at the sign of The Pink Pig

To Barcelona: Ten Year Ago

Quan a la falda et miro de Montjuïc seguda...  Well, it made me as happy as the poet, Jacint Verdaguer, to be flying into Barcelona one morning in February, ten years ago.  A weekend indulgence apparently, New York to Barcelona and back, eating up a few air miles.

I stayed at the Oriente, one of the older hotels on the lower part of the Ramblas, below Liceu, down towards the water: cool, dark and quiet. 

Easing Into February: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine:  February 6, 2012]

I mentioned last week that I was just getting busy posting on eGullet ten years ago, with no intention whatsoever of becoming any kind of "food blogger." 

I refer to it again, because it was eGullet - or rather the enthusiasm of co-founder Steven Shaw - which sent me to Bid.

Remember Cello? Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  January 16, 2012]

Cello.  There's a New York restaurant story.  Hidden behind a heavy wooden door on East 77th Street, it had become in the space of a couple of years a highly respected gastronomic temple of the pescatarian variety, helmed by a respected young chef, Laurent Tourondel.

Not long after I ate there, it abruptly closed, amidst rumors of collapse of financial support.  Tourondel, after a year away, set about establishing himself as the name behind a min-chain of steak, fish and burger restaurants.

'02 Started Sickly: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  January 9, 2012]

I woke up some time on January 1, 2012, in a room at the Hotel Jaragua on the Malecón in the Dominican Republic.  The sounds of the all-night festivities had barely died down, and soon became clear that the entire nation intended to continue drinking all day and all night.

A good place to be, right?  Generally speaking, yes; but on this occasion, my trip was to be dogged by ill-health.

Holidays At Home: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  January 1, 2012]

I was sufficiently distracted by my diary's accounts of dinners at Blue Hill and Le Cirque in the week before Christmas, ten years ago, that I managed to overlook another meal, right on the cusp of Christmas, at Café Boulud.

This was Andrew Carmellini cooking at his peak, probably the best meal I have eaten there.

Into December - and JoJo: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  December 14, 2011]

If you think December is mild this year, my diary tells me we had a record breker ten years ago:  69 degrees on December 1st.  I was building up to moving house, from the Gramercy Park neighborhood to the East Village.

But I still found time for some restaurant dining.

November Leftovers: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid: December 5, 2011]

I spent one day escaping from turkey leftovers by throwing together a casual restaurant cruise of Park Avenue.  Seafood, salumi, cheese.

Well, it got me out of the kitchen.

Turkey Day: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  November 28, 2011]

I seem to have put some effort into the dinner back in 2001.  It was a wild turkey, brined.  We started with some osetra caviar.  Then a multitude of sides with the bird.

Cornbread stuffing with crumbled longaniza sausage.  Green beans cooked with fresh tomatoes, a recipe from an old French "housewife's" cookbook.  Brussel sprouts braised in chicken broth.  Sweet potatoes.

On Track For Thanksgiving: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  November 20, 2011]

Ten years ago, Thanksgiving fell early, due to the rigorous calendar logic which governs its arrival.  By this time, then, I was plunged into the pre-feast shopping, snaring a wild turkey at Quattro's in the Union Square greenmarket. 

I did find time to eat out, though.

eGullet On The Horizon: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  November 14, 2011]

Conversations among online food wranglers often get stuck on questions like "Was that on Chowhound or eGullet, and how many years ago?"  It's sobering to be informed by my trusted journal that ten years ago I was already a reasonably well-established contributor to the eGullet forums.

I know this, because ten years ago I went to Bid.