Cake is better than pie, and I won’t be charitable to the opinion of anyone who thinks otherwise. For as much as I love pie, especially fruit pie, my life would go on just fine without it. There are other ways to eat blueberries if you don’t have a pie crust. There is no substitute…

We had things to discuss, which was too bad, because normally I dislike discussing things, and when I don’t like what I’m doing I’m also unwilling to cook. So we went to the local Ethiopian restaurant called Erta Ale (named for an active volcano) and tried fish cut into cubes in a tomato and jalapeño…

It’s not often that I’m in the mood to cook anything when I get home at night, and usually it’s a safer bet that I’ll feel like watching a reality show and going to bed. Sometimes I cook anyway, and sometimes the routine of preparing food takes away the stress of the day’s activities and…

It’s an assembly line of comfort food at El Pollo Rico, the local charcoal broiled chicken place, where your ears ring as you watch them slice the chicken in half and the butcher’s knife slams on the counter. You get sides of rice, beans, coleslaw, or fries, and two sauces: a yellow sauce (which tastes…

We were looking for a bar to watch UVA lose its chance to make the Final Four, and this being Easter, the neighborhood Irish pub was closed. A new place, called Unplugged, is a sports bar with a divey interior that plays a mix of reggaeton, classic rock hits, and out-of-nowhere choices like a DJ…