Salty plums are a Japanese comfort food. They’re kind of like jam in the sense that, while years ago families made their own, today most people buy them in jars at the grocery store.

They’re eaten almost daily, often as part of a balanced breakfast (the other parts are usually green tea, rice, miso soup, broiled fish, baked pumpkin and salty little condiments; this is not a culture that worships the sticky bun). At lunch and dinner, you’ll often see a plum nestled on a bed of fluffy short-grain rice, with tiny black sesame seeds scattered all around for color and flavor. (more…)

Peggy O’Brien

Last week I had the good fortune to go to a birthday dinner at an amazing restaurant called Per Se in the new Time Warner building in NYC. The menu was about 15 courses — morsels, really, but each dish was more complicated and pleasing to the senses than the next. As a non-drinker, sometimes I feel left out at these fetes, because each course (of course) comes with a different wine to taste. This time, much to my pleasant surprise, the waiter presented me with imaginatively delicious non-alcoholic drinks when I told him that I didn’t imbibe. So as each course was set down, and wines were poured, I was given unique samples at the same time.

It was so nice to sample an unfermented pinot noir with the beef and a bubbly French apple cider with the bass. I was treated to a lemon verbena cosmopolitan, an unfermented Gewurztraminer and, with the chocolate course, a chocolate Brandy Alexander. The gal throwing the party got jealous and wanted one, too! It was such a switch and I’m sure many who may drink alcohol, but are seeking an alternative at times, would love this type of thing.
Oh, and as an aperitif I had a tangy Meyer Lemon spritzer by GUS (aka “Grown Up Soda”), which has less sugar, but no less spunk.