Tag: bakery

Monday Morning Wake-Up Call

Live & Learn30 Comments

Humphreys was a shingle building with a handwritten sign above its entrance—HUMPHREY’S BAKED GOODS & SANDWICHES. Even before I opened its screen door, the unmistakable smell of bread baking wafted outside. Is there any better smell on earth?

— Keith McNally, I Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir (Gallery Books, May 6, 2025)

Notes:

  • NY Times Book Review: The Brash, Working-Class Londoner Who Redefined New York’s Restaurants
  • Wall Street Journal book excerpt: Keith McNally: “I Had No Chef, No Toilets and No Budget. But I Was Determined to Open Balthazar.”

My Zen. Is My Zen.

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donuts,bread,sweet,dessert,

It’s Saturday, late afternoon.
Dinner out? Or eat in?
I take inventory of the fridge. Eyes pan from the top shelf to bottom. Not feeling it here.
I take inventory: Sweat pants. Shower-less. Shave-less. Matted hair.
Eat in.
I grab a pencil to scribble out my wish list.  I’m about to hand it off.

No chance. You’re coming.
Why?
I’m not listening to you complain that I didn’t get you what you wanted.
Oh, come on.

The K’s are in the car.
You could have put a hat on.
I could have stayed home.
(Silence)
Continue reading “My Zen. Is My Zen.” →