Ritz Bites

On KCRW Good Food

Tempting as it may be to rant about feelings of blogging (or lack thereof) guilt, let's just say having two kids is a serious time sucker. And the blogosphere is just so darmn overwhelming. Plus my writing time is mostly spent elsewhere. Having stated those excuses about breaking the rules, I don't want to be one of those people saddled with a dead blog. No! This will not stand.

In the meantime, here's my interview on Good Food with Evan Kleiman talking about what I've learned during my recent French fries binges around Los Angeles. The segment starts at about minute 51.

Wouldn't a DVD been cheaper?

I'm somewhat astounded by the Ratatouille "Le Menu" ad supplement in today's L.A. Times.  The very lavish booklet features praise for the movie and slick images along with a few of Thomas Keller's classic French recipes -- all printed on about twenty pages of very heavy glossy card stock. It's an odd move of pour votre considération Oscar race advertising, since it's the Sunday local paper, not Variety. (I suspect its inclusion in our copy has something to do with our zip code.)

I already have both cookbooks from which the recipes are culled (thanks, Charley!), but it's actually inspiring me to make Keller's haricots verts with shallots and Thomas's favorite simple roast chicken. Clearly they chose some of the easier recipes from his two hefty tomes, which are often better for bedside reading and food porn-gazing than actual everyday cooking.

Anton Ego's glowing review of Gusteau's appears in the back, and is reprinted as a quaint typewritten page with art nouveau detailing. Nice touch. But how about buttering folks up with a DVD instead?

What's My Fate?

Because the albatross of unread New Yorkers is dragging me further down than ever, I've been relying on friends to keep me up-to-date. So I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw the TOTT Marissa linked to. As a soon-to-be Hollywood wife who's all about dabbling in dilettante-ism, I'm not sure whether I should revile or admire ladies who pursue this sort of stuff.

Sidebar

Typo in the first word notwithstanding, I'm lovin' this LA Weekly feature section about apartment living and density in Los Angeles. Some great pieces and favorite buildings. And funny timing, considering I've just submitted two landmark nominations for multi-story residential buildings, and I've got another one to write. It's an area of architectural history which, in conjunction with current planning issues, deserves all the attention it can get.

More Fun with Sunday Styles

Side-splitting mockery. [via Andrew Sullivan] Brilliant.

Hmm, maybe it's now a good thing none of my friends have had their announcements published... On second thought, they'd be game.

Hope the folks who Zach picks on have a strong sense of self-deprecating humor (highly doubtful, since irony is an extremely rare commodity in the Weddings and Celebrations pages).

I extend the same wishes to Julia whose name was printed the week before as "Julian." "A sign of the times," writes Sullivan.

An enviable tour of L.A.

Ah, the life of a privileged French iconoclastic "celebrity intellectual." Based on reports from secret sources,
L.A. Observed chronicles Bernard-Henri Levy's trip to Los Angeles. Sounds like Levy got treated to a non-stop whirwind of being ushered around town by some of the biggest names in lefty edgy cultural circles. The purpose of this excursion is an assignment for the Atlantic about the
U.S. travels of Alexis de Tocqueville, so Levy assumed that had the other Frenchman visited L.A. nearly 200 years later, he'd be dining at Campanile and visiting DJ Waldie in Lakewood. Props to visiting prominent community activists and hitting a very unconventional tourist route while calling the Beverly Hills Hotel home for the duration of his stay. Given BHL's reputation, these radical chic contradictions are part of the package and intrigue. My kind of guy!

Other goodies via L.A. Observed this week: links to the Los Angeles hamburger site, and the hopefully salacious City Hall gossip blog maintained by mystery council aides.