I don’t want to do it….really. Although not formally pressured in any way I do feel my hand forced…somewhat.  You see I hate lists…you know, the top 5 best of this – the best blanks of the year.  I find them too easy, too lazy, subjective and homogeneous.  I find them oft a tool in conjuring [...]

“It was always fun to walk around with my Mecca shit on, having people assume I was a dumb ass, and then son the shit out of them.” -Eddie Huang Eddie Huang is an interesting cat, one I have much respect for.  The respect I speak of has as much to do with his persona [...]

I can’t entirely put my finger on the why.  I am not sure if it was the pleasantly overwhelming aroma which greeted me upon arrival, a lingering hint of seared meat dancing in the air and tickling my nostrils.  I don’t know if it was the bright orange sign braced against the wall nearest to [...]

“He was a bold man who first ate an oyster” – Jonathan Swift. A bold man indeed, but rewarded for his courage he certainly was.  Oysters are oft debated, polarizing if nothing else.  The enthusiasts scoff at the cowards too afraid to appreciate this delicacy with a fine, more-for-me attitude.  They internally, lets hope, mock [...]

“What’s this? A piece of toast? A pretzel stick? Popcorn? What blockhead cooked all this” -Peppermint Patty It is apt, very unsurprising, and fortuitous that Christina Tosi and the Momofuku Milk Bar team, the same conglomerate responsible for bottling all the sweet goodness that is cereal milk, found a way to pack all the bountiful [...]

It certainly is not David Chang’s ( Ko) shaved Foie Gras, Lychee, and Pine nut Brittle… Or Dufresne’s ( wd-50) deconstructed eggs benedict. It isn’t Cesar Ramirez’s ( Brooklyn Fare ) Kumamoto oysters with key-lime gelee… Or even Sotohiro Kosugi’s ( Soto) Ayogi clam cocktail. It’s not Wesley Genovart’s ( Degustation) Spanish ‘tortilla’ quail egg and shallot confit…. Nor is it David [...]

It was a mere few weeks ago when I carried on, babbled, and raved about Locande Verde and the masterful work of Andrew Carmellini.  Some time has lapsed but I take not a word back.  Not one. That remarkable experience demanded and assured that I would make my way to The Dutch , Carmellini’s latest venture, as soon as was possible, and [...]

4 and out?…… There are few watering holes that have the mystique, the magic I should say, of the Monteleone Carousel Bar in New Orleans.  To many a jaded soul the idea may possibly sound like a mere novelty. But those in the know, those believers who have consumed Marvin Allen’s creations within the carousel’s canopy, [...]

A respite has been offered to the dweller’s of New York City’s concrete playground the last few days in the form of a warm-front embracing the tri-state area like a sympathetic hug.  This unexpected tropical nuzzle is welcome yet unwittingly holds the ability to cause momentary amnesia, allowing one to forget that frigid days sit [...]

A Cook’s Book. “I wrote a book in a way that I would like more people to write books. I’m not afraid of the real truth. There is nothing you can tell me about yourself that is going to make me clutch my pearls.” -Gabrielle Hamilton My face flushes instantly with the greenish hue of jealousy [...]

DEEP in the Atacma Desert in Chile a stone hand is in the process of emerging from the depths below.  The thumb is exposed and more than half of the palm is visible, upon it names of visitors are engraved.  This is “The Hand of the Desert”, the work of artist Mano de Desierto. A few [...]

We have reached a milestone, of sorts, here today.  If blog contributions to the illustrious Culinary Junkies website were viewed as a race to 100 posts then I am currently plowing through the finish line, sweat laden arms raised in triumphant glory, while you, my fellow junkies, are not even in the vicinity to bite my [...]

Wine shouldn’t be scary.  Wine shouldn’t be intimidating. I am not alone, there is nothing I am more sure of more.  In that, when the maître d and I go hand to hand with the wine list a faint sense of uneasiness washes over me.  I am pleased it is there, let’s not confuse the [...]

“Dirty water” dogs still hold down nearly every corner in Midtown, and God bless them for that.  They are there for the tourists, the overworked famished businessman, and any one who is in a pinch for a quick, yet scary and oft fairly tasty, bite.  But New Yorkers do not have to settle for hot [...]

Lucky Peach # 2

11/15/2011

Standard (n.): a level of quality or attainment. Standard (adj): used or accepted as normal or average. Two words that at no time came to mind while dining at The Standard Grill were normal or average.  For not one instant would words of this ilk dare attempt passage into my thoughts amid such a distinct dining experience.  Thus, [...]

Odds are you may have heard of Chef Ferran Adria.  That will happen when for years you are widely touted as the best chef on the planet by people in the running for that very title.  Recently the doors have permanently closed to his Spanish restaurant, El Bulli, and Ferran is onto the next challenge.  [...]

It’s a shame. Time and again when a devastating event lays waste upon a region we hear about that event’s imminent occurrence and also it’s initial impact, and then we hear no more.  The media, in all it’s opportunistic glory, is front and center for the dismantling, then off and on to following the beginnings [...]

In certain circles I am somewhat ashamed to admit I haven’t yet been to Locande Verde , the well known causal Italian taverna in Tribeca.  However, in other circles, I am equally ashamed to admit being friends, or in circles with, people that would frown down upon someone for merely not having eating at a particular restaurant.  [...]