents, but crass. "Nancy Silverton is simply an American PBC", said Sir Charles Dillingsworth, food critic for the London Herald who used the acronym which means Pretty, But Crass.

But, Silverton's fellow chef cadre quickly came to her defense and stunned the restaurant world when they agreed with her assessment of Massimo Bottura.

"I'm with Nancy. Fuck that guy," said Mario Batali, the famous American chef based in New York City and partners with Silverton in the Mozza kingdom based in Los Angeles, Stalingrad, Newport Beach and Singapore. "Just because Massimo's aunt invented tortellini and his grandma invented milk and his great, great grandfather domesticated the pig, does not mean that Massimo does not have to work like the rest of us."

In San Francisco. Dominque Crenn, the impassioned chef of Atelier Crenn who shares some of Bottura's wild -if not downright hallucinogenic - imagination, weighed in..  

"Look, I don't even know Massimo, but I think he is a genius," said Crenn, whose two Michelin star restaurant in San Francisco is considered one of America's best.  "I know Lara [Gilmore, Bottura's American wife] and I am inspired by their story.  But, as for him, well, umm, well, I better not say anymore. I am French and I don't want to make Franco-Italian relations any worse than they already are."

Crenn walked away from the interview, stopped, turned around and said "But, I think Nancy is right. Nancy is always fuckin' right."

In Los Angeles, Roy Choi, L.A.'s "Takin it to the Streets" chef, said he considered Bottura a "brother", though he had not been to his restaurant. 

"I love him a a human though I've never had his food in Modena.  I can't get a reservation. Who the hell do you need to know to get a damn table at Osteria Francescana?".

Max Paul Runstedtler, professor of food history at the American University in Washington, D.C., said that Bottura was at the "classic crossroads" of his career. 

"Massimo Bottura is at that well-known intersection where he is in front of the pack. and he can choose to wait and have everyone catch up .- the few that can, at least - or he can continue on his Monza-speed path and go on increasing his lead," said Runstedtier, who was an associate producer of the documentary "Chefs Gone Wild",  "Right now, it looks like Bottura is not stopping. I had the "Sensatons" menu for lunch at OF the other day and it was well-named."

It is that very "increasing the lead" impression that is troubling for many. And those accolades are becoming problematic, as well.

Most troubling of the honors bestowed on Bottura and Osteria Francescana has been the never-before-garnered rating of 19.75 in Le Guide de L'Espresso's I Ristoranti D'Italia. The reason for the backlash of that rating is that 19.75 is - clearly - a figure greater than 19.72, a number that is dear to millions of Italians. In a February, 24, 2012 interview, just a week before he died, colorful Italian sports reporter Germano Mosconi explained the importance of 19.72.

"19.72 is the beloved number of seconds that Barletta, Italy-born sprinter Pietra Mennea took to famously win the gold medal in the 200 meters at the 1980 Moscow Olympics,"  said Mosconi, the late Telenuovo sports reporter based in Verona.  Mosconi was quiet for a few seconds, than released a torrent of expletives in ascending volume before straight out screaming "Pietra Mennea set a world record with that 19.72 and it held for over 16 years, goddamnit. For Bottura, or anyone, to mess with 19.72 is cazzo scopata!"

So will Massimo Bottura slow it down and have the other great chefs of the world catch up? If his Four-door Maserati Quattroporte is any indication, then the answer is resounding, unmuffled "No".  The Maserati sedan is normally equipped with a V-6, 410 horsepower engine. Bottura's Maser? 490 horsepower. Massimo Bottura is not slowing down at all. Floor that baby. 

(To see sports caster Germano Mosconi in action check this  -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRG2LlBfCn8

Dropping Lonnie's Name in Piedmont

On our third and last night in the Piedmont region of Italy, we went to the town of Isola d'Asti to dine at chef Walter Ferratto's acclaimed restaurant Il Cascinalenuovo. Our L. A. friend Lonnie Bishop - a friend of the chef's - had made us a 7:30 reservation.  

