• James

    James

    The Brooklyn question is a question that still permeates my life, even after living here for three years. Usually, it’s the worst in winter when our heat goes out and getting into the city is a nightmare; that’s when I begin my ritual rant about “looking on Craigslist for Manhattan apartments when our lease is…

  • Homemade Ginger Ale

    Homemade Ginger Ale

    On a Sunday afternoon, lounging around my apartment watching “Terms of Endearment” on HBO, inspiration suddenly strikes and I am compelled to make ginger ale from scratch. It would take a team of behavior specialists and Debra Winger fans to analyze this phenomenon, but suffice it to say: I was hot and I had ginger.…

  • Colorful Coleslaw

    Colorful Coleslaw

    Admit it: we all watch “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” So we all saw it when Dina’s daughter derided the coleslaw set out for her going-away party to Cyprus. “Who ordered all this coleslaw?” she groused and we all laughed because that gloppy, mayonnaisey mound of coleslaw did look pretty nasty. But take heart,…

  • Blue Hill Stone Barns

    Blue Hill Stone Barns

    I’m no theologian, but I’m pretty sure that if there is a heaven, it’s a lot like Blue Hill Stone Barns. You arrive by train, the water of the Hudson glistening as you glide along the tracks. The cabs waiting for you to take you to the restaurant aren’t normal cabs: these cabs are clean,…

  • The Best Beans of Your Life

    The Best Beans of Your Life

    If someone asks my friend Diana what I got her for her birthday this year, she’s very likely to answer: “Beans. I got beans for my birthday.” That sounds like a negative thing, but in the case of Diana’s birthday dinner, it was entirely positive. These beans, like the beans Jack trades his cow for,…

  • Bespoke Chocolates

    Bespoke Chocolates

    Food people are my kind of people. That’s why so many of the people I’ve met since I started food blogging have become good friends: they’re generous, they’re insightful, they’re creative, they’re smart and they have good taste. So friendship was clearly in the stars when a longtime reader named Rachel Zoe Insler informed me…

  • Spaghetti with Ramps (A Recipe)

    Spaghetti with Ramps (A Recipe)

    A few weeks ago, I told you about the spaghetti with ramps I ate at Franny’s in Park Slope. It may be the case that ramps have come and gone now and you’ve missed your window, but if, like me, you stumble upon them at a farmer’s market this weekend, here’s an easy way to…

  • Mayonnaise-Based Sauces

    Mayonnaise-Based Sauces

    Growing up, there was nothing I hated more than mayonnaise. NOTHING. The idea of putting mayonnaise on a sandwich repulsed me. It still does, actually. I mean: if it’s a burger and there’s mayonnaise on it, I’ll overlook it because it blends with all the juices and the ketchup and the mustard and makes something…

  • When Foam Looks Like Spit

    When Foam Looks Like Spit

    Let’s not worry about where I was when this dessert arrived at the table; let’s not even worry about what this dessert is or how it was described on the menu. Instead, let’s just focus on that clear, bubbly substance on the top. Tell me the truth: does it look like spit? I think it…

  • The Culinary Cardiologist

    Rob Siegel is a cardiologist who joined a big group of us last week, before seeing “Star Trek,” for dinner at The Brooklyn Diner (not the best place for a meal, but a decent option near the Ziegfield Theater). There were so many of us, we were split into two groups, and, unfortunately, I wasn’t…

Food Person Book Cover