change and continuity

Root admires La Pyramide, on the whole, but he holds that no restaurant on a byway can be called truly great, since its clients come a long way way to eat its specialties and it need scarcely ever change its menu. The truly great restaurateur is the one who can please essentially the same clientele week after week without boring or disappointing it.

a.j. liebling, "the modest threshold," in between meals.

spargelzeit

asparagus, goat butter, salt.

the food you eat every day

Jean [Troisgros] was never so happy as when we drove down the block to the schlocky café and had the steak frites. He honestly loved that better than going to a three-star restaurant. It was pretty clear, the food you eat every day is the most important food. This is what we do at Zuni.*

judy rodgers (1956-2013)

eating is believing

james thurber, further fables for our time

great wines are worth waiting for

Genius is a combination of instinct and reason married to an unswerving dedication to a high standard. The expression of genius requires a certain obstinacy and the strength to be alone.

...

The most profound satisfactions often come in small increments that gather strength as they accumulate. In the realm of wine, the critical components of attaining top quality are the soil, the composition of which is created over millennia; the climate, which builds moment by moment through a growing season; the vine itself, which gives its best and most concentrated juice when it is older; and the daily tasks of tending the vineyard, none of which can be replaced by some trick or maneuver of winemaking. Much like us, a fine wine expresses its identity over time, and great wines are worth waiting for.

neal rosenthal, reflections of a wine merchant.

8-step program

this will solve your tomato oversupply problem. (that's not butter.)