The problem was it was not in the town of Isola d'Asti as my guidebook indicated,  but on a obscure stretch of two-lane highway about four kilometers away. This resulted in several errors on my part being exposed. I hadn't brought that guidebook so I didn't have the phone number or the exact address.  I hadn't put the info in my phone. I couldn't correctly pronounce the name of the restaurant. When I stopped to ask humans ( my personal GPS), I butchered it and the first four people asked didn't know what i was talking about. 

By now, it was 8:15 as we drove around the town in search of a human being who looked like they would know where a fine dining place was located.  Arguments flared, The driver was called an idiot.  The lady in the passenger seat was called he world's worst co-pilot. The driver was called a moron.

Finally, at a bar ( of course) I stumbled upon a party where three giddy people excitedly pointed the way. Something about a series of left turns back toward Alba, tre kilometers, and the ristorante being right next door to a nightclub called Mediterranean.

"Okay, it's 8:35 o'clock. Let's just hope they don't have a reservation policy like Mozza," Nancy said. For the Mozza unaware, the reserved tables there are held for 15  minutes then released to the waiting.

After hitting 185 kph ( over 114 mph) on the lonely two-laner, we spotted the "Club Mediterraneano". I pulled into the next driveway. Il Cascinalenuovo. 8:42. Seventy two minutes late.

The place was packed. The lady at the host stand slowly shook her head. Bad.  In beat up English, she told us they only hold the tables for one hour. I thought of Lance and Eve and Maria and Uzma and all the excuses they hear: "The traffic was bad"; "We just came in from the airport"; "My sister is pregnant and very hungry" and other weak-ass excuses. So I said nothing.  

But, I did turn to Nancy and said a bit-on-the-loud side, "Lonnie is going to be disappointed."

Behind the host stand, a middle-aged man who would turned out to be the sommelier and the brother of chef Walter, stopped in his tracks like he had seen a Siberian tiger. "Lonnie, you say? Are you friend of Lonnie?" 

Hell yeah,

In even seconds Walter appeared, hugged Nancy and lead us to a table.. We talked a bit about Lonnie and then he said the good words - " I would like to cook you a meal"

Hell, yeah.. 

Walter Ferratto lit it up. 

WAlter Ferratto and Guest

Start

Pork with onions 

To get a reservation at Il Cascinalenuovo, go to Pizzeria Mozza on just about any Sunday. at around 12:45 p.m. and look at the end of the wine bar. At Seat 12, closest to the bathrooms, there will likely be a handsome white man about 47 or so with a cap on and crossword puzzle next to his glass of wine. Tell him "Blue Note" or "Wrecking Crew" or  "Place it on Lucky Dan".  He'll understand and then tell him when you want to go to Il Cascinalenuovo and he'll make it happen.  

ITALY MMXV, PART I, Three Days in Piedmont, Dining Highlights and The War in Heaven

I can't think of a clever way to start writing about the dining highlights of Italy 2015 which began in Piedmont, other than to just list the top dishes. Here they are. 

Porcini and Peaches. at Ristorante da Cesare  in Albaretto. -  This dish is also known as "Il muschio terra Il terra dolce" ( the musky earth.the sweet earth)  The best way to say how good this was is to tell you to look at that photo below and know that it tasted that good. One of those lookers who backs it up.  Are mushrooms and stone fruit a classic paring. I don't know. Should they be? Uh, yeah. 

The restaurant of Cesare Giaccone is one of the most pleasurable restaurants I have been to.  There is something so refreshing about this place.and Cesare.  Part of it stems from a story his friend  - and ours. - Gino Angelini told us. It goes something like "Cesare only opens when he needs some money."    The thing is.da Cesare is probably the least money-hungry restaurant I know. There's eight seats. He won't open for two people. Nancy suggested he put up a sign out front that reads "gone fishing".   For a reservation here. get a hold of Gino.

Much of the art work that hangs here is by Giaacone. Check out this mushroom painting by him.

I'm raving about this guy so much, you might as well get a look. That's goat on the shish. 

Here's the site.   http://www.cesaregiaccone.it/

Millefoglie di Lingua di vitello e foie gras con gelatina al porto at  il Cascinalenuovo - near Isolo d' Asti 

This is one of several dishes we had at Walter Feratto's outstanding restaurant.  This is veal tongue and foie gras layered into a triangle.  Rich.  For more on our night here, a report is coming.

