What’s Cookin’

Hi, friends. Happy 2021, whatever that means. (Are we there yet?) How are you? I know many of us are feeling exhausted, shocked, aghast, and angry, and others are numb and completely maxed out from the past week of news, which keeps unfolding every hour with new updates. It’s…

Ho ho howdy, hopper posse. I hope your holiday season has been merry and bright and full of delicious things. I know the latter is the case if you ordered a hopper holiday restaurant gift bag! It has been so fun seeing your pics and notes and reports of your…

Hey everyone, thanks for your patience as I worked to get this Hopper Holiday Restaurant Gift Bag reindeer rodeo under control and live! (Thanks to the wonderful team at Square for their amazing help, this was a tricky one to set up!) You can read about alllll the treats in…

Hey everyone, I want to thank you so much for all your feedback about my essay last week about the dire situation we find our local restaurants in, and what we need to do to help and show up for them since our federal government isn’t. I really appreciate…

On Friday afternoon, I heard the devastating news about our shutdown after returning from an outdoor holiday lunch with a dear industry friend, and like so many of us, felt like our city was just sucker-punched, even though we knew things were not looking good. I started to imagine the…

Howdy, friends. I hope you were able to enjoy Thanksgiving in whatever form you had it (or didn’t!) and could downshift over the long weekend while the intensity keeps building around us. Ooof. Breathe. I was so happy to get off Twitter for a couple days and be up…

Whooooohoooooo. What a rollercoaster of emotions we’re on. Breaking the waves. Waking up on Saturday to the news of a Biden and Harris presidency brought such joy and deep relief—the best feeling I’ve had the past eight months, that’s for damned sure. You also don’t…

Inhale, exhale. Ahhhhhh! And argh! I know most of us are really feeling the pressure this week, with Election Day in a week (VOTE! My gawdess, please vote!) and so much hanging in the balance (I can’t EVEN). Do whatever you need to do for self-care and sanity this…

Howdy and hello. I barely got this newsletter finished in time for you today—there is just an incredible amount of news to churn through right now, lawdy. I want to start this missive by thanking so many of you who contributed to my tip jar after the last issue,…

Hello, friends. Let’s all take a big inhale together (although I hope your windows are closed with today’s unhealthy AQI). And exhalllllle. How about one more deep breath. Maybe another. Okay. Drop and roll those shoulders. Unclench that jaw. Massage that jawline, along with your temples and neck…