lsanderson | WoW! SF & Food. It's Nouvelle Cuisine

Sci-Fi Cooking Tries Dealing With Reality
By FRANK BRUNI
CHICAGO

"OF the many ways restaurants have expressed their appreciation for bison, none is quite like Alinea's.

The dish might well be called Reefer Mammal. Or Stoned on the Range. Ribbons of bison meat filled egg-size indentations in the surface of a horizontal glass tube, the hollow interior of which contained burning sticks of cinnamon. Smoke seeped from the open ends of the tube, infusing the air and summoning associations well beyond the gustatory."

Standing on Tradition, Chef Reaches for the Sky
By R. W. APPLE Jr.
WASHINGTON

"LIFE is far too short to take too seriously," says José Ramón Andrés, the boy wonder of culinary Washington. "You must have fun every day."

Comments like that, often accompanied by a roguish grin, could lead you to believe that Mr. Andrés, 35, takes a devil-may-care approach to his collection of seven restaurants in and near the nation's capital. But no. Watch him spoon roasted red piquillo peppers from a cazuela at Jaleo with the finesse of a frock-coated headwaiter, or listen to him explain the chemical process by which calcium chloride dissolved in water at Minibar magically transforms a melon purée into a voluptuous little cantaloupe sac that bursts deliciously once inside your mouth, all sweet fruit and salt, and you'll know better."

Taking the Heat Out of the Kitchen
By KIM SEVERSON

"IN the world of food packaging, some innovations are like Post-it notes: you didn't know you needed them until they were invented. Witness tea bags, canned tomatoes and juice boxes.

Wolfgang Puck introduced a new line of lattes this month. That the Los Angeles chef has stamped his name on yet another product isn't surprising. But the container is. It heats itself."

A Passage to India, With Ease
By MARK BITTMAN

"FOR years in this country, the word "chef" conjured the image of a cook trained in the French style. Today, of course, the cuisines of the world influence nearly all chefs, no matter where
they started out. Nonetheless, a star chef whose expertise is Asian, South American or African cuisine remains a rare find."

Recipe: Suvir Saran's Tandoori Shrimp
Recipe: Mark Bittman's Stir-Fried Shrimp With Okra and Lime

Recipe: Suvir Saran's Fried Spinach Salad With Chaat Masala

Recipe: Suvir Saran's Tandoori-Style Lamb Chops Recipe: The Minimalist's Curried Lamb Chops
A Pair of Rising Stars Opts Out of Manhattan
By GINIA BELLAFANTE

"THE night before Allison Vines and her future husband Slade Rushing left the South for Manhattan four years ago, they went out gambling at Harrah's in New Orleans. The couple plunked $20 on the
roulette table and rather miraculously won $700."

United Nations of Hot Dogs
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

"Hot dogs that represent a tour of the United States and a bit of Europe are a suitable snack opposite the United Nations, at First Avenue and 47th Street. The Patio, a large kiosk with outdoor tables in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, serves snappy foot-long hot dogs topped, Coney Island style, with chili, mustard and chopped onions; Chicago style with pickles, onions, tomato, mustard and celery salt; Pacific Coast style, with chili, cheese, onions and tomatoes; and German, with sauerkraut and spicy mustard, all $4.75. Sandwiches, coffee, beer, wine and cocktails complete the picture of this oasis owned by Mark Grossich, who also owns the World Bar in the Trump Tower nearby, and the Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Terminal."

When Velvety Red Is Only Skin Deep
By ERIC ASIMOV

"WHAT color is your red wine? This is not a trick question, like asking about George Washington's white horse. For many wine professionals the color of a red wine is serious business."

-And, now for something completely different, although "The cover is a three-dimensional rendering of the face of Kaxail, Mayan goddess of the wilderness, in recycled cardboard mixed with corn silk and coffee."

The Poetic Hearts of Mayan Women Writ Large
By DINITIA SMITH
Published: May 11, 2005

The Mayan women of the Chiapas highlands in southern Mexico are extremely poor, and many, especially the older women, are illiterate. The poorest own only a few blankets, articles of clothing and utensils. But what they do have is poetry, much to the surprise of Ámbar Past, an American-born Mexican poet who first encountered the Mayan women 30 years ago."