Writing about food since 2004.
Category
Adam Roberts
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My Last Meal at The 2nd Ave. Deli
I know I’m late to the game, but for those who may have missed it: The 2nd Ave. Deli is no more. This is very sad for several reasons: (1) the place had character; (2) the place was old, a landmark, a living relic; and (3) it had the city’s best chicken soup, coleslaw and…
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![From Paris, With Risotto [Plus: A Snazzy Salad]](https://amateurgourmet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/93910786_b6770c26a9-1.jpg)
From Paris, With Risotto [Plus: A Snazzy Salad]
Let’s say I have this “friend” and this “friend” (in quotes) recently went to Paris and let’s say when he was in Paris he met lots of people who gave him Parisian foodstuffs and while at a market one day he bought a giant glass bottle of risotto. Let’s say he placed it in his…
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Peanut Brittle Soup: A Fable
There once was a boy whose spirits would droop “I love to eat candy and I love to eat soup,” he’d write in his journal while taking a poop. “One day I will find a solution.” He travelled the world and the world shook its head He slept with great wisemen and the wisemen all…
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The Polenta Post
Foodies are often polenta bullies. “You should have polenta in your pantry,” they’ll tell you. “I make polenta all the time,” they’ll brag. “I named my first born child Polenta,” they’ll confess. Foodies really love polenta. And so tonight I adopted a “if you can’t beat them, join them” philosophy and fried up some polenta,…
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Ikea, Therefore I Am
There comes a time in every New Yorker’s life when he or she must ride the A train to 42nd street and 8th Avenue, snake their way past the crowds to the Port Authority, climb down the stairs and board the bus at Gate 5 for Ikea. This is a rite of passage for any…
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What I Can Tell You About The Taping I Attended of “Iron Chef America” Without Having To Pay The Food Network $1,000,000
The Food Network really doesn’t want me to tell you what I witnessed on Monday, January 23rd. Upon arriving at The Food Network studios in The Chelsea Market, they had my companions and I sign a piece of paper that made us swear we wouldn’t reveal any secrets from the episode we were about to…
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Penne Carbonara & My Last Will and Testament
Lauren can have my cat because Lauren’s a dog person and Lolita (who she lived with for two years) will remind her that cats are people too. Lisa can have my “Freaks & Geeks” DVD set because she hasn’t seen the end yet; Alex can have my VHS tape of the Martin Short special that…
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If I Only Ate A Brain (And I Thought I Did) At Craftbar
I had a song for you Thursday night. It was in response to a meal Lauren and I ate at Craftbar: Specifically, it was in response to my first course: Sweetbreads. The song started like this: “When a person’s mostly meat-fed they can’t avoid a sweetbread but from sweetbreads I obstain. Yet if I were…
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Service with a Smile, Service with a Sneer: Cafe Asean & Sparky’s
Context matters. You can eat the best food ever made, but if you’re eating it in bicycle shorts surrounded by mimes playing Kenny G music on kazoos it probably won’t rock your world. That’s because the trappings that surround a dining experience often play a bigger role than you’re willing to acknowledge. Take, for example,…
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That’s My Lebovitz! A Crack at David’s Chocolate-Almond Buttercrunch Toffee
Imagine a sitcom called “That’s My Lebovitz.” It takes place in Paris at the chateau of an emigre American pastry chef who loves to shake his rolling pin at old French women and humor the visiting American nebbish (played by me) who insists on learning things about Paris and baking and taking pictures of his…
