In vino veritas “Nothing more excellent or valuable than wine was ever granted by the gods to man” said Plato, who knew a thing or two about a thing or two. It has also been said that a bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world, so you can thank…
A Tale of Two Cities It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was…
Can we all get along? While valuably spending last Friday afternoon lounging on the couch with Nolan, my pet Yorkie, and a Bombay Sapphire and tonic watching reruns of The Rockford Files, my usually dormant cell phone rang. Who do I know with a 202 area code? Out of sheer curiosity, I answered the call…
“Digressions, incontestably, are the sunshine, the life, the soul of reading!”—Laurence Sterne My movie producer friend, Morrie Grossman, co-authored a classic book of reviews of dive restaurants in Los Angeles. This was back in the day when people actually read books. When it comes to commentary and criticism of eateries he knows of what…
Man shall not live on bread alone; he must also have a bagel According to urban legend, the bagel was invented in the shtetls of Poland by the Ashkenazi Jews in 1610. It was brought to the United States, along with the other foods that form the staples of Jewish deli cuisine, during the immigration…
Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? The City of Angels is the home, the mecca, the epicenter of the trendiest of trendy diets. As one bites into one’s Langer’s #19 or double chili cheeseburger, one must suffer the slings and arrows and take arms against the advocates of the vegan, the paleo, the…
Roots II–The Chosen People “All outbound flights are suspended” blared through a tinny loudspeaker. The beautiful wife and I were in the British Airways lounge at Heathrow airport, awaiting our connection to Budapest for a cruise of the Danube with our close friends Ben and Rose Lifschitz (we were hoping they would remain our close…
Let’s try Greek tonight, honey “What the hell kind of name is Constantini?” This question, which has baffled humankind for millennia, indignantly burst from the lips of an Alabama Highway Patrolman in the mold of Buford T. Justice upon reviewing the driver’s license of my medical school friend of Greek extraction (whose given name is…
The Great French Dip Controversy Back in the day when prime seats were $14 and before one could buy tickets on Stub Hub at game time for a massive discount, even pennies on the dollar, I had season tickets to the Dodgers. An unassuming, soft-spoken, reticent gentleman had the seats directly behind mine in prime…
Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles Los Angeles has a fascinating and colorful history, from the original Native American inhabitants who eked out a living along the seasonal L.A. River to the Spanish missionaries to the Americans of the 20th century led by William Mulholland who brought water to the arid basin as was famously depicted in…