Category: restaurant review

save the date: kansas city…

~ This year marks the sixteenth annual Friends of James Beard Foundation dinner at The American Restaurant in Kansas City, the longest-running fundraising dinner for the foundation in the country.  Over the past decade and a half, this event has brought some of America’s most respected chefs to my hometown to raise money for the James Beard Foundation, including Jean-Louis Palladin, […]

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save the date: kansas city…

~ This year marks the sixteenth annual Friends of James Beard Foundation dinner at The American Restaurant in Kansas City, the longest-running fundraising dinner for the foundation in the country.  Over the past decade and a half, this event has brought some of America’s most respected chefs to my hometown to raise money for the James Beard Foundation, including Jean-Louis Palladin, […]

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travel: until tonight becomes tomorrow…

~ When a volley of pink blossoms overtakes Gramercy Tavern and the big, picture-windows on Fifth Avenue begin blushing with brighter, bolder colors; when chefs get grabby for ramps and peas at the Union Square greenmarket, and the walls at casa mono finally swing open to seduce those turning the corner of 17th and Irving with the smell of pork and clams; […]

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travel: until tonight becomes tomorrow…

~ When a volley of pink blossoms overtakes Gramercy Tavern and the big, picture-windows on Fifth Avenue begin blushing with brighter, bolder colors; when chefs get grabby for ramps and peas at the Union Square greenmarket, and the walls at casa mono finally swing open to seduce those turning the corner of 17th and Irving with the smell of pork and clams; […]

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travel: american cool…

~ Realizing that I’ve traveled far more this year than time has allowed me to record and report, I’ve decided to set aside chronology and just write.  After a poor posting record in the first half of this year, I’m picking my blog back up with my latest trip: Washington, D.C. Two weeks ago, I was at […]

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travel: american cool…

~ Realizing that I’ve traveled far more this year than time has allowed me to record and report, I’ve decided to set aside chronology and just write.  After a poor posting record in the first half of this year, I’m picking my blog back up with my latest trip: Washington, D.C. Two weeks ago, I was at […]

Continue

the tyrian-tinted…

I receive an unbelievably high number of requests for restaurant recommendations.  While I would like to give every one a thoughtful response, it is simply not possible. For years now, I have tried to think of a solution to this problem.  Having failed to do so thus far, I have, in the meantime, set up an auto-response […]

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the tyrian-tinted…

I receive an unbelievably high number of requests for restaurant recommendations.  While I would like to give every one a thoughtful response, it is simply not possible. For years now, I have tried to think of a solution to this problem.  Having failed to do so thus far, I have, in the meantime, set up an auto-response […]

Continue

review: heart of tartness… (willows inn)

~ Is there a happier summer soundtrack than the splash of cannonballs accompanied by the reckless hoot of youth? My friend and I arrived at the ferry slip on a warm summer afternoon to the sight of children hurling themselves off the headworks into the cool waters of the sound.  We got out of the car and cheered […]

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review: heart of tartness… (willows inn)

~ Is there a happier summer soundtrack than the splash of cannonballs accompanied by the reckless hoot of youth? My friend and I arrived at the ferry slip on a warm summer afternoon to the sight of children hurling themselves off the headworks into the cool waters of the sound.  We got out of the car and cheered […]

Continue

travel: pacific pragmatism…

~ The last time I visited Seattle I was a rising senior in college.  That summer, I spent a few days with my friend Miller, who was from the inland suburb of Issaquah.  Thereafter, I went down to Portland to visit another college friend, Newland.  That was the last time I was in Portland too. […]

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travel: pacific pragmatism…

~ The last time I visited Seattle I was a rising senior in college.  That summer, I spent a few days with my friend Miller, who was from the inland suburb of Issaquah.  Thereafter, I went down to Portland to visit another college friend, Newland.  That was the last time I was in Portland too. […]

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travel: intercontinental… (chile part ii)

~ In this second half of my report about my trip to Chile earlier this year (here’s the first half), I take you to some of the most beautiful destinations I’ve ever visited: three of Chile’s wine valleys, and to a few points along the country’s long coastline.

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travel: intercontinental… (chile part ii)

~ In this second half of my report about my trip to Chile earlier this year (here’s the first half), I take you to some of the most beautiful destinations I’ve ever visited: three of Chile’s wine valleys, and to a few points along the country’s long coastline.

Continue

travel: raging case of gowanus…

~ My friend Adam wanted cake.  Specifically, he wanted Frank Stitt’s seven-layer coconut cake, which he knows that I make upon request from time to time.  So, he suggested that we spend two nights at his family’s home on Long Island to relax, to cook, to bake, to eat. We had bagels at a place […]

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travel: raging case of gowanus…

~ My friend Adam wanted cake.  Specifically, he wanted Frank Stitt’s seven-layer coconut cake, which he knows that I make upon request from time to time.  So, he suggested that we spend two nights at his family’s home on Long Island to relax, to cook, to bake, to eat. We had bagels at a place […]

Continue

travel: second city…

~ When I left my twenties, I went to Chicago to mark the passing of that decade, and to welcome the next. In the five years since, I’ve kept the tradition, choosing a different city with each new birthday. In 2009, I celebrated in New York; in 2010, in Washington D.C.; and in 2011, Charleston. […]

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travel: second city…

~ When I left my twenties, I went to Chicago to mark the passing of that decade, and to welcome the next. In the five years since, I’ve kept the tradition, choosing a different city with each new birthday. In 2009, I celebrated in New York; in 2010, in Washington D.C.; and in 2011, Charleston. […]

Continue

travel: rediscovering coastal cuisine…

~ I’m not going to be shy: I’m very good with geography.  I always have been.  (I also have an unusually good sense of direction. My family calls me the walking GPS.) But, whereas I once associated places with landmarks, or friends, or museums, or colleges, I now mentally map out the world with food […]

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travel: rediscovering coastal cuisine…

~ I’m not going to be shy: I’m very good with geography.  I always have been.  (I also have an unusually good sense of direction. My family calls me the walking GPS.) But, whereas I once associated places with landmarks, or friends, or museums, or colleges, I now mentally map out the world with food […]

Continue