Women Owned Businesses: To Grandmother's House We Go

If you love Mexican or Sicilian (and soon Turkish) cuisine then is there a treat out there for you. To Grandmother's House We Go is a culinary tour company dedicated to bringing the students the most authentic traditional cooking knowledge available. Currently touring in Oaxaca and Sicily and soon to be adding Istanbul, these are hands on food experiences with real experts, women, mostly real grandmothers, who have the secrets to the traditional and classic recipes of their regions.

Founded by Chef Sue Baldassano To Grandmother’s House We Go was part of her personal journey to reconnect with the food of her grandmother and as an antidote to what many of us find contrived in restaurants these days. The tours to Oaxaca, Mexico are in February and Sicily, Italy are in June. If you’re looking for a vacation with meaning and learning, I don’t think you could find one that’s better. For more information, contact Sue B. here.

In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that Chef Sue B. was one of my instructors and the Director of Education at the Natural Gourmet Institute where I recently graduated from the Chef’s Training Program. Sue was a great teacher, cool, funny, no nonsense and passionate. I’m doing what I can to follow her lead as I embark on my journey in the culinary world.

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Esther Hautzig, R.I.P.

When I was about 12 or 13 I picked up The Endless Steppe and was simply captivated by the story. There are few books in my life that have had such a massive impact on me emotionally, in fact, this and The Diary of Anne Frank may be the two which have had the most. I read today that Esther Hautzig the writer of The Endless Steppe passed away at age 79 here in New York. I bought and re-read it in 2007 and cried and cried just like I did the first time. On the jacket it said she lived in New York and I had a thought to reach out to her and tell her how much her words meant but of course life took over and I didn't. I hope to go to Vilna someday (my great great grandfather was from there too) and think of her and how important her life was.

Obituary from the New York Times.

Women Owned Businesses: Restaurant Sant Pau, Sant Pol De Mar, Spain

Spain has been getting an extraordinary amount of culinary attention in recent years, in many ways because of the innovations of Ferran Adria at El Bulli as well as the visibility of Jose Andres in the United States. For the last 5 years, most things Spanish, Basque, Catalan, Galician, Asturian, and Andalusian have interested me and my recent completion of a chef’s training program has helped me focus my curiosity towards all things gastronomic. I took the opportunity on my latest visit to Spain to visit the restaurant of Carme Ruscalleda, Restaurant Sant Pau, the only three Michelin star in Spain owned and operated by a woman. It's in Sant Pol de Mar, only about an hour north of Barcelona on the train and it was worth every penny, every minute and every bite.



We arrived a bit early to Sant Pol de Mar and as we stepped off the train and tried to sort out which way to find the restaurant, we passed Carme Ruscadella on the platform which doubles as the main sidewalk of the town. I smiled at her and said "hola" and she returned the greeting. I was already beaming as you can see from this pic.



Once we checked into the restaurant we were seated at the best table there was, right in the middle of the dining room, facing the sea. The restaurant seats about 40 and it appeared as though it was about 3/4 full by the time service was in swing. We ordered a Cava (Carme's special vintage) and proceeded to be served with some of the most incredible service I could ever have imagined. Attentive without being overly so, offering explanations and guidance when needed, but never in a condescending way. We had approximately 15 courses and stayed for 5 and a half hours! On our way to the garden for coffee they took us through the nicest professional kitchen I have ever seen. I think any chef in the world would be jealous of a view of the sea while you're working. Here is a sampling of some of the pics, and you can see more here.







I was so struck not only by how beautiful the food was, but how thoughtfully and with what detail it was conceived. It was by no means cheap, and was not something I think one would want to do once a month or even once every six months, but a meal like this once a year is absolutely worth it.

Some notes:

From Barcelona, catch the Renfe Cercanias C1 along the coast to Sant Pol de Mar. I think it's about 7 Euros round trip per person.

You don't have to dress up but you should wear decent clothes. I don't think jeans or sneakers are totally appropriate unless they're especially dope.

You can order wine by the bottle or get a wine pairing with each course. We opted for the glass of cava to start and a Catalan bottle for our appetizers and main course. For the cheese course we had another glass of cava and a Catalan digestive marc de cava after dessert and coffee. The bottle was about 40 euros (definitely on the cheap side of their list) but was totally delicious and they didn't seem to think we were dumb for going that route.

There are menus in English, Spanish and Catalan. The waiters, sommelier and servers all seemed proficient in English with the guests who were American.

I can dream that I'll be able to return someday.

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Aerial Views and Pools

I'm obsessed with aerial views and pools. I'm super happy to be going to Barcelona tomorrow and see these, some of my favorites.

Punk Owned Businesses: The Tango Company

Welcome to the latest installment of rad people owned businesses. I have thus far concentrated on women owned businesses because that's what I'm into, but I'm also into rad PEOPLE and Carlos Cañedo is one of the raddest people I know. He is also a true punk, and the perfect person for the first edition of "punk owned businesses".

Carlos and I met when we were he was on tour with Rice and Bumblescrump, a wee 17 year old methinks. He was a rough and tumble bundle of energy, with an infectious sense of humor and passion. We began to play music in 1994 and have done so off and on for the past 15 years.

Within that span of time Carlos has brought the same passion for music to dance and has become an internationally recognized Tango dancer and instructor. About five years ago he began his own Tango instruction company, called fittingly, The Tango Company, which is THE place to learn Tango in NYC. He and his partner also perform in New York and around the country and world and should not be missed if possible.

If you've ever thought "hey, I'd like to learn Tango" now is your chance. Call Carlos and he'll hook you up.

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Remembering Teddy

Thank you for all the work you did Senator Kennedy, as the principle sponsor of more landmark legislation than any other Senator in U.S. history, and for leading the fight in historic legislation for women's rights, civil rights, and human services, including:

The Equal Rights Amendment Extension Act of 1978, which provided more time to pass the ERA.

Minimum wage laws that impacted women.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which prohibited discrimination against pregnant women and revered the Supreme Court decision that permitted discrimination against women in the workforce.

The Civil Rights Restoration Act, which restored the scope of Title IX and reversed the Grove City Supreme Court case that had gutted Title IX.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), which protected reproductive health care providers.

The Family Medical Leave Act, which provided 12 weeks unpaid job-protected leave to workers for newborn care, adoption or faster care, or illness of the worker or her/his spouse, child, or parent.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991, which provided to women workers the right to collect damages in sex discrimination cases.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which reversed the Roberts Supreme Court decision that gutted the ability of women workers to sue for wage discrimination.

Numerous health care measures including stem cell research, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Mental Health Parity Act, and reproductive health funding.

Delorean Mix Tape for Ayrton Senna

The new delorean is so incredible. Right now they're recording their new album. More news as it unfolds.