Right above Standard Baking Company , where we had the fantastic bread , lies Fore St . An unassuming front door opens out into a open, lofty, yet warm room with charming leaden windows lining the back and sides. On one side of the restaurant is an open kitchen , with seating nearby. There is also seating along the outside of the restaurant, where they sat us, thankfully, next to...
I should apologize before I begin, because what I write about Portland is no doubt going to sound like a tourist ad. After just a few days spent there, it became one of my favorite cities. It has a number of things on its side: proximity to the water; an industrial, scruffy charm; a relaxed, West Coast vibe; and above all, more than a couple world-class restaurants.
Hugo's , for example, i...
After some disappointing lobster rolls , the raw beauty of a national park was just what we needed. We drove into Acadia after dark, paid for a campsite, pitched our tent, and fell asleep immediately. The sun rose hot and early, and I woke up squinting. For a few minutes I thought we were going to start the day at 5 in the morning, but then I was able to pull the hood from the sweatshirt...
After we left Portland , we didn't have much of a plan. We knew we needed to arrive at Acadia National Park, about 150 miles away, by nightfall. On the list was, of course, lobster. We also wanted to see the famed L.L. Bean store. A friend had insisted we see a place called Popham beach, and we also wanted to visit Blue Hill, where E.B. White used to spend summers.
Armed with page after...
Elin and I decided to go to Maine because the fate of our relationship hung in the balance. She had never tasted lobster, ever , having made an admirable promise in early high school to keep it that way until she got to Maine. For her, the first experience of something is infinitely important. It should be carefully orchestrated, fully appreciated, the best it can be.
Of course, Main...
Before beginning even the most basic of recipes, I usually consult a few dozen cookbooks and online sources to make sure I’m not missing some essential technique I’d skipped the previous dozen or so times I made the meal. It's a compulsory action, one that drives other people nuts, and very often myself. But I just want to make absolutely positively sure that I'm doing something that r...
At the Red Hook Community Farm, a farm literally on top of a parking lot. Read here , and see here .
Our first-ever print article is published in The Washington Post today ! It's about what to do with all those leftover herbs in the fridge. If you can get your hands on a print copy, it looks quite good on the page, too. Enjoy!
Last weekend, some of Elin’s friends that she met while getting her master’s degree in England came for a visit. Max and Chris are both from South Africa. They spent a long weekend with us and we did our best to show them our way of life in New York—playing the good hosts. Often, guests find New York overwhelming, or they find the idea of it overwhelming. “Where do I start?”...
It's been a while. I know. I'm sorry. But I haven't been lounging around, skipping work, or shunning the internet. Hell, I haven't even really been on vacation.
What I have been doing a lot of recently is driving. It took well over 500 miles to get an aging car to the Midwest. The car promptly threw a fit when we parked it in the driveway, overheating then leaking, until we had to g...
Blake and Nick live in Chicago and have written for The Paupered Chef and other publications since 2006.
