As we rode over the bridge, I leaned my head against the taxi cab window and let my eyes trace the shining sides and sharp angles of the Guggenheim museum. A thick, grey fog hung in the background over the … Continue reading A Quick Trip Down Memory (and Pintxo) Lane in Bilbao
I’m back to my roots – not the familial ones, but the culinary roots. Back to the kitchen; back to mise en place; back to herbs and produce for hours – picking apart dirty basil and chopping my way through … Continue reading We Moved to Mallorca to Open a Sandwich Shop
Ok, so not all the cheese is stinky, and maybe there are some mediocre bottles of Bourgogne out there. But some of the cheese has such a deep, pungent aroma that you’d swear it’s been sprinkled with ammonia, and the … Continue reading Where the Cheese Is as Stinky as the Wine Is Great — Bourgogne
European bakeries are basically the Wild West. They’ve got the romance, the flurries of chaos and the unspoken laws of the land. Continue reading Mallorcan-style pizza: coca de trampó
What’s the best way to make paella? Easy: outside and over a wood fire. It lives up to the primal romance of cooking by fire. Meat, heat and eat. Like Francis Mallmann, perhaps the biggest proponent of cooking by fuego, told … Continue reading The Best Way to Make Paella (Hint: Fuego)
One of my favorite words in the Spanish language is aprovechar – to take advantage. In English, we have the literal translation, but we don’t use it nearly enough, at least not how Spaniards do. I think a more accurate … Continue reading saffron crepes with maple almond butter
“Are you ready?” asks my mom, casting a quick glance at me and then the hairdresser who’s unwinding the last tendril from his iron. He deftly places a mirror in front of my face, giving me a moment to admire … Continue reading Mallorca (dream) wedding
The end of our honeymoon was most unusual: we found ourselves in Boom, Belgium, at a festival that looked like Disneyland on speed, surrounded by tens of thousands of electronic music fans. I was there to cook for the Tomorrowland … Continue reading Tomorrowland – Belgium
We’ve been eating a lot of homemade tortillas lately. A lot. Because I’m trying to perfect mine for Belgian guests that will soon be visiting the East Williamsburg ranch (our home). Kinda’ big news about that but I’ll share when … Continue reading Spanish tortilla with Swiss chard
Pisto manchego: a classic Spanish dish that brings me back to my school days — not my student days, but when I moved to Spain to be an English teacher. At CEIP Maria Moliner, a public school in the San Blas … Continue reading pisto manchego
If you’ve ever tried to cook an octopus, you know it’s no small feat to achieve that perfect texture. I’ve listened carefully to all the lore about the best way to cook octopus: slam it against a rock after catching it from the … Continue reading grilled octopus with chorizo
By Benjamin Preston, Founder + Blogger, Via Hero I’m sitting in the dining room of Pujol and all around me people are celebrating — anniversaries, reunions with old friends and trips to Mexico coming to an end. Somewhat of an … Continue reading flavors of Mexico City: mole
Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is kinda bullshit ♡. My most memorable Valentine’s Day remains that time that my friend Ava and I (all da single ladies) decided to make ourselves a special dinner. We were 2Ls at Cornell lawyer school. I … Continue reading bacon + dates granola
I love making cakes. It’s such a luxury to say, You know what? Today, I’m going to dedicate my day to baking a cake. I was reading The Basque History of the World, and when the author talked about these traditional Basque cherry-filled cakes called … Continue reading gâteau basque
I love Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side. It’s a hidden world inside what looks an old high school (or maybe a garage?), filled with treats—bakeries, cheesemongers, butchers, fruit and veggie stands and (key for this post) fish merchants. I’m … Continue reading a super upsetting bocadillo de calamares
BACK TO SPAIN! POR FIN! I just returned from a week in Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands off the East coast of Spain. It was a week of being disconnected; of days filled with boat rides, snorkeling and late-afternoon … Continue reading affogatos + Mallorca
It feels like yesterday it was April and I was wearing a leather jacket and battling random chilly days. Then I blinked and it’s August and I’m battling unwieldy summer hair. Beach hair, right? Wrong. Not when you’re on the … Continue reading eggplant fries + herb mayo
I’ve been itching to share some news with you. But I wanted to wait until it happened because I didn’t want to tell you and jinx it and then oops, it never happened. Let’s rewind. Back in 2013, before I left … Continue reading quinoa bowls + walnut romesco
Hullo? Still with me? I moved from my tiny East Village abode to an apartment in Brooklyn, so pardon the temporary silence. I like the new hood. I forgot how much quieter it is here at night, even in a bzzzzy neighborhood … Continue reading chocolate chip cookie + tahini honey cream icebox cake
Chef/Owner – Zing’s Awesome Rice New York, New York On a recent Monday late afternoon, I find myself inside Zing’s Awesome Rice. It’s a small space on the Lower East Side with an open kitchen that looks out on a couple … Continue reading Zing Bai
