Helicopters circled overhead, newsvans hugged the curb as I made my way down 6th Avenue to meet Clotilde at her hotel for our 8:30 dinner date. Clotilde, that beloved Parisian, had descended upon New York a few days earlier, making her first appearance at Otto where her fans (myself included) came to greet her and…

When I browse through Barnes & Noble, occassionally I’ll eye a DVD and say: “My my, I didn’t know that DVD was in print, I’m going to add it to my Netflix cue.” Such was the case with Julia Child’s “The French Chef.” I had no idea this was out on DVD but I spied…

David Lebovitz of the food blog Davidlebovitz.com told me recently that he told Clotilde, upon leaving for America, that she must try the salted croissant from The City Bakery. “That’s the thing from New York I crave the most,” wrote David. Well being in the neighborhood today of The City Bakery, I found myself driven…

Many may not know this, but back when I was living in Atlanta I was the member of a very violent, much feared gang. L.A. has its Crips and Bloods, my crew was too fierce to have a name. F’real. Equal parts “Boyz in da Hood” and “West Side Story.” Then Ricky and I both…

“I have very exciting news!” said my mom on the phone last week. “You’re not going to believe this! Are you sitting down?” I sat down. “Not only did I get us a reservation at Peter Luger Friday night, but I got us into Il Mulino on Saturday.” “What’s Il Mulino?” I asked. “Are you…

The great constellations of the food blogging universe joined the hoi polloi on Thursday night at the Makor Center for a panel discussion on food blogging moderated by Andrea Strong. Here is a picture I am stealing from Slice’s website so you can see the panel in all their splendor: From left to right you…

Yesterday I took Lisa to Shake Shack for the first time and she enjoyed herself a vegetarian-friendly portobello burger which was deep fried and stuffed with her favorite cheese: Muenster. After that I said: “We must get a concrete” in such a way that suggested I’d tried a concrete and wanted Lisa to try one…

Praise be to Robert Sietsema and his guide to Ethnic Eating in New York. It’s so small you can fit it easily into a coat pocket, a purse or–in my case–the satchel bag I took with me to meet my friend Mark in front of the Signature Theater Company. Mark just moved here after graduating…

[Please note: This isn’t really written by Russell Crowe. Don’t sue me!] Ahoy mates! Russell Crowe here! Y’all remember me, dontchya? I’m the hunkameat you adored in Gladiator, you pitied in Beautiful Mind and cheered for in Cinderella Man. Remember that time I dated Meg Ryan? Ya, I’m totally tops with the ladies. Ok, so…