when in paris

go where the french go, or rather, nina's parisienne aunt darline, who took us to dalloyau, a "une haute qualité gastronomique, du petit diner à domicile à la réception de prestige," as described by another très parisienne not-to-be-missed pariscope.

disease mongering

PLoS Medicine contains a special section on "disease mongering," a recently termed phenomenon of drug companies promoting drug sales through direct-to-consumer marketing. the phenomenon is not new, but worth reading about. here is the alarmist piece in the times.

generic stovetop espresso machine versus mukka

some time ago, there was a debate whether all stovetop espresso machines (machinetta) are alike. i argued that with proper technique, even the $10 cast aluminum machine is as good as the $100 designer one. i'd like to retract that statement now.

bialetti's mukka express is to thank. it's got a wide and shallow water reservoir that minimizes steaming time, variable volume coffee reservoir that maintains constant packing density, and a pressure control valve that simultaneously prevents overheating the coffee and foams the milk for cappuccino. as advertised, it is the best cappuccino i've tasted in a long time.

plus, it comes in cowprint.

get human

for all those times you need help and are forced to interact with computerized phone systems, search gethuman first.

married!

to nina!



check out a few photos on nina's and mine flickr.

restaurant: peasant (nyny cont.)

finally went to peasant on elizabeth near prince. extremely rich and delicious food. and of course the restaurant itself is a marvel, dark, with lots of brickwork and a massive open kitchen in the back. in contrast to urena, as frank bruni wrote for the nytimes.

this experience again reminded us of the fact that we will be leaving nyc, its restaurants (and its music), as we sat next to yo la tengo.