For a reservation here, get a hold of Lonnie.

Here's the site. http://www.walterferretto.com/

Semplici ravioli quadrati di faraona  at All'Enoteca in - Canale.

Simple ravioli stuffed with guinea hen.  Now, unlike that photo of Cesare's porcini and peaches, this photo looks like just about any ravioli in the world. Nothing special. Didn't your local cafeteria make some ravs that looked like this? But, they didn't taste like this. The depth of flavor was rated at 467-foot pounds of torque and the zero to 100 kph (62mph) was times at 3.6. both marks are tops for a ravioli, so far in the 2015 season.  And just to emphasize this, I'll let you in on something; Though this was the first dinner of Italy XXMV, there was a movement to declare this dish as pasta of the trip. It was that right.

We had a pigeon in black truffle crust that was good. And a trolley was wheeled by at the end of the meal with about 8 different dried fruits. I cannot confirm this. but two people said it was rated best dried fruit trolley in Piedmont. 

Here's the site. http://www.davidepalluda.it/

Crisp pork with sweet onion sauce  at Il Cascinalenuovo  near Isolo d'Asti

The skin is crisp. the meat part is tender. Those onion get ups on the side?  As McNulty says in his fake accent at the whore house, "Spot on." The overall effect of this dish is very good.  Now, if you ever wanted a really impressive food review, that was it right there.  You know what?  Try this instead. If you ever out this way in Piedmont, just order this and thank me. 

Tajarin “40 tuorli” al burro e salvia  at Osteria del Boccondivino in Bra

The town of Bra, 15, 20 clicks outside of Alba, is where the Slow Food movement started. It's meant to be anti-fast food. Other than Ferraris and Lamborghinis and some Maseratis,  I didn't know there was anything fast in Italy. Food, cashiers, justice, the army. Even the air force here seems kinda slow.

But, the restaurant we heard about was this Osteria Boccondivino. And there I  had this tajarin, a pasta here made with 40 egg yolks,  and mixed butter and sage. Superb.  

Here's the site. http://www.boccondivinoslow.it/boccodivino/ita/osteria.asp

Bra has a beautiful church called Saint Andrea. Nancy says it might be her favorite church in the world. If you are in Bra, check it out. 

in the city of Nieve we went to another church  In this one, there is a statue of my namesake, the archangel Michael. It was here that I famously described "The War in Heaven" to Nancy.  A recap. Archangel Michael fights the devil in heaven. Mike wins and the devil gets banished to hell. 

So I tell Nancy this an she  says  "So that's how hell got started. Thanks to you."  

Me and my angel 

.

Chef Chad Colby Reveals "I am a Proud Vegetarian", Denounces Carnivores and Retires from Chi Spacca

Long-time Mozza chef Chad Colby, best known for his tomahawk pork chop, bistecca fiorentina and pig-based charcuteire, stunned the Los Angeles restaurant community Sunday when he announced he had converted to a radical vegetarian sect and was retiring from Chi Spacca.

Colby, who could wax poetic on the wonders of a pig for so long his listeners longed for a major earthquake, said he was relieved the world finally knows his true food loves - eggplants, yams and chick peas -  and the burden of being "the macho meat cooker dude was finally off my pork shoulders."

An unidentified Oregon winemaker apparently indoctrinated Colby into "The Greens Templar", a 12th Century vegetarian and fruit sect founded during the Second Crusades. During the famed - and failed - "Siege of Damascus" in 1148, attackers had set up camp in the orchards west of the ancient city, but, legend has it, some fighters became so enamored with the dates, apricots and eggplants with local hummus that they gave up both lamb and the battle.

Nancy Silverton, Colby's boss, reacted with her usual style and calm when told he was leaving. 

"Well, I understand totally anyone who has a intense love of vegetables, because so do I, " said Silverton, recently returned from a two week trip to Israel. "On my trip the most interesting dishes were vegetarian. I am already introducing my take on the best vegetable-based dishes at Pizzeria Mozza." 

