Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate

Eric Asimov is the New York Time’s wine critic and a restaurant reviewer. Yesterday he wrote a glowing tribute to Portland, Oregon restaurants and some Portland chefs. Karen and I wrote him a letter, posted below, and followed by a restaurant review I wrote and included in my book. Asimov said the cheap real estate drew chefs from NYC and elsewhere. The Ken in our letter owns Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Portland. Mr. Paley’s restaurant, Paley’s, is featured in the article, as is chef Pascal’s bistro. Claudia Pepin is famed chef Jacque Pepin’s daughter. Read More

I taught my first class this past Tuesday. It is a large lecture section of seventy students, in a course titled “Globalization and Labor.” It was the first time I was in a classroom like this since 2001. I was nervous about it. Lectures to prepare, exams to grade, hassles to deal with. The paperwork I have to do just to get paid is remarkable. Do this, fill this out, go here, get this. Then I am told it might take awhile for me to “get into the system.” I’m only here for five months, so I hope that first check comes before I leave. The University of Massachusetts seems to be a particularly bureaucratic organization, but maybe I’m not remembering how bad the University of Pittsburgh was. The class went fine, though. About seventy students, but I have two graduate assistants, the first time in my life I have ever had help for a class. Read More