With cross-border relations at a fever pitch, our correspondent Basem Wasef drove the Versys 1100 SE down to Baja California in search of zen. Plus: These chefs are following up one of the highest culinary achievements by exploring the beverage world.
The psychic divide between the U.S. and Mexico may be at peak pandemonium. Cross-border politics are at a fever pitch. But how much has changed about literal cross-border adventure? As I found out on a recent two-wheeled jaunt to Baja California and back again, that turbulence has added a new intensity to the proceedings, but there’s also something surprisingly quaint about it, too.
These paradoxical feelings remain despite, or maybe because of, the glow of wanderlust that’s lingered since the pandemic. While discretionary spending on escape machines has leveled off in the aftermath of those boomtown days, rides like the new Kawasaki Versys 1100 SE LT ABS, my motorcycle for the trip, hold the line on making long-distance two-wheeled travel eminently doable. This bike can swallow 200 miles for breakfast.
In 2012, Chef Dominique Crenn made history by becoming the first female chef in the United States to receive two Michelin stars. She bested that achievement just a few years later by subsequently winning three Michelin stars for her eponymous San Francisco restaurant Atelier Crenn. The coveted recognition, she says, was “a beautiful gift, but never the goal. Storytelling is at the heart of everything I do, whether through food, art or human connection.” So Crenn decided to tell a new story — this time, over a drink.
In 2018, Crenn opened Bar Crenn, a cocktail lounge focused on both classic drinks and new innovations. And while she’s known for making history, Crenn is far from the only Michelin-starred chef to be exploring the world of beverages after achieving one of the highest honors in the hospitality industry. In fact, a growing number of acclaimed chefs are finding their next chapters behind the bar.
If you mix cocktails at home, you’ve no doubt made simple syrup before. It’s incredibly easy to concoct, cheaper than buying the bottled stuff from the store and also doesn’t come packed with preservatives like the stuff on the shelf. And if you’ve made simple syrup before, it’s actually quite easy to graduate to other, ever-slightly more complicated cocktail syrups, like vanilla or cinnamon. That said, you might not even be thinking about one of the easiest and most delicious cocktail syrups there is: homemade grenadine.