Former Chi Spacca manager Theresa Gluck said she has known of Colby's "vegetarian tendencies" for years, but kept it a secret "for the sake of Nancy and for the sake of the staff." Still, she said it was that very secret which made her leave Spacca more than a year ago.

"I just couldn't do it anymore," said Gluck, the general manager of HomeState. "It was soul sucking. Training the staff to believe he was the 'Willy Wonka of Meat'. Telling the guests. All the lies, iies, lies. I just couldn't lie anymore."

Some insiders at Chi Spacca, part of the Mozza Kingdom on Highland and Melrose, said one of the reasons behind Colby's departure was his fascination with the small batch jams and toasts famously served at Sqirl on Virgil Avenue in Silverlake.. 

"I really don't think Chad ever fully got over the magazine article that rated Jessica [Koslow] and Sqirl waaaay above Spacca," said Arthur Rubashov, professor emeritus of restaurant behavioral psychology at the University of Budapest. "It apparently was his "Darkness at Noon" moment.

Chi Spacca, which Mozza owners Silverton, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali nurtured from Colby's then-fascination with cured meats, has grown into one of the most desirable tables in America. So much so that the United Kingdom's foremost restaurant critic, Sir Charles Dillingsworth, recently said "the only rival in the world to Spacca when it comes to a meat restaurant is "Il Gran Palazzo di Carne", the newly-opened joint venture of Mario Batali and Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  

(To read more on the Cecchini Batali restaurant - http://krikorianwrites.com/blog/2015/4/13/dario-cecchini-and-mario-batali-to-open-carne-palace-restaurant-in-middle-of-atlantic

What was Silverton's take on Colby moving on?

"As for Chad, I wish him success," Silverton said. "Just one thing. Remind me again, though. Which one was he?"

Australian-born chef Curtis Stone, best known for having invented the saying "no worries", has privately indicated he would hire Colby, if the chef agrees to enter "Fuck Zucchini" a rehab program for vegetarians based in Vernon  

Long time Chi Spacca fans were perplexed by the sudden news of the departure of Colby whose last night in front of the ovens will be Wednesday, June 3. 

"This reminds me of when Arthur Koestler denounced communism after being an active party member for over 20 years," said a dejected Dan Perrelli, one of Spacca's most loyal customers. "You just can't trust anyone with talent."

 .

Critics Hail Dana's Bytes As "Restaurant of the Future", But Protesters Mar Grand Openng

Inside the gates of Lambert Ridge Winery in Healdsburg this weekend, the lucky 25 people who finagled their way to the grand opening of Dana's Bytes - the most anticipated new American restaurant of 2015 - were marveling at its delicious food, its conviviality and its innovative concept that does not employ servers, sommeliers, busers, or even dishwashers. 

Outside however, more than 200 servers, soms, busers and dishwashers were staging a loud - and at times even vitriolic protest - fearing the new restaurant of Boulevard's chef de cuisine Dana Younkin would so revolutionize the restaurant industry they would soon be standing not on the kitchen firing line, but rather in the unemployment line. 

As patrons filed in, dozens of dishwashers loudly chanted  "You've got a date with an unclean plate" and scores more servers yelled  "Dana's bytes will not delight"  Sonoma County Sheriff's were on hand to keep the peace, but six protesters were arrested on disorderly conduct and failure to disperse charges.

"They have wiped out the entire front of the house," said Alysabeth Alexander, vice president of politics for SEIU 1021, a service employees union local for San Francisco. "Maybe it's good thing. They will see how much service employees will be missed."

But, no one seemed to be missing the front of the house at Dana Bytes. In fact, the mood on the sloping yard inside the winery could not have been more celebratory. Fortunate diners simply approached chef Dana as she was cutting a prime rib of Thompson River Ranch beef, sliced off a gloriously marbled piece and - while still on the knife - handed it to the nearly salivating crowd

Diners, glasses of wine in hand, mingled about like they were at a terrific house party rather than a restaurant, stopping by the outdoor kitchen island where Younkin, assisted by Nancy Oakes and Nancy Silverton, handed out the superb beef as well as Maine lobster claws and lamb chops cut from a rack, all finished off in two wood burning ovens behind them.

