An excuse to be together....

One must always find an excuse to be with Robert Reynolds, especially if it's to be in the kitchen! He's a long-time friend of ours--more than a friend, really. Robert is like that wise, witty, urbane, eccentric and colorful uncle that we all have, or wish we had. He shows up when you're least expecting it, bearing food and ripe with stories of his travels and intereactions with those great and small in the international food world. He's one of the family and we love it when he's sitting at our dining table.

Somehow Robert ended up in Portland after a long career as a restaurant owner in San Francisco (Remember Le Trou?). For those of us that explain what he does for a living these days, we just say that he's a chef's chef, and that he spends his time teaching and inspiring. And he seems to do it everywhere: West Coast, East Coast, in between the coasts, and, of course, in his (and our) dear old France.

He's got a new book out, pictured above, though it's really much more than a book; something created for the treasure table as a beautifully bound object, and something to read next time a bout of wanderlust hits you and you need your senses tingled by meanderings of the Old Country. It's a kind of travelogue with enlightening observations about people, places, culture and food--and recipes! (Go immediately to page 129 and make the Mousseline Sauce and serve it over blanched asparagus TONIGHT; turn the page and marvel at the France of old and the France of new by inspecting a copy of Robert's computerized restaurant tab from a recent meal at La Coupole in Paris.)

An Excuse to be Together is offered for sale in our Pearl District store for $30. We're happy to ship you a copy if you can't make it in. It's a lovely gift for the hard-to-buys on your list. It's also a unique addition to your own library.

Here's Robert's website for even more info:
http://www.chefrobertreynolds.com/

And here's a podcast interview if you'd like a voice to put with a book-- you know, like how much better David Sedaris's stories are when you know his voice?
http://www.podcast.net/show/8040 And go to #4 and hit play.

Bon appetit!