• Lucali

    Lucali

    [From the 4/7/25 newsletter] In neighborhood news, for the past year and half that we’ve lived in Brooklyn, I’d let go of the idea of getting into Lucali, Beyoncé’s favorite pizza spot. There’s always a line wrapped around the block at 3 PM, and that’s just to get a reservation for later in the night…

  • Oma Grassa

    Oma Grassa

    [From the 4/14/25 Amateur Gourmet Newsletter] On Saturday, we met our friends Jeremy and Jason for pizza at Oma Grassa in Fort Greene. Eric Kim was raving about it the other night at drinks and since I love pizza, it was kind of a no-brainer. (Though I did realize, after I made the reservation, that…

  • Café Brume

    Café Brume

    [From the 6/19/25 newsletter] We recently went with our friend Toby to a new Alpine restaurant called Café Brume in Brooklyn Heights. The food at Cafe Brume comes from the Alps so it’s more wintry fare, but it was a cool cloudy day when we ate it so that worked. Highlights were this cold sausage…

  • Superiority Burger

    Superiority Burger

    [From the 6/19/25 newsletter] On Monday night, I had a reading at an event called Wine and Pine (done in collaboration with Chardongay) that turned out to be a lot of fun. Beforehand, Craig and I met up with our pal Chris for dinner at Superiority Burger in the East Village: Superiority Burger is one…

  • Via Carota

    Via Carota

    [From the 7/11/25 newsletter] Just like asparagus has a season, so does eating out at restaurants and that season is now. Sure, it’s lovely to walk into a little French bistro on a snowy day in the dead of winter, but it’s also lovely to cook soup at home in the dead of winter. Not…

  • Fedora

    Fedora

    [From the 7/21/25 newsletter] We went with our friends Chris and Lance to the newly revamped Fedora on Friday night and had a lot of fun. I’ve been trying to drink less since my Parkinson’s diagnosis, but my doctor says I can drink “moderately,” so when everyone ordered the signature martini, I didn’t want to…

  • Classic Shrimp and Grits

    Classic Shrimp and Grits

    On a recent trip to Jackson, Mississippi, I had grits for breakfast at Elvie’s (served with coffee-rubbed pork and red-eye gravy) and fell in love. They were fluffy, they were hearty, they were the perfect base for a saucy topping.

  • Cafe Luxembourg

    Cafe Luxembourg

    [From the 7/24/25 newsletter] Last night we joined our pals Andy and Jenny Rosenstrach for a star-studded dinner at Café Luxembourg. Now only was Roger Bart from The Producers sitting behind Jenny, but Nathan Lane was sitting behind me and Craig! I’d wanted to go to Café Luxembourg since I read about it in Keith…

  • Jr. & Son

    Jr. & Son

    [From the 7/28/25 newsletter] On Saturday, we went with our pal Lucie to Jr. and Son and had a blast. Imagine your favorite Italian-American red sauce joint taken up to an eleven and you’ll get the idea. The garlic bread was dreamy, the salad with arancini (fried rice balls) brilliant, and this chicken parm was…

  • The View

    The View

    [From the 7/31/25 newsletter] On Monday, I met up with my old pal and roommate (and first season Amateur Gourmet cast member) Lauren at The View, the newly refurbished, Danny Meyer-owned rotating restaurant at the top of the Marriott Marquis in Midtown. We sat at the bar upstairs and caught up as we rotated all…