Platters of morels, asparagus and "day-dug" potatoes were laid out on the kitchen island.

Nancy Silverton, who provided to mozzarella-based  appetizers for the opening,   said this is the way she's been eating for years.

"I love this way to eat. standing up in a kitchen or before a outdoor grill, giving out bites to friends," said Silverton. "I'm glad somebody is finally taking it to the public. I am going to open a similar place in the Green Meadows area of Los Angeles. "

With San Francisco's minimum wage set at $12.25 an hour and set to go $15 per hour on July 1,  2018, many restaurants analyze predicted more restaurant would be going to the Dana's Bytes format which has already come to be known as "Goin' Younkin"

"I think at my next restaurant I might be Goin' Younkin," said Dominique Crenn, of San Francisco revered Atelier Crenn. "I think at certain restaurants there will always be a need for the front of the house, But, at others, like at Dana's Bytes, they may not. We are constantly hearing about farm-to-table. Why not from the chef's hand-to-the-diner's mouth?"

Jessica Sweedler, chief development officer of Meals on Wheels of San Francisco who was at the opening of Dana's Bytes, said she was considering ways to implement the Goin' Younkin format into the organizations fight against the neglect and malnutrition of seniors.

"I can envision chefs all over town knocking on doors and handing delicious - and nutritional  - bites to our seniors," said Sweedler as she stuffed morels and peas into her mouth. "Who needs dirty dishes?"

Technically Dana's Bytes did employee one front of the house worker, Richard Crocker, chief of staff at Boulevard where he oversees 500 employees. Crocker was seen running about, picking up wine glass, refiling them, piling up dirty plates and rushing them off to a small cleaning station inside  the winery.  By the end of the evening, the haggard-looking Crocker was seated off alone in the now-empty yard drinking a Negroni,   "I'd tell someone to get me another drink," Crocker said, "But, there's not a god damn server in sight." 

server amy woho mae mor than 450000 a year sare epxected to ak et the new minume wages. 

Seven Dining Highlights In Chicago, Spring 2015, James Beard Weekend

Twenty minutes before our dinner reservations at Next, we made a stop at Publican to eat. That's how it was gonna be in Chicago, the weekend for the 2015 James Beard Awards, the first ever held in the "City with Big Shoulders". (Check out the Carl Sandburg poem "Chicago" below.) 

Here are the dining highlights of that three-night trip last weekend with Nancy Silverton, chef Dahlia Narvaez, chef Chris Feldmeier, chef Liz "Go Go" Hong and Chicago legend chef Matt Kim.

1. Tournedos Rossini  at  Next -  The theme for Next, Grant Achatz's sometimes futuristic/sometimes throwback brilliant restaurant on West Fulton Market, was Paris Bistro. When I saw this Careme or Escoffier ( debatable, still) classic tribute to the composer on the enticing menu  I told the server "bring whatever you think, but just make sure one of the plates is Tournedos Rossini."  The kitchen, led by executive chef Dave Beran and chef de cuisine Jenner Tomaska came on strong with about half of the menu. But, the peak was the Rossini, the heart of the filet of beef on buttered toast, topped with foie gras and black truffles bathed in a  veal stock, butter, truffle, foie gras and Madeira sauce as dark as the Southside and as rich as the Gold Coast.

The dish was described by Jeff Gordinier in a 2012 New York Times article "A Pool of Memories", as "...if you want a phrase that summons all the voluptuous pleasure of haute cuisine in its heyday, “tournedos Rossini” does the trick." 

It did the trick at Next.  Liz "Go Go" Hong kept repeating "The steak. The steak. The steak" like she was a,gourmet Col. Kurtz.         The current menu is Tapas.   https://www.nextrestaurant.com/website/faq       

2. Stuffed Parpardelle  at - Nico Osteria -  When our lunch crew saw this on the menu at Nico Osteria, Feldmeier said "How the fuck do you stuff a parpardelle?" (Or maybe I said that.)  I'm still not sure. Maybe with a razor blade, like the way Paulie sliced the garlic in "Good Fellas". How ever chef de cusine Erling Wu-Bower did it at this Rush Street newcomer, he did it right. Stuffed with milk-braised pork, it was pasta dish of the trip, and a contender for the prestigious POTS** award,. 

