Trying out the Papas, Nopales and Chorizo, and Bistec tacos at La Esquina. Although I’m a big fan of several of their other varieties, I was a little underwhelmed by the high ratio of potatoes to chorizo and cactus, but the salsa verde adds some nice balance. The Bistec, with onions and cilantro (on the [...]

Esposito’s Pork Shop is now serving a limited (so they say) run of chorizo sausage and I am happy to provide my endorsement.  A little sweeter/softer than the usually more intense levels of heat I’m used to in chorizo, the subtle Italian influence on Esposito’s blend packs a nice balance of flavor and heat. Though [...]

One of my absolute favorite pasta dishes to make quickly and easily at home is Penne a la Vodka, especially when served with some Italian sausage.  One of the best parts about this recipe, at least how I approach it, is that you can ‘kitchin-sink’ it – meaning you can add pretty much any Italian-themed ingredient [...]

When I started cooking more seriously again in college, I found myself dependent on discount grocery stores and occasionally a specialty food shop (at the time known to me as the famous Ukrop’s, Richmond VA’s brilliant equivalent to Whole Foods) to supply my kitchen with meats, produce and the like. My affair with grocery shopping [...]