Rants 'n' Ruminations

Why we are cheering for the Royals

October 30, 2015    » posted by: charlieredd

Many people have asked us why we are cheering for the Kansas City Royals this year. The reasons are a little deeper than a bandwagon, popularity or sympathy. As we watch the team win game after game we began to see ethics and behaviors that we try to emulate here at RnR. A growing frustration with the lack of what we feel are basic work principles has us grumbling constantly about the state of America and its current position as the tenderest population on the planet. But then the Royals came along and we found a common link.

How to Ride a Bike in Boston and not DIE!!!

January 22, 2015    » posted by: charlieredd

As I drove home on the Jamaicaway late at night I witnessed the near death accident of a cyclist. This essay is not for him. He was a fucking idiot: with headphones on riding in the crosswalk, ignoring the blinking hand telling him not to cross, didn’t look to check for the racing pickup truck trying to make the light, didn't notice that it was midnight and he was in all dark clothes, that he was crossing the most dangerous road in the entire city of Boston.

Becoming a Chef- Chapter 4, Mondo Bistro

November 22, 2014    » posted by: charlieredd

The Culinary Institute of America in 1994 was a tough scene socially. The male to female ratio was 10-1 and most ladies put on 20-30 pounds eating classic French food in the first three months of school. The school thought they were educating the new students in how dining was supposed to be, an indicator of how behind they were with the changes in American cooking, but instead were crushing the health and palates of young people. Except for me. I was a skinny long haired hippie who needed desperately the 15 pounds to cover up the ribs and loved the heavy cooking.

Hill Farmstead, Proper Correspondence, and Why You Always Bring Something to a Dinner Party

May 30, 2014    » posted by: admin

A few years ago I was introduced to the beers of Hill Farmstead. A close friend of mine went to work with the brewer, Shaun Hill, to pick his brain about planning a brewery In Oregon that barrel aged all its beer and Hill Farmstead was setting the bar for this type of brewing. He returned with an excellent beer, stories about Shaun’s techniques and how far ahead he was of the rest of the brewers in the country.

Dear Racist,

April 20, 2014    » posted by: admin
Racial classification and judgement is a daily occurrence for everyone in the world with no permanent solution. The best anyone can do is stand up to those persecuting their neighbor, near as well as afar, and educate the future generation to look beyond prejudice, in others and ourselves. In this next letter I received a week ago the content and subject line can only be interpreted that this person sees all interactions that don't go their way as a judgement against their race. The only one judging is them.

"Racist in Rozzie?"  »read more

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The Incredible, Edible, Egg

March 23, 2014    » posted by: admin

A year ago I switched to eggs solely from Chip In Farm in Bedford, MA. I have driven out to Bedford every week to transport the fresh eggs personally which gives me a little time to reflect every week about the reasons why I do it. They are significantly more expensive than regular eggs but easily the most reasonable priced farm fresh eggs on the market. ( $9.95 a dozen?!! Go fuck yourself Elitist Gentleman Farmer!) I have to pick them up personally, adding to the cost, but making the connection more in depth.

Work Ethic, Education, and Molito the Great

October 20, 2013    » posted by: admin

If you are reading this you have been, like me , born into a life of privilege. Access to the internet, having time to recreationally read, and interest in a blog written by a chef who cooks in a funky, but mildly upscale restaurant are all signs that you have received a certain level of education. As much as we judge our past and the factors that influence it we have been given an education and reap the benefits daily. You have a good job, strong opinions, and a belief in a better place for the next generation based on your philosophies and values.

Chapter 3, sort of - $40,000 and I still can't cook. A critical essay about culinary school.

May 25, 2013    » posted by: admin

In the news lately a number of jabs have been taken at my alma mater as I prepared this story. Story became essay, back to story, into manifesto, …edited and retracted but not diluted. The Culinary Institute of America, and culinary schools in the United States in general have come under much needed scrutiny in the last few years after having unquestioned control over how a young aspiring chef should go about achieving their dreams.

The State of the Union

November 9, 2012    » posted by: charlieredd

When I started to plan what would become RnR a very important part of it was the location. I wanted to put the restaurant in a neighborhood that could support the casual, local, and special cooking from America that was coming together in my mind. The cooking, decor, and vibe would be one of acceptance without exception because that was what I believed made America so special. Being a Southerner in New England from Oregon via New Mexico, New Orleans, Nebraska, California, and Virginia gave me a sense of the fantastic array of cooking that is called American.

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The Father's Day Massacre

June 14, 2012    » posted by: charlieredd

The Father’s Day Massacre

I think I can finally talk about Father’s Day last year. This story has been in the editing stage since the massacre happened at 4257 Washington St on Father’s Day 2011. It is time to come clean to all the patient families, irate hungry decaffeinated parents, to the poor couple at table 4 whose daughter flung the champagne flute across the dining room at the peak of the hysteria, and to the couple that flipped me the bird as they walked out. I’m terribly sorry, but there is a story to be told, it goes like this….  »read more

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