Category

Stories and Rants

  • People Who Salt Their Food Without Tasting It First

    People Who Salt Their Food Without Tasting It First

    At Vegas Uncork’d, at the Border Grill lunch, a woman sitting near us received her first course, the corn arepa with lobster salsa and a fried egg and without touching it asked the waiter for some salt. The waiter paused for a quick second and then said, “sure,” returning moments later with a little dish…

  • What’s The Big Deal About Ramen?

    What’s The Big Deal About Ramen?

    Crowds gather early outside Totto Ramen in New York and by the time I took that picture I imagine the wait was an hour or longer. I like ramen as much as the next guy but I wouldn’t wait an hour for it. It’s a big bowl of soup with meat floating in it and…

  • Please Don’t Tell But I’ve Never Had A Drink at Please Don’t Tell

    Please Don’t Tell But I’ve Never Had A Drink at Please Don’t Tell

    One of my favorite New York novelties is the existence of Please Don’t Tell in New York’s East Village. On St. Marks, between 1st and A, is a hog dog emporium called Crif Dogs. Looks innocent enough. But what you don’t realize, unless you know the secret, is that the phone booth that you see…

  • Springtime in New York

    Springtime in New York

    My Mondays always start with me editing pictures from the previous week and deciding which of them will make good food posts. But this morning I found myself looking at a bunch of Instagram pictures I took this weekend and my favorite ones are all of New York City as it charges head-on into spring.…

  • My Paper Towel Problem

    My Paper Towel Problem

    This is hard so I need a second. (Ahem.) Ok, my name is Adam Roberts and I have a problem. It started when I began cooking nine years ago and Sara Moulton said on the TV that you should blot your chicken before it goes into the oven to help the skin crisp up. I’ve…

  • Food Crimes: Soft on Soft Sandwiches

    Food Crimes: Soft on Soft Sandwiches

    Turkey and cheese is a sandwich staple for many people in this universe except I’m not one of those people. That’s because the idea of biting into soft turkey while also biting down on soft cheese totally skeeves me out. Soft on soft is absolutely the worst offense a sandwich maker can commit next to…

  • I Am Disappointed in This Parsley-Scented Hand Soap

    “Write the things that matter to you most” is what a writing teacher somewhere is telling his or her classroom of students. This is great advice and I am heeding it right now when I tell you: I am disappointed in this parsley-scented soap. I bought it at Bed, Bath & Beyond a month ago…

  • Soaking The Pan

    Soaking The Pan

    There’s a certain person that I live with (not the cat) who, whenever he does the dishes, often leaves a pan to soak. This infuriates me because I consider it the ultimate cop-out. Also, what it really means is that when he’s done there’s still work to do because when I want to cook the…

  • Let’s Order A Pizza

    Let’s Order A Pizza

    One of the great joys of living in America is that, at any moment, no matter where you are, you can order a pizza. This was a fact well-known to me when I was in high school and college. “Let’s order a pizza,” is a phrase most of us are quite comfortable saying and it…

  • Happy Eggs?

    Happy Eggs?

    Recently I’ve been on a Hulu Plus cooking show kick, binging on Lidia and Martha and the occasional Avec Eric with Eric Ripert. In fact, it was on one of Eric Ripert’s shows, where he cooks with Dan Barber (who’s now on Twitter, by the way), that I learned about pastured eggs. While touring Chef…