Europe Travel Plans

...Europe, but not France...

No, not France, alas. Instead we fly to Prague for week... Prague, one of the cities where no allied bombs fell, an old city still in tact. D will be in a conference part of the time, leaving me to wander the city and surrounding area. We'll then go by train to Vienna, a city we fell in love with in 2005.

The traveler in Vienna.

We'll have just a day there, but it will be nice to walk the ringstrasse around the old city again. Then it's a night train to Venice. YEAH! Italy! A day or so there then it's off to Florence. We'll have a bit more than a week to explore Tuscany. I am very excited about this. Many people to whom I tell my love for France tell me that Italy is better. I will be venturing with extreme bias, but I know it's going to be simply wonderful. We'll be gone for half of the month of May. I'll be sure to post some food pictures when I get back.

Recent Press

...it's always a pleasant surprise to...

...get some press you didn't know was coming. After I got back from Baltimore, my friend Doug Katz called to confirm my shift for his Easter Sunday brunch. As an aside he mentioned reading about me again in one of the local weeklies. I'm always the last to know (because I don't pay proper attention). I quickly figured out where he saw the press and who wrote it. Elaine Cicora, food writer for Cleveland Scene Magazine, called me last week on other pretenses. She's planning a review of my former restaurant, Sans Souci, and it's current chef, the fabulous Anna Kim, who used to be my sous chef. Anna is awesome. Her promotion to my old job couldn't have been more appropriate. Check out her bio at the Sans Souci web page. Did I mention that Anna is awesome? Anway, Elaine and I chatted a while, catching up, mostly me talking about my plans and recent developments. Little did I know she would make a side bar of our conversation. I really should know better! Click here to read what Elaine wrote.

Just for fun, here's a pic of Chef Kim and Chef Fambrough at the 2006 Fab Food Show at the IX Center

Catering in Baltimore

... a Spring Dinner...

I made another trip to Baltimore to do three dinners for my dad. I kept the menu simple for this trip: hors d'oeuvres and four courses. We started with mushroom toasts, mussels with mango salsa and smoked salmon-american sturgeon caviar canapes paired with Monmousseau Brut Etoile, a sparkling wine from France. Courses one and two (listed below) were paired with Joel Gott 2007 Sauvignon Blanc; courses three and four with Costentino 2005 Sangiovese il Chiaretto.

Course One

Potato-Cauliflower Soup with Chive Oil, Fried Shiitake Mushrooms,

Nori Ribbons and Salmon Roe

Course Two

Baby Mixed Greens with Citrus-Raspberry Vinaigrette, Cypress Grove

Purple Haze Goat Cheese and Curried Bread Sticks

(I used a blend of baby lettuces for The Chef's Garden)

Course Three

Peppered Strip Loin with Baby Bok Choy, Rice Noodles and Black Bean Jus

(I used grains of paradise, black pepper, kosher salt and togarashi on the steaks;

sorry,no photo of the plated course; the beef is strip loin)

Course Four

Chocolate Souffle Cakes Vanilla Ice Cream and Candied Cara Cara Navel Oranges

(the mint is chocolate mint from The Chef's Garden)

yummy chocolate (this is 62% semi sweet, I often use 70%)