Writing about food since 2004.
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Honey Butter Biscuits
Andrew Carmellini, in his new book American Flavor, shares a biscuit recipe that he calls “the world’s best biscuits.” This is a bold claim, even for a chef as revered as Carmellini, but in his defense, when he started serving biscuits (and fried chicken) at his pre-The Dutch Italian restaurant, Locanda Verde, the critics gushed.…
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Pig: A Restaurant
[Photo credit: Gothamist] We just saw a hilarious skewering of the food world at L.A.’s U.C.B. (Upright Citizens Brigade) called “Pig: A Restaurant.” Actress Lauren Adams tackles everyone from Gael Greene to David Chang in this play written by Leila Cohan-Miccio and directed by Caitlin Bitzegio. Based on real world food experiences (Leila ran the…
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Bäco Mercat & La Casita Mexicana
Two things are making me more of a restaurant adventurer here in L.A. than I was in New York: (1) nicer weather and (2) a car. In New York, on the bitterest, most miserable days of January, I would stick to a very specific loop that involved lunch at Hummus Place, coffee at Joe, and…
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Lamb Shoulder For Those Who Love Lamb But Don’t Want To Spend The Money
The meat section at my local Gelson’s is pretty spectacular: if you name a cut of meat, they probably have it. And on Friday night I was craving lamb and, studying the lamb options there, I saw a giant leg of lamb for $70 and a rack of lamb for $40. Those prices would seem…
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Battle Cold Cure: Thailand vs. Japan
Last week I was suffering from a pretty nasty cold. I sent out my newsletter, as I do every Monday, and mentioned that I was going to Roboto Jinya for ramen to cure myself with intensely porky broth. (This is possibly sacrilegious as any good Jew worth his kosher salt is meant to cure him…
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Double Double Animal Style
I didn’t want to believe the myths and legends surrounding the secret menu at In-N-Out Burger. I’m a man of the people: if it’s not listed on the wall, I don’t want to eat it! But when I wrote about In-N-Out Burger a few months ago, all you secret menu advocates slapped me on the…
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A Field Trip To Atwater Village: Atwater Village Farm, Proof Bakery & Canelé
One thing I know to be true about cities is this: they’re best judged by their neighborhoods. I fell in love with some of my favorite cities–Seattle, Atlanta, New York–by visiting off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods with hidden-away restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, book stores and movie theaters. In Seattle, there’s Capitol Hill and Ballard; in Atlanta there’s the…
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Ribollita (Italian Cabbage and Bean Soup)
I’m kind of digging this L.A. winter. I was worried it’d be too hot and that I wouldn’t be able to cook my cold weather comfort food. Instead, it’s just cold enough to make a big pot of soup–like this Italian cabbage soup called Ribollita–and to feel good about it. Served up with lots of…
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Reflections on Eight Years of Food Blogging
On Saturday, this blog turned eight. If you had a baby on the day that I started my blog that baby is now eight; in other words, your baby is not a baby. And neither is this blog. At the beginning, the blog seemed like a means to an end–a way to get noticed in…
