• We Eat Rhode Island

    We Eat Rhode Island

    I don’t want to call myself a muse–that’d be overstating my case–but for a year I lived with my friend Diana, a fellow graduate of dramatic writing school who spent her time there studying screenwriting even though, from day one, I thought she was a world class playwright. “You should write plays!” I would constantly…

  • On Craig Claiborne’s “A Feast Made For Laughter”

    On Craig Claiborne’s “A Feast Made For Laughter”

    How does a Craig Claiborne become a Craig Claiborne? The best part of Craig Claiborne’s autobiography, “A Feast Made for Laughter,” a long out-of-print book that I picked up at Bonnie Slotnick’s used cookbook store in the West Village, is that the man himself–a man whose impact on American gastronomy is undeniable, whose tenure at…

  • Salt and Pepper Shrimp

    Salt and Pepper Shrimp

    Let’s talk about shrimp, baby, let’s talk about you and me… Ok, that was a Salt-N-Pepa joke. If you don’t get that joke, click here (I couldn’t embed it!) Now then, salt and pepper shrimp. What are they? I’d never had them until I went to Brooklyn Fish Camp last week with Robbie Baitz. They…

  • Burrata

    Burrata

    Bar Pitti in the West Village is a reasonably-priced restaurant; you can get pastas there for close to $10 that rival some of the better pastas in the city (I especially admire their eponymous pasta, one that involves sausage, tomatoes and cream.) However, two weeks ago, I found an item on their menu to be…

  • Reader Mail: Knives, Books, Spotted Pig Prices, Food Allergies, and A Visit From San Francisco

    We’ve got lots of questions from readers this week, so let’s get started. The first is a series of five questions from Vickie. Hi Adam! AG is a real inspiration for me–I’ve tried a number of your recommended recipes. I have some questions for you, and I hope to hear back from you about them!

  • Lunch with Jon Robin Baitz at Brooklyn Fish Camp

    Lunch with Jon Robin Baitz at Brooklyn Fish Camp

    Jon Robin Baitz is the Pulitzer-prize nominated playwright of such plays as “The Substance of Fire (which starred a young Sarah Jessica Parker), “The Film Society” (which starred a young Nathan Lane), “Three Hotels,” “A Fair Country,” and, most recently, “The Paris Letter.” You may know him better, though, as the creator of the hit…

  • Spaghetti Carbonara For Beginners

    Spaghetti Carbonara For Beginners

    I frequently have to remind myself that there was a time when any exotic-sounding, technique-heavy recipe would fill me with terror. Cook the pasta until al dente? How will I know when it’s al dente? Toast the garlic until golden brown? What’s golden brown? How’s that different from brown brown? And by facing my fears…

  • Two Summery Meals

    Two Summery Meals

    Here are two meals you can make this weekend: one, a meal of farmer’s market goodies that are seasonal and good for you and good for the planet and the farmers, and the second a crowd-pleaser from your local grocery store that isn’t good for you or the planet but boy is it good and…

  • From The Desk of The A.G. (A Day of Letters)

    From The Desk of The A.G. (A Day of Letters)

    Dear Craig Claiborne, I am greatly enjoying your somewhat notorious autobiography, “A Feast Made For Laughter.” Sure, it’s a little creepy when you talk about touching your dad’s erect penis while sharing a bed, but I appreciate your zeal for people and food. Case in point: early in the book, you tell a story involving…

  • Braised Pork Chops and Cabbage (A Poem)

    Braised Pork Chops and Cabbage (A Poem)

    An easy dinner, one two three Try it out: listen to me; Buy some pork chops, one for each Dry them off like your kid at the beach; Heat some oil and some butter Season the pork chops til you hear a sputter….