Category: Uncategorized

travel: exclusionist, expressive, evocative…

~ This one goes to all the chefs out there: Beyond the bespoke ingredients you use, what sets your food apart from your peers’ cooking? Why would someone travel – sometimes at great expense – to your restaurant? Is it for your technical precision? Creativity? Presentation? Consistency? Is it for the quality or rarity of […]

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travel: exclusionist, expressive, evocative…

~ This one goes to all the chefs out there: Beyond the bespoke ingredients you use, what sets your food apart from your peers’ cooking? Why would someone travel – sometimes at great expense – to your restaurant? Is it for your technical precision? Creativity? Presentation? Consistency? Is it for the quality or rarity of […]

Continue

rumination 25: hospitality…

Last year, Alan Richman penned a barn-burner review of M. Wells in GQ Magazine entitled “Dinner for Schmucks.” More than a critique, that article operated as a commentary on the seemingly deteriorating state of restaurant service at large, and, more importantly, offered a mindful acknowledgement of the influence that food writers, like him, have over restaurant service. […]

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rumination 25: hospitality…

Last year, Alan Richman penned a barn-burner review of M. Wells in GQ Magazine entitled “Dinner for Schmucks.” More than a critique, that article operated as a commentary on the seemingly deteriorating state of restaurant service at large, and, more importantly, offered a mindful acknowledgement of the influence that food writers, like him, have over restaurant service. […]

Continue

review: each leg a length… (jean georges)

– Faced with a shelf of meals, waiting to be transcribed, Jean Georges is always an easy reach. Writing about a meal here always seems effortless. The food is straightforward and simple, but always spectacular. The experience is clear and crisp, like a starched stretch of high thread-count. It’s a concise affair, practically punctuating itself […]

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review: each leg a length… (jean georges)

– Faced with a shelf of meals, waiting to be transcribed, Jean Georges is always an easy reach. Writing about a meal here always seems effortless. The food is straightforward and simple, but always spectacular. The experience is clear and crisp, like a starched stretch of high thread-count. It’s a concise affair, practically punctuating itself […]

Continue

photo of the week 37: chop…

This series was an utter failure last year. I will try to post more regularly this year. I recently launched my own photography website (www.bonjwing.com).  It will not, as some readers have inquired, replace my Flickr account.  Instead, it will serve as a gallery of my professional work, a sampling rather than a library. Since […]

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photo of the week 37: chop…

This series was an utter failure last year. I will try to post more regularly this year. I recently launched my own photography website (www.bonjwing.com).  It will not, as some readers have inquired, replace my Flickr account.  Instead, it will serve as a gallery of my professional work, a sampling rather than a library. Since […]

Continue

best dishes of 2011…

(Crispy Pig Ears; Husk) * * * Another December, another set of listicles. Every year for the the past six, I’ve rounded up the best edibles of each and posted them here for posterity. They’ve included a list of my twenty-five favorite dishes, the best dozen desserts, and the top ten restaurant meals of each […]

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best dishes of 2011…

(Crispy Pig Ears; Husk) * * * Another December, another set of listicles. Every year for the the past six, I’ve rounded up the best edibles of each and posted them here for posterity. They’ve included a list of my twenty-five favorite dishes, the best dozen desserts, and the top ten restaurant meals of each […]

Continue

what else was on the menu 5: l’ambroisie (december, 2008)

What else was on the menu? The menu at l’Ambroisie is not large, and it is not prone to change. So, you can find photos of most of chefs Mathieu and Bernard Pacaud’s dishes on the internet. My friend Adam of A Life Worth Eating, who has eaten there more times than anyone I know, […]

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what else was on the menu 5: l’ambroisie (december, 2008)

What else was on the menu? The menu at l’Ambroisie is not large, and it is not prone to change. So, you can find photos of most of chefs Mathieu and Bernard Pacaud’s dishes on the internet. My friend Adam of A Life Worth Eating, who has eaten there more times than anyone I know, […]

Continue

rumination 17: on being a blogger…

Until September of this year, I remained ulterior, or, as ulterior as possible. I explained why in an interview with Eater. But, I’ve not really shared my thoughts on blogging and being a blogger here. I pause briefly to do so.

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rumination 17: on being a blogger…

Until September of this year, I remained ulterior, or, as ulterior as possible. I explained why in an interview with Eater. But, I’ve not really shared my thoughts on blogging and being a blogger here. I pause briefly to do so.

Continue

suitcase party…

Eleven months ago, I took a tremendous leap of faith. I quit my job. Life will catch you, my friends reassured. I wasn’t so convinced. I went to Europe soon thereafter, to think, to eat, to explore, and to spectate. Certain that it was my last hurrah for a while, I was thankful for the […]

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suitcase party…

Eleven months ago, I took a tremendous leap of faith. I quit my job. Life will catch you, my friends reassured. I wasn’t so convinced. I went to Europe soon thereafter, to think, to eat, to explore, and to spectate. Certain that it was my last hurrah for a while, I was thankful for the […]

Continue

what else was on the menu 4: l2o (july, 2008)

What else was on the menu? I ate at L2O in July of 2008, a few months after it opened.  At the time Laurent Gras was the chef.  My friends and I had the tasting menu. From the “Warm” portion of the á la carte menu, I found this dish intriguing: Octopus, Coconut, Sea Bean, […]

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what else was on the menu 4: l2o (july, 2008)

What else was on the menu? I ate at L2O in July of 2008, a few months after it opened.  At the time Laurent Gras was the chef.  My friends and I had the tasting menu. From the “Warm” portion of the á la carte menu, I found this dish intriguing: Octopus, Coconut, Sea Bean, […]

Continue

review: holism… (saison)

“Old-ass pigeon.” Those are Josh Skene’s words, not mine. In a spirited email exchange that ensued after my meal at his restaurant, saison, that’s how he lovingly referred to the twelfth of sixteen courses I had at his Chef’s Counter. Skenes had salted the cavity of one of the birds. The other one, he left […]

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review: holism… (saison)

“Old-ass pigeon.” Those are Josh Skene’s words, not mine. In a spirited email exchange that ensued after my meal at his restaurant, saison, that’s how he lovingly referred to the twelfth of sixteen courses I had at his Chef’s Counter. Skenes had salted the cavity of one of the birds. The other one, he left […]

Continue