Weird, it really is the end of a decade… Can’t believe it’s been ten years since we were all freaking out over whether our computers were going to blow up on the Millennium. Meanwhile, the only thing blowing up right now is our collective post-holiday waistlines, mamma mia. Too. Many. Cookies. And will someone please get the goddamned eggnog out of my fridge? Oh wait, I am planning to use it for New Year’s Day waffles, don’t even think of touching it! And then there’s tonight’s tablehopper supper—fortunately pho doesn’t have cream in it. (Speaking of, we might have a couple spots that opened—just click here for your last-minute tickets and the password is bourbon.)
Oh man, did I have a lovely Christmas with the family. We feasted for three days straight, primarily on the ridiculous bounty of wild chanterelles my dad foraged for with his buddy in Santa Cruz (yes, they were remarkable). And of course a ton of baccala and calamari in too many incarnations to count, plus pasta three ways, stuffed clams, there was a pork crown roast in there, a pineapple upside down cake, my great-grandma’s cinnamon rolls, homemade sausage and fried eggs, jeez, all kinds of evil things (my dad’s birthday always kicks off the feeding frenzy on the 23rd).
Fortunately I am hopping on a plane this coming Monday and off to India before I put this gorgeous new Global cheese knife that my parents gave me to use. Right, like India is going to be a low-calorie excursion. Then again, I am hoping “Delhi Belly” does not strike—really not into losing weight through the parasite plan. My love of street food is going to push my luck, that’s for sure.
I’ll have a couple pre-loaded columns automatically go out for you the next two weeks, but am going dark on January 19th and 26th, back in action February 2nd. If you want to keep up with some of my shenanigans in India, I plan to Twitter some pics and 140-character impressions while I’m away.
However, I will be completely off the grid as far as email and voicemail are concerned—I need a break. So if you can please refrain from emailing me until I return, I’d really really appreciate it. I HATE coming home to an inbox with 2,000 unread messages. Glug. (Publicists, pretty please don’t send me any January event press releases since I won’t be able to mention anything until February, schwanks.)
Thanks for all of your kind and oh-so-appreciated support this past year. Hey, it takes a village. I am wishing all of you a healthy, happy, successful, and supremely kick-ass 2010. With whipped cream on top.
XO
Wild/foraged chanterelles.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, Dec 29 2009
