• 57 Thoughts About Nobu 57

    57 Thoughts About Nobu 57

    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…

  • Fat

    I was thinking today about the word “fat.” It’s easy to forget, once you’ve entered the world of food, how the rest of the world hears that three-letter word, a word that promises such ecstasy but which suffers such a severe stigma. Watching my usual Sunday helping of Tivoed cooking shows–Lydia’s Family Table, Barefoot Contessa,…

  • A Real New Yorker

    “Congratulations to the Amateur Gourmet. Now that he has been shat on by Sirio, he can consider himself a real New Yorker. Interesting that a mere blog has the scion of Le Cirque all shook up, though. When Ruth returned the dump, it rolled right off the prick’s best side. Business must be booming in…

  • The Amateur Gourmet’s Guide To His Second Year In New York

    The Amateur Gourmet’s Guide To His Second Year In New York

    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…

  • Out On The Scene with Ed Levine: Pizza at Adrienne’s & Pastries at Financier

    Out On The Scene with Ed Levine: Pizza at Adrienne’s & Pastries at Financier

    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…

  • Cafe Sabarsky is a Gem

    Cafe Sabarsky is a Gem

    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…

  • The Book Is In!

    The Book Is In!

    Let’s let out a collective gasp: I made my deadline and my book, food gods be thanked, is in. And I’m so excited about it: I love this book. Seriously. It’s packed with everything I could think of to say, to do, to share—recipes, anecdotes, adventures, family history, food celebrities. You name it: it’s in…

  • Movin’ On Up

    It finally happened. After four weeks of exhausting Craigslist searching, shopping, and disappointment we found it. Don’t ask us how. We’d practically given up. There had been a nice apartment in a dream location–W. 4th and W. 12th–but it was a railroad apartment and to go to the bathroom or the kitchen I’d have to…

  • Ahhhhhhhhhhh, Voce

    Ahhhhhhhhhhh, Voce

    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.…

  • The Real Mauro?

    People are asking if the real Mauro Maccioni (son of Sirio) is leaving comments on my Le Cirque post. Friends around me right now say, without question, that it is “definitely him.” (Their reason is: “Why would someone pretend to be the son of Sirio? If they were going to pretend they’d pretend to be…

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