Ari Levaux

If a famous chef hands you a caviar’d cracker, it doesn’t prove anything. Like, of course it tastes good. It’s freakin’ caviar. True culinary brilliance is revealed by the creation of extraordinary food from the most humble of building blocks. For example, the butternut squash ravioli that stole the show at the Whitefish Food and […]

When you hear “green tomatoes,” does the word “fried” come to mind automatically? Aside from that southern classic of breaded green tomato slices fried golden, few people have any idea of what else to do with hard, unripe tomatoes. Last week at a blustery farmer’s market, there were green tomatoes for sale. But nobody – […]

Who among us does not have a trick or two up their sleeve for when they make instant ramen? A vegetable or egg in the pot, your special sauce or powder, and if you’ve got some game perhaps a garnish on top. All good. Congratulations. But there are levels to this soup. My breakthrough happened […]

Sometimes the truth takes a moment to sink in before finally ringing true. Like when Chloe suggested that a sandwich is basically America’s version of sushi. At the time I happily took it as a compliment on the chicken sandwich I’d just made for her. But the more I got to thinking I realized she […]

We can’t all have huckleberries. These notoriously fickle plants only grow in the mountains of the Northwest, and refuse to submit to domestication. The deep purple berries have a unique aroma that’s unlike any other fruit, but its cousin, the blueberry, offers the closest comparison, and is a worthy substitute in most cases. So, when […]

About 60 years ago on Little Corn Island, a tiny dot in the Caribbean Sea, 70 miles off the coast of Nicaragua, a cook named Maritza was born to a Colombian mother and Cuban father. She goes by “Bongui,” which means something in Creole, one of several languages spoken on Little Corn Island. The gringos […]

If we needed more evidence that American society is in decline, consider how little respect we give lentils. Pound for pound, these legumes quietly deliver more nutrition to more people than anything else growing on earth. One serving of this lightweight bean contains twice the anti-oxidants of blueberries, about half your daily fiber needs, loads […]

A year has come and gone since I happened upon a flame-orange paste from roasted squash and red peppers. I call it Magma, because it’s red and earthy, but I could also call it autumn mayonnaise, because it improves everything it touches. Whatever we name it, I am still grasping the implications. It’s a dip, a […]

I met my first watermelon salad at The Covington restaurant in Edgartown, Massachusetts. The dish consisted of watermelon cubes tossed into a pile of salad greens, alongside turnip shavings, pickled scapes, feta cheese and balsamic vinegar. The juicy red chunks did the job normally reserved for tomatoes, and availed themselves beautifully. Their sweet acids bent the […]