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Brian Duff
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Flavor frenzy
There is a theory about the extreme inequality found in American culture and economy that goes something like this: inequality is the price of a culture designed to identify and reward great talent.
Holy potatoes! Yep, spuds are the not-so-secret ingredient in these doughnuts
All cuisines rely on the experience of regression for their deepest appeal.
A very warm welcome indeed
The long coastline of Somalia is at the root of its culture's many complexities.
Civilizing influences
"Civilizing" the frontier was a long and complex process, with lasting effects on our culture.
How the other 1 percent feast. It's delicious!
The day is coming when the baby boomers will bankrupt this country, sparing only their own nest-eggs and supplemental health insurance.
Finding the right mix
Some new restaurants obsess over getting the décor just right. Others focus on creating a perfect menu.
Preserving a treasure
Inheritance is the problem of the modern age.
Lift a stein and down a sausage at the Thirsty Pig, or Novare Res
The traditional remedies for the burdens of life, at least in the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic traditions that dominate American culture, have been beer and sausage — cheap ways to blot the pain with a light buzz and a stomach full of rich food.
The family-run place you're hoping for
It's often claimed that there is no good Chinese food in Portland. But when four Maine Chinese buffet restaurants were raided by federal agents for deplorable working conditions, money laundering, and other alleged crimes a few months back, it put things in perspective.
Korean cooking mixes three powerhouse tastes
You hear a lot about the rise of China, but in truth it is Korea that is headed toward world domination.
Fortune's return
It was four years ago — the beginning of 2008 — that Portland prepared to get its moment at the center of the nation's food consciousness.
Don't miss out
With the vogue in ever-changing menus, there are probably hundreds of great dishes that come and go every year in Portland that nearly everyone misses. You can't think about it: that way madness lies.
Tastes of Africa
On one wall of Fez restaurant is a portrait of the African continent.
Sending Mexican upscale — with a brick oven
Thanksgiving invites us to reflect on the Anglo-American model of indigenous relations: play nice for a bit, even share a feast, then murder everyone.
Want comfort? Go German
The most famous quality of Germans is their knack for accomplishing even difficult tasks with a clean efficiency.
Getting the tone of a cocktail bar just right
As the recent Ken Burns documentary Prohibition revealed, the woman-led movement to eliminate alcoholic drinks was fueled by a desire to eliminate a certain kind of masculine behavior — loud, abusive, irresponsible loutishness.
Sampling the artistic institution's take on food
In the long transition by which medieval mysticism gave way to modern rationality and bureaucratic efficiency, the placement of clocks on church steeples was a profound milestone.
District is hard to classify, but hard to go wrong
With the fall television season beginning, it is worth remembering the best TV show of the last decade: NBC's Las Vegas . Man, that show was good.
Sauce your heart out
Vietnamese cuisine very friendly to saucy experimentation.
In search of Mexillence
The surest formula for greatness is to turn your weakness into a strength.
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