Tony nominations: Déjà vu all over again

Bryan Cranston, as Lyndon Johnson, has a lot to be happy about, getting a Tony nomination for his first Broadway show.

Tony, Tony, Tony. There is something maddening about the Tony award nominations for Broadway shows. Each year there seems to be a “HUH, NO WAY!” moment for me.

All the Way with Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston is a tour de force on Broadway in All the Way.

Merriam-Webster defines “tour de force” as a feat or display of strength, skill or ingenuity. Next to that definition, there should be a picture of Bryan Cranston.

Happy Birthday William Shakespeare

His life was gentle; and the elements
So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up,
And say to all the world, THIS WAS A MAN!

Congratulations William Shakespeare on your 450th birthday! You are still the most important voice in the English language after all these days, fortnights, years, decades, and centuries.

Michael Pineda: Cheat cheat never beat

Is that a love bite or some foreign substance on Yankee pitcher Michael Pineda’s neck?

Some guys just never learn. Michael Pineda caught a break once for allegedly cheating in Major League Baseball, but not this time.

National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day

Dark chocolate-covered cashews

April 21 is National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day. Sounds like another made up holiday for the benefit of merchants. But still, chocolate-covered cashews are definitely a decadent indulgence, at least worth eating a few today.

Peeps for my peeps

A box of Peeps Donuts from Dunkin’

Although I’m known in the office for baking homemade treats like Chocolate Almond Lace Cookies at Christmastime, when I saw a Dunkin’ Donuts ad for Peeps Donuts, I knew I had to get them for my co-workers.

My crocuses have croaked

A crocus that greeted me on Saturday. Now buried in snow.

Welcome to New England. Where it’s spring one minute and winter the next.

Ephemeral Art: $11,000 Chocolate Egg

Jacques Torres is hoping to get $11,000 for his New York City themed chocolate Easter egg.

Would you spend $10,000 for a chocolate Easter egg? How about $11,000? Pastry chef Jacques Torres, aka Mr. Chocolate, is hoping to get at least that much for a 120-pound chocolate egg he decorated to look like the New York City skyline at night.

Game of Thrones: Purple Wedding

Joffrey at his royal wedding on Game of Thrones. So extravagant. I heard the dessert is to die for.

There are Platinum Weddings where expense is the king, and then there are Purple Weddings where the king is expended. How do you write about season 4, episode 2, of Game of Thrones without including a major spoiler? You can’t. So consider this fair warning.

RIP Steven Shaw

Steven Shaw doing what he did best. —Ellen Shapiro photo

The food world is in a state of shock after learning of the death of Steven Shaw, a trailblazing foodblogger who founded the website e-Gullet. Steven, who went by the screen name “The Fat Guy” online as well as in print in publications such as Elle magazine, left our world much too soon.