Nico Osteria is from the team of executive chef Paul Kahan and Donnie Madia, who won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur  in the United States this year.    http://www.nicoosteria.com/

3. Sopa Azteca at Frontera Grill -  Where do you take Dario Cecchini, the world's most famous butcher, to dinner in Chicago? To a Mexican restaurant, Nancy figured. So it was Frontera Grill,the less cutting edge of Rick Bayless' two adjoining homages to the food south of the border. The other is Topolobampo.

There was much to enjoy (Nancy ate nearly a half  liter of guacamole (with chips) at the bar before Dario and his storied wife Kimberly arrived), but these little sopa stood out. They were tortilla cups with pasilla broth, chicken, avocado, some local cheese and crema.      http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/frontera-grill/

4. Gerry's Adobo Dog at Publican Quality Meats - GerryRuiz is one of the butcher's at Publican Quality Meats  - and nephew of George "I'll Stuff My Chorizo in Your Dates" Ruiz -  and he makes a mean "Latinized" version of the classic Chicago hot dog. It's adobo sausage, chimichurri, avocado, cilantro pickled cucumber, onion and mojo rojo on a lobster roll.

Chef de cuzine Missy Corey had previously rejected Gerry's idea of a Gerry's adobo soda pop, a Gerry's adobo gelato, a Gerry's adobo Wellington and a Gerry's rack of adobo before admitting he was finally on to something with the adobo dog     http://publicanqualitymeats.com/

5, Assorted fett' unta at Nico Osteria. - These, thick-sliced, olive-oiled brushed bread, one topped with baccala, dungeness crab and celery another with brussels sprouts and some cheese, were resistible, but barely.  

6.  Garrett caramel popcorn tin  in the hotel room  -  This was in a goodie bag Nancy got from the James Beard people and was devoured late at night in our hotel room. Say what? Oh, what hotel did we stay at?  The Waldorf Astoria.  (Always wanted to say that, even if this one ain't on Park Avenue.)     http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/

7. Fritos,   Original  - I flew , damn, I really am blanking on the. oh , yeah Frontier Airlines. Don't. Two night flights provided no food or drink except some room temp water.  So the 50 cent bag of Fritos I had in my computer case were relished like they were, like they were tournedos Rossini. Well, not quite.    http://www.fritolay.com/snacks/product-page/fritos/

What? I can't hear you. Speak up, G. Oh, what hotel did we stay at? The Waldorf.

** POTS - Pasta of the Spring

Parpardelle stuffed with pork. What a gig. A parpardelle stuffer

Tournedos rossini

Chicago

BY CARL SANDBURG

Hog Butcher for the World,

   Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,

   Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;

   Stormy, husky, brawling,

   City of the Big Shoulders:

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.

And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.

And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.

And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:

Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.

Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;

Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,

   Bareheaded,

   Shoveling,

   Wrecking,

   Planning,

   Building, breaking, rebuilding,

Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,

Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,

Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,

Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people,

                   Laughing!

Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

At Long Last Love; Nancy's Fancy Goes On Sale Thursday At Gelson's

There are jackets, then there is the Marni runway coat. There's grape juice then, there is the  '47 Chateau Cheval Blanc. There are watches, then there is the Rolex Paul Newman Daytona. There are cars and there is the 1962 Ferrari GTO. These are the “zultra premium” options. 

Now, at long last, the world of frozen treats has a zultra premium option: “Nancy’ Fancy”, the gelato and sorbetto of Nancy Silverton and it will be available this Thursday, May 7th at Gelson's Markets throughout Los Angeles. Soon, markets throughout America will be offering Nancy's Fancy .

You may have noticed Nancy’s Fancy was defined simply as “the gelato and sorbetto of Nancy Silverton”.  Superlatives on Nancy could be used lavishly – and with truth.  But, like the '47 Cheval or the '62 GTO, time and coolness will soon prove that the mere mention of Nancy’s Fancy shall simply come to mean the best.

