A Small and Simple Thing

Articles

Make This: Pasta with Peas and Smoked Trout

6 days ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

In my early post-college years, I purchased a cookbook by Nancy Silverton, which highlighted an approach I’ve long championed in this newsletter: cooking from your pantry. As unsexy as it sounds, that kind of cooking - using shelf-stable ingredients (bagged, jarred, boxed, or canned) from the cupboard or freezer - appealed to me then and appeals to me now. This dish is just that - dried pasta, tinned fish, frozen peas - all shelf (or freezer) stable ingredients I always have on hand.
Make This: Banana Date Miso Smoothie

2 weeks ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

I don’t like the word “smoothie,” but I like drinking smoothies. They’re a quick delivery system for nutrition, and my ideal post-gym meal, which is obnoxious to say but true. During a recent lunch at The Kitchen at Plants of the Southwest (more on that in my Santa Fe guide tomorrow), we finished with a banana and miso cake. It was great - tender, subtly sweet, and moreish. I finished my cake and then went to work on my son’s - he was only interested in the accompanying ice cream.
Chickpea Aguachile

2 weeks ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

Palm Heights in Grand Cayman, a place I’ve written about before, is one of my favorites, and the food is a big reason why. I love their Coconut Aguachile (pictured below); it’s just the kind of light, cooling dish I like to eat beachside. Raw coconut, subbed in for fish, gets tossed with cucumber, avocado, cilantro, red onion, and plenty of lime and some kind of green chili.
Industry Notes: Do YOU like butter?

3 weeks ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

Several years ago, I took my wife, Erin, to lunch at Paul Rothe & Son, a small deli in London’s Marylebone neighborhood. It’s one of my favorite kinds of places: time-worn (operating since 1900), untouched by trend, unapologetically itself. I insisted she try their Coronation Chicken Salad, an English classic made each morning. I sat in the small dining area while Erin ordered at the adjacent counter. “For you, miss?” the woman behind the counter asked.
On Style: What A Difference A Belt Makes

1 month ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

Recently I’ve been seeing more of Simon Porte Jacquemus, owing to his recent openings in NYC and Los Angeles. Jacquemus (the man and the brand) is a real thrill to follow. I don’t own any of the clothes, but I love the whimsy of their marketing - very fun, unorthodox, and playful. Based on the continued and growing success of the brand, I’m not the only one responding to their messaging. Simon is not only an absolute unit but the guy knows how to dress.
On Design: COLOR!

1 month ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

On a recent flight, I watched Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” with Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. I was particularly taken by the set design and costuming of Tilda’s character, Mary. Her struggle with terminal cancer and the final weeks of her life was juxtaposed by her apartment and wardrobe, full of color, verve, and LIFE. I liked the film, but found myself less concerned with the morose plot line and focused on the visuals instead.
Make This: Matzoh Ball Soup Meatball

1 month ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

At the end of March, I threw a party with E.A.T. in New York, an Upper East Side fixture in the portfolio of businesses owned and operated by Eli Zabar and his family. The day before the party I ate lunch at E.A.T. - matzo ball soup. I’m not an aficionado, but I know good food, and this was the best version of the soup I’ve ever had. It is a comforting dish - simple and pure. What it lacks in culinary drama, it makes up for with good old-fashioned nourishment and, when done right: FLAVOR.
Beached Whale

2 months ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

We spring broked at Palm Heights this year. I have a friend associated with the project, which is what took me there the first time in 2024. I was skeptical about the place as it had been breathlesslycoveredinthepress, and it seemed (from afar) to be a bit of an Instagrammer haven. I pictured arriving to copious photoshoots and servile husbands trying to capture outfit pics on the beach during golden hour.
Make This: A Nourishing Nut Milk 'Chai'

2 months ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

I’m just home from Palm Heights, which I’ll write more about later this week. I covered the property for Yolo Journal last year and was anxious for a return visit. I was skeptical about it “holding up,” as I am about most things with an endless supply of buzz. It exceeded our expectations. I love a resort experience because it is basically a protracted people-watching opportunity - my favorite activity.
Make This: Citrus Salad, two ways

2 months ago | brooksreitz.substack.com | Brooks Reitz

After my college graduation ceremony, I went back to the house I shared with several friends and packed my things, stuffing my car with the remnants of a 4-year undergraduate education. That night, my roommates and I threw a party in our backyard. The next morning I got in my car and left town. I moved to Louisville, Kentucky where I applied for a job at a newly opened restaurant - restaurants being the main option for a young man with a BFA in English and Drama.