The Kitch Lit Series: The City of Light

There is such comfort that comes with a return to the familiar. For me, that has been a recent return to the culinary world. I’m deep into watching Top Chef for the hundredth time. Currently blowing through the hot mess that was Top Chef :Texas. And to coincide, a return to food-centric text. 

The Man Who Ate Everything was a slog. Some interesting culinary tidbits lie within Jeffrey Steingarten’s tome, but for someone with minimal interest the true science of cooking and baking, it was a lot of information for my little Kraft Mac and Cheese brain. From Steingarten’s New York City apartment, I now find myself in the culinary mecca of France. 

David Lebovitz’s The Sweet Life in Paris is delightful. Part guidebook, part cookbook, completely charming. Lebovitz spent decades as a pastry chef in San Francisco before relocating to Paris. Sprinkled in between pastry recipes, Lebovitz documents his time working in a fish market and a chocolate shop and expounds on the unique traits of Paris and its’ inhabitants, including, a strange acceptance – at one time – of public urination. Lebovitz has a breezy and descriptive writing style. He vividly paints a picture of his tiny Paris apartment overflowing with sweet treats. Baking chocolate piled high and shelves stuffed with bags of flour and sugar. Lebovitz makes inroads with locals by off loading his pastries and batches of ice cream, in part because there is literally no space to store them. Paris marked a new chapter for Lebovitz and hopefully, for his readers, there are more culinary chapters yet to come. 

From Paris we head south to Lyon with Bill Buford. Buford wrote about Italian culinary culture and the restaurant industry in Heat, which documented his time spent in Mario Batali’s kitchen at Babbo. Thus far, I’ve only just begun reading Dirt, Buford’s recent exploration of French cooking. From New York, Buford, his wife and two young twin boys embark on an adventure, with the ultimate goal being Buford’s true understanding of French cooking. I relish the thought of diving into his journey of cultural immersion through food in Lyon, France, the city which most consider the true home of French cuisine.

One day, my interest in all things cuisine may translate to real deal cooking on my part. As it stands, I just requested someone send me a recipe for pizza beans. No, that is not a typo. Google pizza beans, it’s a thing. 

Live From...Our Living Rooms

All the typical pre-concert activities occurred. Gotta get to the bathroom before the show. I live by myself so, no line, woot! The odor of the restaurants my fellow audiences members enjoyed before the concert permeated the room. Ope, just me and the smell of the popcorn that I popped before the show. The house lights dimmed. Me again, I hit the light switch on the way to my couch. Away we go. My first live virtual concert. 

Jessica Vosk, one of my favorite Elphabas (2017 tour + actual 15^th anniversary performance on the Broadway!) performed live Sunday evening with Seth Rudetsky. Rudetsky, perhaps best known for his satellite radio show, is a savior. He is almost single-handedly feeding those of us in the Broadway starved community with Stars in the House and The Seth Concert Series.

Rudetsky has been in the Broadway universe for decades and can probably pluck away any song, Broadway or not. But Vosk’s journey to Broadway is unique. After spending her post-college years working on Wall Street, anxiety and panic attacks led her to reexamine her path. It surely took guts to leave a high paying job for the uncertainty of a performing career. But for Vosk, pursuing her passion became the fulfillment she needed. Broadway or bust. 

Lucky for us, her passion and persistence paid off. After debuting on Broadway in The Bridges of Madison County, Vosk went on to perform in Finding Neverland, Fiddler on the Roof and Wicked. Last night, Vosk opened with Carole King’s “Beautiful” and proceeded to show off her range. She touched on pop, Broadway and even Disney. Some of the standouts were “Your Song,” “What Baking Can Do,” “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “I Can Do Better Than That.” Vosk’s voice is pretty close to impeccable. Her tone is rich and crystal clear. And that girl can belt. And that girl can riff. And she does it all flawlessly. 

So can a virtual concert replace the live concert experience? Of course not. But can it accomplish some of the same things as a live event and fill just a little bit of the huge void that the pandemic has created? You bet. Check out the upcoming concerts in The Seth Concert Series. You may have missed Vosk but you  should not miss these!