But, since Chef Silverton, co-founder of Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza and Chi Spacca, is not a “TV chef” and not a household name across America, let me boast about her. Check this out. Nancy Silverton is the only chef in the United States to win the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in American and the James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in America. Like Muhammad Ali used to say, “It ain’t bragging if it’s true.”

When we asked 20 of the greatest chefs in America to give their comments on the prospects of having gelato and sorbetto made by Nancy readily available across America, every one of them replied with great anticipation, to put it calmly. Mario Batali responded in less than two minutes with a tantalizingly poetic preview for what gelato and sorbetto lovers across the land will soon be able to enjoy. World famous master chef Daniel Boulud poured on the praise. San Francisco’s Dominique Crenn, the only female chef in America with two Michelin stars, responded with a text so titillating only adults over the age of 35 should be allowed to read it.  Chris Bianco, the master pizzaiola from Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, echoed Roy Scheider in the movie “Jaws” and announced “I’m gonna need a bigger spoon.”

Silverton and Dahlia Narvaez, herself  a James Beard Award winner in 2016 for best pastry chef in America, worked for months sourcing, mixing, freezing, tasting, tuning, tasting, refining and tasting ensued.  The glorious result is Nancy’s Fancy.

Scoop into the FLAVORS page of Nancy's Fancy site to see what frozen treats will be waiting for you in stores soon

1962 Frank Sinatra "At Long Last Love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4GfV0pf_zQ

"At Long Last Love"
Is it an earthquake or simply a shock?
Is it the good turtle soup or merely the mock?
Is it a cocktail, this feeling of joy?
Or is what I feel the real McCoy?

Is it for all time or simply a lark?
Is it Granada I see or only Asbury Park?
Is it a fancy not worth thinking of?
Or is it at long last love?
 

Surgery To Remove Bottle of Champagne Attached to Mike Hoagland's Body Called "Dismal Failure"

When two young doctors at the Mayo Clinic announced last week they were confident they could removed the bottle of champagne attached to Michael (Mike) Hoalgland's right rib cage, medical professionals from Napa to Reims were encouraged, yet skeptical.

Sunday morning, the skeptical side won out as the surgery proved to be what one hospital administrator called a "dismal failure."

"There were high hopes the bottle could be removed, but i think deep down most of us knew it was unlikely," said Douglas P. Zamensky, CFO* of the Mayo Clinic, generally thought to be the world's greatest hospital named after a sandwich spread. 

Hoagland, who once considered a career as  PGA golfer until he made up his mind to be an professional alcoholic, had for several years denied rumors the champagne bottle was actually attached to his body. In an effort to dissuade those rumors, Hoagland, a former server at Osteria Mozza, would changed the labels on the stuck-to-his-ribs bottle.

"I had heard the rumors, but then I'd see Mike with a Krug Grand Cuvee bottle, then a Dom Perignon Rose, then a Pol Roger Winston Churchill and I figured it couldn't be the same bottle." said Pilar Arias, the storied three Michelin-starred server formerly of Pizzeria Mozza.  "But, the way he would poured the bottle was weird.  Always with that crazy handstand, It was impressive at first. Then cute, But, after a while it was like 'Just pour that motherfucker.' Now, I know why. i hope MIke will be all right."

"I Just Want To Say...", Nancy Silverton Begins Palestinian Israeli Peace Negotiations in Jerusalem

Tired of the bullshit, American chef Nancy Silverton has decided the key to unlocking the door to lasting peace between Israel and Palestine is for her to just go there and start cooking and eating and drinking. So she did. 

"I think food and wine are the missing negotiation ingredients in the seemingly endless conflicts between two people who both love the same things," said Silverton, the only chef to win the James Beard Award for best chef and best pastry chef in America. "Look, you can argue forever who made the first hummus, but why? The key is to eat the best hummus together, have some good kebab,  some great red wine, and then quote Rodney King."

"I just want to say, you know, can we, can we all get along" Can we get along?" - Rodney Glen KIng III, May 1, 1992

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sONfxPCTU0