usa

Weight loss shows on TV show cultural differences.

By now you have probably at least heard about the brouhaha over the owners of a restaurant/bakery that appeared on Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares show (U.S. version). If not, you can read about it here and many, many other places.

There was a big to-do surrounding a TV food show here in France too. The show in question: Top Chef. (Yes there's one of those in France.)

I still consider myself to be a New Yorker (technically I am) and go back there at least once or more a year. So I don't write about my trips there all the time. This time I did have more than a few notable food encounters, so here is a not-so-short roundup.

This was the vision I had of a hotel in Hawai'i!

The joys of shrimp and shave ice on the North Shore of Oahu.

I am mostly a plan-ahead, cautious type of person. But once in a while I like to do something just on a whim. Usually these whims turn out to be wonderful. (Sometimes not.)

Anyway, a couple of days ago, near the end of a rather difficult business trip, with my wrist/hand/arm still feeling stiff and wonky and feeling rather sorry for myself, I logged onto my [insert frequent flier miles program name] account and saw that I had a whole bunch of miles nearly expiring. And I decided I needed to spend them. Now.

So, some 48 hours later, I was at a location doing this:

Is there anything that can step in for a ripe, juicy tomato?