Tag: review

Enclume

We signed up for the “Underground Menu”, advertised as “No holds barred, no deviations” and running to as many as 26 courses. The chef Simon Rogan is possibly the most innovative chef in the UK, pushing forward concepts and ideas in molecular gastronomy more than anyone except Ferran Adria. It’s safe to say that I was more excited about this meal than anything I’ve eaten since the Fat Duck. This was “Charentais melon, horseradish, smoke”. It’s an elaborate inversion of the expected ingredients. The green ball is not melon, but actually a perfect sphere of horseradish cream, with a crisp coat, similar to a chocolate truffle with a liquid center. It was floating in melon juice/foam, dressed with drops of red salmon oil.

Molecular gastronomy at its best.

The oldest story ever written

There’s no better illustration of the fragility and the power of literature than the history of “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” the oldest known literary work, composed in Babylonia more than 3 ka ago. 400 years later, after one of the ruthless, bloody sieges typical of that time, the epic was buried in the ruins of a Mesopotamian palace. There it lay, utterly forgotten along with the name of the king who once reigned in that palace, until a British archaeologist unearthed it not far from the modern city of Mosul in 1840.

David Damrosch’s artful, engrossing new history, “The Buried Book,” relates how “The Epic of Gilgamesh” was lost and found — or rather how it was found and lost, since he tells the story backward, from the present to the past, in an archaeological fashion.

On my bookshelf

i have been reading quite a few books recently. i wish there was more time to review them in more detail. here is the list, for now:

the shield of achilles is a must read if you want to make sense of the shift from nation state to market state. substance of style has cute explanations of why we we have 520 different doorknobs to choose from at home depot, the ingenuity gap argues that problems get more complex faster than our ability to solve them evolves, the minds I is typical hofstadter material, mind hacks is an amusing intro to all things neuro, the mummy congress tells you more you ever wanted to know about dead bodies, and mapping the next millennium highlights the art in scientific visualization.

gear

Here are my recommendations for cool stuff. I include any books, tools, software, videos, maps, gadgets, hardware, websites, or gear that are extraordinarily handy or useful for individual and small groups. The best items are those that open up new possibilities. I depend on friends and readers to suggest things. Generally I try something out first if I can. I only recommend things I like and I ignore the rest.

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