Chef Mario Batali interviews Jim Harrison in this brief Food & Wine article. I particularly enjoyed Harrison’s take on America’s “big curse,” and his reply to the last question is priceless.
O at the Edges
Musings on poetry, language, perception, numbers, food, and anything else that slips through the cracks.
O at the Edges 
So that’s the sign I need to get some work done! 😄
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That, and no phone!
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I HATE wine snobs. Diet Pepsi is tastier and no less meaningful on an existential level…
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Ack! But in my non-existential life, the Presumed Innocent IPA I’m sipping is far, far superior to any diet drink. 😛
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Having said that, I admit to knowing nothing about wine. One of my favorites is a $7 cava, which is uneven from vintage to vintage, or perhaps even bottle to bottle. But in my estimation, at its best it rivals the $25 bottles I occasionally splurge on. At its worst, it beats the hell out of Diet Pepsi. 😏
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My everyday wine is 6.99
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I had a glass of cava earlier this evening. Tasty!
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LOL! Ales are another story… a much more delicious story! 🙂
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Oh, yes!
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I loved his comment about that restaurants should be fun and joyful. I hate those pretentious, whispering places, too.
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While I enjoy good food, I prefer casual fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere over the whispery places. Pretense no longer sways me, but great food does.
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I’m trying to learn to be kinder when people interrupt me…
My friends and I are always trying to find a restaurant where we can hear each other (We don’t go to the whispery places ever). Turning the music down would be helpful in many cases. We are old and hard of hearing. (K)
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I know what you mean. Finding that balance can be difficult.
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I liked everything about this except the wine thing. He’s totally right about quiet restaurants. But not ridiculously loud patrons, there has to be a medium volume.
Someone get me a simple “GO AWAY!” sign, in flashing purple neon, buy me a secluded mountain cabin with a large freezer and refrigerator, a small grill, an internet hookup and Netflix, weekly grocery allowance, a semi-annual side of beef and a side of pork, a LOT of coffee, a little beer, and some unpretentious (cheap) Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, in enormous bottles. Or both.
I don’t know why, but I get the impression when this guy talks about not being able to afford good wine on his budget he’s talking about $200 bottles and now (tragic! SADNESS! DRAAAAMAAA!) he can only afford $30-$50 bottles (WAAAAH!). I can afford $8 once in a while, and feel like I’ve splurged for $14. Anyway, meet my conditions and I’ll write the next great American Novel. I promise. I’ll get a part time job somewhere for essentials, and crank that sucker out over the next 10 years. Continue the arrangement and I’ll write a sequel every 10 years, or start a new series. Because, I don’t need much. 😀
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I don’t begrudge Harrison his wine talk. He spent his time as an impoverished writer, and managed, even as an outsider, through talent and hard work, to succeed beyond his wildest dreams. And his poetry blows my mind! 🙂
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I’m still hoping to succeed through hack writing and laziness… 😀 A dream is a dream.
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One I share with you!
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Personal preferences bend toward quiet restaurants … opposite of modern noise levels intended to make you feel you’re at a party and drunk (I suppose that’s the intent) that make it impossible to hold a conversation with someone more than 2 inches away. I like to talk across the table and not have to hear what’s happening at the next table!
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I like finding that sweet spot where normal conversation is possible, but the place seems lively (but not crazy). This may explain why we so seldom go out.
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I’ve seen chickens bred with no feathers to save the plucking; surely legless ones will be next…though the breast is what’s always left on the platter at a Chinese banquet.
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This brings to mind Gary Larson’s cartoon of the boneless chicken ranch…
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I’m reading A Really Big Lunch: The Roving Gourmand on Food and Life by Jim Harrison at the moment and really enjoying it. Also, his book of poems, Dead Man’s Float was one of my favorite books of poetry I read last year.
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I’ve not read A Really Big Lunch yet. Can’t wait to dive into it!
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Great share. His comments remind me of a story I heard about a time he ordered chicken and, upon tasting it, tells the waitress that his chicken died in vain.
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Ha! I think I’ve eaten that chicken’s siblings.
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A dozen thighs on a plate with gravy sounds like a very good time
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I know! Two would do. Musn’t be greedy. 😋
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Maybe three
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Or four, if they’re small.
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We’re still talking about chicken, right? 😉
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Oh, yeah. I can consume a pile of thighs, tho I mostly control myself these days. Mostly…
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I make a bourbon chicken with thighs and put it over rice
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Ooh, that sounds delicious. I’m partial to hoisin-glazed roasted thighs, or variations of braised, with white wine and sake the likely braising liquids. Yum!
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Mmmmm
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I get the feeling that Mr. Harrison is not partial to tofu.
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That’s probably an accurate understatement. 🙂
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