About the Gastronomist

The Gastronomist is a blog written by Cristi Martin, a woman who obsessively photographs and documents her work in the kitchen. While she lived in New York City, her favorite place to contemplate life and love in the big city was Dean and Deluca. She also loves farmers markets, Whole Foods, container gardening and late night runs to Carl’s Jr. for a strawberry milkshake. The Gastronomist is located in sunny Long Beach, CA. Her culinary wonders originate from a tiny kitchen that is lacking in storage space for her various culinary accoutrement. Cristi is an avid photographer, dog lover, food connoisseur and crime fighter. Cristi’s food likes range from donuts and hot fudge sundaes to escargot and caviar. She dislikes Taco Bell, cilantro, crab and most fruits.

Cristi’s main influence is her grandmother who used to make the most magical flan ever.

Honorable Mention: Most of the photos on this blog have been made possible with the help of her wonderful lighting assistant, dish washer, home sous chef, food taster and all-around world’s best husband, Rus. Rus’ culinary likes include fish of all shapes, color and size, Del Taco and burritos (he is a burrito wizard) in general, Carl’s Jr. and a lot of Caesar salad. His food dislikes include but are not limited to: Eggs, garbanzo beans, jalapeno peppers and foods with weird textures.

The mission and goal of this blog is to share quick and ridiculously easy recipes that taste like a fine wine on a beer budget.