Rachel Laudan

Now the move from Mexico City to Austin, Texas is largely behind me and there’s a whole month before the move back, I’ve had time to browse Roberto Santibañez’s Truly Mexican.  It’s the Mexican cookbook I’ve been wanting for a long time (and I don’t say that just because Roberto is kind enough to mention [...]

For nearly sixty years, guidebooks have described Fonda El Refugio in the center of Mexico City as a bastion of authentic Mexican cooking.  Now Nick Gilman explains where that authenticity came from. Claudio Hall, grandson of the founder, [explains that] . . . grandma was neither an indigenous braided countrywoman nor a chef. A glamorous [...]

Or at least as true as I can make it. A hundred years ago, Barcelona was booming, textiles factories were spinning, the well-to-do had a social round of balls, country excursions, racing. Women shopped for new furniture, fancy clothes, fine china.  Everyone socialized in restaurants and cafes that served French dinners and te anglaise, owned [...]