Weekly A to Z, Oct 15th.

The one with the King of Chenin Blanc.

I thoroughly enjoyed my flight back from Brussels and was delighted I didn’t overschedule myself over last weekend. We had an easy in town ‘hike’ with Poppy, a lot of meal prep, and delivery of some tangy wings and corn from Cluckind. #gifted

With some pitching, volunteering, and trying to avoid Mercury’s current retrograde, I mostly kept my head down this week. On Wednesday I was filming/recording a new project with MMI. I can’t wait to tell you more about it, as it’s something I’m incredibly proud of. I can tell you we were at iconic CLAP chatting to the King of Chenin Blanc, Ken Forrester. Special thanks to Amaeya Media and Dima Ayad Consulting for their support.

A generous amount of deliveries this week, including a collection of grass-fed beef products from long-time favorite, Silver Fern Farms, the latest of Kitch-In’s projects, Freshhly, some delicious Chef Nouel pastries, alcohol-free G&Ts from DrinkDry, a modern piece of art from the team at Curious Cucumber, and some a few products from the Soule Soups range (personally delivered from Alex and Spero). #gifted

On Thursday, I accepted a generous lunch invite to Zuma, which I’m always overdue in visiting. As any long-time Dubai resident knows, Zuma remains one of the most consistent restaurants in the city. Always vibey, and with a reasonable AED137 per person business lunch during the week, there’s a reason it remains popular. If you’d like to check out my visit, click here. #invited

Links, please.

• Why do bartenders hate espresso martinis? Grub Street

• Did you catch me on the Conte Show? Vuuzle TV

• Loved reading about Rowan’s day! Caterer

• V. interested in Sandy’s aprons. Sandy’s Kitchen

• Low key obsessed with this podcast. Spotify

• Would you eat vrimp? Eater

• I’ll always love fine dining, but this guy has some arguments post COVID. Grub Street

• How do you feel about vegan fish? Food52

• A sad and beautiful fact. NPR

• This is an adventure. Twitter

• Loved this essay on drinking in America. LitHub

• How to split a check. (This elder millennial downloaded the Splitwise app and now feels very clever.) Apartment Therapy

• I watched this, so you have to. TikTok

• A perfect little milk and sugar set. West Elm

• How to break your digital addiction. The Atlantic

• Pizza and wine pairings. Food & Wine

• A fascinating deep dive on the Chinese takeout box. The Dieline

• On not picking the restaurant. McSweeney’s

• What is the correct PB to J ratio? The Takeout

• The first English language guacamole recipe. Pocket

Another quiet weekend — next week I’m off to Parma (by way of Milan) to explore and learn all about Parmigiano Reggiano. We’ve got a book club meet-up at Marea, and I might sneak out for a special Moet event before flying. I’m also looking forward to a delivery from Ka’ak Al Manara and maybe a special surprise from local favorites The Kakao Guy.

If you enjoy this newsletter and want to support me, consider telling a friend, ordering from these restaurants, purchasing my books (or these novels), or buying me coffee.

C.

No thoughts, just mustard.