As someone who showed up a month late, can I just say I find both of these ideas wildly interesting! Now I’m a little worried that they don’t look bad to me. 😀

• The disgruntled younger sibling of the “Chosen One”
• The main character has traveled back in time to kill Hitler. Little do they know is Hitler is now a skilled killer of time travelers.

I think the second one especially could be a lot of fun. Not sure I’m clever enough to come up with all the interesting traps he would have to devise, but it could be a little zany if ultimately the story was entirely focused on their battle of wits, completely leaving the holocaust angle out of who Hitler is until the very end…

Baked Schtrudel unt Zinamon mit Black Plum ~

My older sister had a wild life. I don’t envy her, I wouldn’t have been able to survive; but thinking of her always makes me think of the Strudel we ate growing up in Salzburg.

Alas, she is with us no longer, but she killed many men in her early twenties. Which is exactly what this dish will do - it’ll kill; at your next party or Sunday supper ~!

Murderers from the future were trying to kill dear A. but by God’s grace, the first of them was an idiot and she stole his device. She hired a nanny to stand in her place during the usual hours she’d be alone and vulnerable, and would be able to document her poor child’s murders, and then go back herself to intercept the killers, no matter how well trained and prepared they were. Well, now onto the recipé ~

I learned from the best: Anton Ego, Pete Wells, Anthony Bourdain. Every column is a story, complete with heroes and villains, intrigue and gossip. The food? The food is just an excuse.

When Verguenza opened in New York, I was sent to cover it. The young prodigy, Sterling Rivera, had just left a stint at the celebrated Farmhouse Inn after a spectacular conflagration with the head chef. Sources say the argument centered around the restaurant’s famed Gorgonzola Mac. Rivera is reported to have thrown a carbon steel skillet clear across the kitchen, screaming that his genius was being wasted on “shit Kraft casserole”. The new restaurant was supposed to be a statement by the critically acclaimed youngster – proof that he could revolutionize the world of fine dining with a global, no-holds-barred approach.

The only meal available at Verguenza is a four-course, prix fixe dinner. The courses change nightly, depending on the seasonality of rutabaga, the availability of jamon iberico pata negra, and, most importantly, the temperament of the chef. In the restaurant, the guest is never handed a menu. They are simply promised “a delightful surprise”. Rumors abound among chefs about Rivera’s legendary commitment to perfection. It is said that if salad is served as a course, the chef at the grill station was likely fired that night. The chefs I’ve spoken to describe an intense, militant culture to Rivera’s kitchen. They say that no one lists Verguenza on their resume unless they stay for more than a year. Leaving before then means only one thing: you were lacking.

I can happily report that none of the dishes served to me were salad. In fact, the menu was remarkably creative, and lived up to its billing. Rivera himself came out from the kitchen to introduce the meal. In his words, the meal was a “voyage across continents and worlds, inspired by the work of Salvador Dali, the absurd made mundane”. The first course was a hamachi ceviche cured with yuzu and citron foam. It left a delightfully zippy taste that quickly faded into effervescence. Next came a lightly chilled soup described as pumpkin gazpacho. It perfectly prepared the palate for the main course, a seared filet of alligator served on a bed of peppery spring greens. Finally, the biggest surprise of the meal was final course: candied ants. Several of the diners recoiled when presented with the crystalline nugget meant to evoke arthropods trapped in amber. Four actually walked out of the restaurant. However, for those brave enough to partake, this dessert was a singularly spectacular treat. I can only hope that this dessert makes a return to the menu soon, though based on the chef’s penchant for switching things up, the odds are slim. I left the restaurant with high hopes for the future of fine dining. Rivera, at least, is not content leaving things to the status quo.