Rain or shine, spring's in the bones. Undeniable evidence at Ye Olde Herb Shoppe, 46 Dey Street, New York. Here are spring tonics for sale, the old-fashioned kinds made of bark, seed, and berry to turn into teas to quicken the blood....

Featuring Robert's, Longchamps, and Chalet.

Bring on the ham, a ham super-elegant, pearly pink the meat, and richly perfect in the mouth, with the taste of the smoke in each juicy fiber.

A fruitful inquiry into the regional cookery of Burgundy, often overshadowed by its mighty wines.

I is for innocence … and its strangely rewarding chaos, gastronomically.

There is probably some ancient reason, and doubtless a good one, for Carnaval's being the season in France for eating crêpes and beignets.

In general, as you go north, almost anywhere in Europe or the United States, the climate becomes consistently and perceptibly colder practically county by county, sometimes mile by mile.

A is for dining alone … and so am I, if a choice must be made between most people I know and myself.

When I was in England, how many times I watched the hunters there—red-coated riders on beautiful horses racing after the hounds.