Like "California Cuisine".

Much as I am a champion of California food...the produce? Come on! None better...I have to confess that I've never actually understood this term. My best guess is...small bits of food artfully arranged so as to disguise the food's similarity to lots of other cuisines...which suffer mightily from the lack of art.

It's Ellie's birthday! How did she get to be three? [link]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE!!! What a big girl you are!!

And Em will be jealous as hell - that's the exact bike she wants.

OMGSOPRETTY!

How did Ellie get to be big enough to ride a bike already? Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday Ellie! What a beautiful, energetic, lively little girl!

OMGIMDEAD! So big and already on wheels! Quit growing up, kids, you're making me feel old(er).

I have to confess that I've never actually understood this term.

Originally it referred to the way restaurants like Chez Panisse were revolutionizing American fine dining in the 1970's. Prior to that, fine dining in the US meant a French-style kitchen serving French food, probably in New York City. The reason the term is obsolete today is because the philosophy of using fresh local ingredients and presenting them in their purest form has so completely permeated food culture that we don't need a separate word to distinguish it.

(I highly recommend The United States of Arugula for a fantastic history of upscale food in the US. Apart from telling me more about James Beard's sex life than I ever wanted to know, it's a really terrific read.)

Zoom, Ellie! So cute!

And how is it that F no longer looks like a wee baby, but a big baby boy?

::boggles::

Chez Panisse

I've eaten there! Once.

the philosophy of using fresh local ingredients and presenting them in their purest form

That's fascinating Jessica. And makes so much sense. I'll see if I can find that book at the library. I am intrigued by social movements, whether you call them fads or not, and the progression of the food culture seems unique unto itself. I don't know much about it at all.