• Sorry From Sirio

    My mom got home today (to our house in Boca Raton, FL) and found a FedEx package at the door. She took it inside and opened it and inside was a copy of Sirio Maccioni’s autobiography and this letter (click the picture for a bigger version):I suppose Sirio (or his team) tracked down my family…

  • 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.…

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