This will seem crazy, to many readers, but when we get some time back in the States, I inevitably think about having a meal at … … one of my favorite Mexican outlets … or enjoying dim sum at Capital Seafood in Irvine … or savoring some Lebanese, which we used to eat at least […]

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If I were to rank the American holidays that seem emptiest/saddest/most pathetic outside the borders of the U.S., two of the top three would be Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Though the latter is certainly not specific to the U.S., even if many of its States-side traditions are.) The third “sad Yank holiday overseas”, ranking behind only […]

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It took four days, but we apparently found the restaurant district of Manchester — a little to the west of Market Street, in an area of short streets and small hotels. And we ate at a pub that might even be semi-famous — Sam’s Chop House, established 1872. You’ve heard about the preferences of the […]

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Two of the best barbecues I have enjoyed, in the past three years, have been in a leafy suburb of Paris. Didn’t see that coming. We Yanks don’t normally associate Paris with grilling large amounts of meat over a pile of glowing coals. A good reason for that: It’s apparently illegal to barbecue inside the […]

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I will soon get back to serious topics like the Dodgers and Frank McCourt, who is scrambling pathetically to rehabilitate his image (don’t bother) even as he says Bud Selig already has decided to force him to sell (I certainly hope so) … as well as some virulent anti-American yammering from Brit journos, which is […]

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I was thinking about the Beijing Olympics, and realized that the U.S. men’s basketball team had zero Clippers on it. But then, neither did the Vancouver Olympics. Have any Clippers on the U.S. team. Though clipper ships presumably sailed to Vancouver, but not Beijing, it being too far from the ocean. Hong Kong? Sure. But […]

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My daughter sent me a link to an online novelty store. It sells silly stuff. The sort of things Pee-Wee Herman would have bought in his “Big Adventure.” Without having to cut and paste, the link to http://www.mcphee.com/ can be found here. Doesn’t everyone need bacon-flavored toothpicks and bacon-flavored breath mints? Or a Jesus bobblehead? […]

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First, came the one-sentence intro. “Your Web site has been so good lately.” In an e-mail from my daughter. There’s a hook, if ever a blogger saw one. Then this link. Have to admit, it does make the site a lot more appealing.

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