Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

This week was waaaaay better than last week. First of all, I didn’t have the flu. Second, it stopped feeling like the dead of winter and morphed into spring. Or almost spring…at one point, I accepted that 50 degrees is the new 70. You’ve gotta take what you can get.

The warm weather meant that I did a lot of exploring this weekend. Yesterday, I went on a 10-mile hike to Augusta. I took a scenic route down by the Missouri River.

At one point, I walked down to the river and watched as giant icebergs floated by. I’d never seen anything like it. Some looked like craters, with scalloped insides and a ring of snow around the outside. As they passed by they made a swishing sound that sounded like a bunch of long ball gowns moving across a dance floor. It was a beautiful scene to take in. It made me realize that even in winter, my most hated of seasons, there’s something to appreciate.

In other news, I am very excited because my good friend from college, Anne Kostecki, designed a new header and logo for Allez Le Food. She is so talented. I told her I wanted something French-inspired, possibly with some food items in watercolor, and she came up with the logo you see at the top of my blog. I’d highly recommend that you check out her professional site, especially if you’re in the market for custom illustrations.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

I’ve already talked about how much I enjoy Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown,” but one episode I watched last week stood above the rest. Bourdain went to Istanbul and met up with his old cab driver, a man named Eson. Eson drives Bourdain around the chaotic streets of Istanbul, rhapsodizing about how much he loves his job and how he never gets upset. Then he hurls a string of expletives in Turkish at the car in front of him. It’s hilarious. You can watch the scene here.

I can’t go into Knead Bakehouse + Provisions without getting a doughnut. I wrote about the bakery a month ago right after they opened, and I gave them a glowing review. But the doughnut I tried this past week blew me away. It was aronia berry and citrus with a bright pink glaze. I almost went into shock after I took the first bite. If you’re in St. Louis and you haven’t tried Knead’s doughnuts, I’d change that ASAP.

Another important food discovery this week was when I found Parker’s Table at Oakland & Yale. The shop has been around for a while but I stopped by for the first time recently after hearing about it from a colleague. O.m.g. Parker’s Table is a food lover’s paradise. There’s a wine shop to the side of the store, and a bunch of gourmet food products in the middle. In the back, there’s a deli with premium meats and cheese. During lunch, you can order a sandwich and it comes with chips and your choice of a drink. I got a prosciutto sandwich and it was unreal. Check out my Instagram for a pic.

I’m loving this smart, moving essay by Anita Jaisinghani, the chef and owner of Pondicheri, an Indian restaurant with locations in Houston and New York. I had the pleasure of eating at the New York location this past fall.

In the essay, Jaisinghani urges chefs to take a hard look at their kitchens to root out misconduct and discrimination. I especially like this line: “We vote with every dollar we spend. Just as important as it is to eat local vegetables, happy chickens, grass-fed meat and sustainable fish, it is important that we think about the treatment of people in the businesses we support.” Yes.

I can’t believe that Trump has been in office for a year. It seems like only yesterday, I was begging my friends and family to wake me up when this nightmare was over. The good news is, we’re one year closer to the administration (hopefully) disappearing. The bad news is, there’s still a lot of problems, including the fact that Trump is a lunatic racist who spits in the face of American democracy. Here’s a good article in The New Yorker that contextualizes the first year of Trump’s “presidency.”

Most of us, at one point or another, reckon with loving a country that doesn’t seem to love us back. That’s the theme of this essay in The New York Times‘s opinion section. In the essay, writer Alexander Aciman talks about his family’s ties to France and the complicated relationship that Jews have with the country. I’m Jewish and I lived in France for a while, so his words reverberated.

Last but certainly not least, I enjoyed this interactive feature in The Washington Post. The article, “What Unites Us,” includes photos and sound bites from people interviewed in all 52 states in the year since Trump’s inauguration. I’ve gotten kind of cynical lately so I almost didn’t engage with the story. I’m happy I did, though. In times of political unrest, it’s easy to forget the strengths of this country. Yeah, we have a lot of problems, but there’s still hope.

Enjoy your week! Stay tuned for a bunch of recipes, including one for Alison Roman’s famous salted chocolate chip cookies. I held out as long as I could, but today I gave in and jumped on the bandwagon.

Here’s a song to start your week. I’m learning how to play it on the guitar.