Weather not permitting, my classmate Dan (of the theater blog Venal Scene) invited us over today for a rainy day BBQ with his lovely wife, Julie, and daughter, Ruby, who entertained us with somersaults and her overall adorableness. Dan manned the grill, and note the gender of my verb: Jason, Diana and I had a…

Over the past few weeks, I finished reading not one but TWO books filed under “food literature” at Barnes & Noble. The first has been out for a few years, but it doesn’t make it any less relevant or compelling. That book is Michael Ruhlman’s “The Soul of a Chef.” Let’s talk about that first.…

If I had paid attention in law school instead of doing crack in the computer room and tearing pages out of legal dictionaries I would be aware of the liability I incur when I hypnotize you in the next paragraph and make you buy an ice cream maker. Oh well, I throw caution to the…

R.U.B.–an acronym for Righteous Urban BBQ–opened up three blocks below me on 23rd street more than a month ago. Many times I would walk past, gaze into the windows and say “one day, one day.” That day came yesterday when I called my friends Kirk (of The Daily Kirk) and Himkar (of The Daily Himkar)…

Check out Kottke’s compendium of approaches to ordering food in a restaurant, based on pop science. As for how I do it, I usually let everyone else decide what they’re getting and I try to order something that hasn’t been ordered. It doesn’t have roots in science–it’s more the food critic’s approach, so you get…

Check out this latest coverage in The Indiana Star. “Whether it’s a failed tart crust or ‘The Burrito’ song, The Amateur Gourmet cooks up some fun.” [Thanks Largehearted Boy for linking to it, I would have missed it otherwise.]

Check out the new hamburger blog, A Hamburger Today, brought to you by the brilliant Slice people. I’m proud to say I’ve been to a bunch of the places blogged about (Shake Shack, Island Burgers, Burger Joint) but I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t been to many of the others, especially Corner Bistro. I especially…

What a nice surprise today waiting for me in the mail room: site reader Christina M. (I’m not stating her full last name to protect her identity in case other food bloggers demand gifts) bought for me, off my Amazon wishlist, Jean-George’s “Cooking with a 4 Star Chef.” This book excites me very much: there’s…

I need a glass case in my apartment with a stomach pump inside and the words “BREAK IN CASE OF PARENTAL VISITATION” printed on the outside. After leaving the car that dropped me off last night after dinner at the River Cafe, I kissed my parents goodbye, made my way into my building, rode the…

After surprising my mom on Mother’s Day (see video!), I have returned to New York along with my co-conspirator and fraternal non-twin, brother Michael. He is staying at my apartment on the pull-out couch–complaining, already, of a torn sheet. Here is an account of our eating adventures thus far. Yesterday, our plane landed around 2.…