• Belated Book Review: “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”

    Belated Book Review: “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”

    The soup dumpling was balanced cautiously on my spoon, the twisted top bitten off and, as I stared into the murky, steamy depths of broth, I was struck by the gray lumpy brain-like matter in the middle. Struck, not because it was unfamiliar—soup dumplings at Grand Sichuan are almost monthly staples of our diet—but because,…

  • A Funny Thing I Do (A Tip & A Recipe for Vanilla Bean Pudding)

    A Funny Thing I Do (A Tip & A Recipe for Vanilla Bean Pudding)

    What you see here is documentation of a very strange practice, a funny thing I do each time I pull a recipe from the internet. What I do is: instead of printing the recipe out with my printer (which is totally hooked up and ready to use), I grab a piece of paper and write…

  • The Seven Stages of Dining at Per Se (Craig’s Birthday Lunch)

    The Seven Stages of Dining at Per Se (Craig’s Birthday Lunch)

    The First Stage: Shock The original plan was to take Craig to see the play “Speech & Debate,” which he’s been eager to see, and then to dinner at Soto–a Japanese place in the West Village, praised as the second best new restaurant of the year by Frank Bruni in The New York Times. And…

  • Orangette’s Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini

    Orangette’s Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini

    Going through old pictures, just now, I found the picture you see above and smacked my lips at the memory: “Hey!” my brain sang out. “That’s that delicious butternut squash and chickpea salad with tahini you made from Orangette’s website.” According to the picture, I made this on December 19th. So please follow this link…

  • The Gourmet.com Launch Party at Bar Boulud

    The Gourmet.com Launch Party at Bar Boulud

    Here are the people we saw last night at the Gourmet.com launch party at Bar Boulud: – Calvin Trillin – Mark Bittman – Eric Ripert – David Chang – Jonathan Waxman – Aaron Sanchez – Michael Psilakis – Rebecca Charles – April Bloomfield – Alfred Portale – Joey Campanaro – Daniel Boulud (it was his…

  • Crispy Dough

    Crispy Dough

    I am bad with secrets. I’ve always been bad with secrets. You shouldn’t tell me any secrets, secret holders, because I will give them away. Case in point: the brunch you see above. What is it? Where can you get it? Why do I love it so? If I were a good secret keeper, I’d…

  • Winter Time is Prime Time for New York Dining

    Winter Time is Prime Time for New York Dining

    I have made a discovery, dear reader, and it may not be much of a discovery–I’m sure big city eaters have known this for some time–but I’ve come to the conclusion that winter time is prime time for New York dining. The above picture was taken at The Spotted Pig where I took Patty to…

  • Braised Duck Legs For Idiots

    Braised Duck Legs For Idiots

    The dish you see above is a dish from a four-star chef and yet it’s among the easiest you will ever prepare. It comes from Jean-George’s “Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef” which was co-written by Mark Bittman. As many of you know, Mr. Bittman is The Minimalist and it might seem strange, at…

  • The Cookies That Looked Like Dog Poo

    The Cookies That Looked Like Dog Poo

    I was recently gifted the “Tartine” cookbook; a gorgeous hardcover book with an introduction by Alice Waters and pictures that make you want to lick the page. Those who remember my trip to San Francsico will remember my trip to Tartine (click here) and the delightful frangipane tart I enjoyed.

  • Long Tan’s Lamb Curry

    Long Tan’s Lamb Curry

    You know that episode of “Sex & The City” where Miranda gets upset that the woman at her Chinese delivery knows her order so well she finishes Miranda’s sentence? Well, that may soon happen to me. Our favorite place to order in from here in Park Slope is Long Tan, a Thai restaurant on 5th…

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