NYC

“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard.” – Dorothy, Wizard of Oz Good point, Dorothy! And since I live in Park Slope it’s time to stop trekking into Manhattan for my stomach’s desire and time to start searching right here where I…

A few months ago, at the end of September, John Kessler–former food critic for the Atlanta Journal-Constiution and one of our nation’s best food writers–e-mailed me. John and I met back when I lived in Atlanta. He wrote a really kind and thorough piece about me just when I was starting out (you can read…

It occurs to me at the end of this post that I didn’t, in fact, tell you what a white truffle tastes like. How to describe it? It’s really the smell that gets you–the smell is pungent and earthy and unlike anything else you’ve ever smelled. See, wasn’t that helpful? I also want to mention…

I’ve wrestled with the Calvin Trillin in my head for hours and I have come up with the following conclusion: (1) I can do this post because (a) Calvin Trillin’s “Come Hungry” tour isn’t about giving away secrets it’s about (i) spending time with Calvin Trillin, (ii) having food presented to you without having to…

Let’s write about Al Di La. (That’s what the voice in my head just said as I sat down to do work; I have various projects going, but the voice in my head cares about you, my reader, sitting at your desk desperate to see pictures of food. (How many of you just scroll through…

1. Nobu is one of New York’s most recognizable restaurant names; 2. People associate Nobu with trendy sushi and Japanese food; 3. Nobu’s gotten so popular it’s constantly expanding; 4. A new Nobu opened up on 57th Street; 5. We went there, two weeks ago, when my parents were here; 6. This is what the…

Last year I made a list (which you can see by clicking here) of all the restaurants I visited in my first year as a New York resident. Well my second year here is more than over (the two year anniversary was in August) but I figure my loyal readers, and you know who you…

I became aware of Ed Levine in four stages. Stage One was reading about him in Ruth Reichl’s “Garlic & Sapphires”; he’s the subject of her chapter “The Missionary of the Delicious.” Stage Two was seeing his books in bookstores: “New York Eats” and “Pizza: A Slice of Heaven.” (The latter involved consuming 1,000 slices…

I love watching old movies that feature New York. This is lame but the first one that comes to mind is Bob Fosse’s semi-watchable film version of “Sweet Charity.” In this film you can see Shirley Maclaine get pushed into the Central Park lake from the famous footbridge. I like that scene because hey, it’s…

If you want to know what kind of restaurant I do approve of, the kind of restaurant that embodies all I love about eating out, look no further than A Voce. A Voce opened this year to great acclaim. It was one of the “hits” in the NYT restaurant round-up of “hits” and “misses” 2006.…