review: second coming of godot…

“Kesté” kesté, New York, New York So I must be like – what – the six gazillionth blogger to check in on the subject of kesté pizzeria’s highly-debated crust? Too thin? Too thick?  Crispy? Soggy? Does it have the right amount of elasticity? Too much char?  Not enough char? Honestly, I have no idea what […]

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review: second coming of godot…

“Kesté” kesté, New York, New York So I must be like – what – the six gazillionth blogger to check in on the subject of kesté pizzeria’s highly-debated crust? Too thin? Too thick?  Crispy? Soggy? Does it have the right amount of elasticity? Too much char?  Not enough char? Honestly, I have no idea what […]

Continue

travel: fêtes and feasts…

James Beard Awards Lincoln Center, New York, New York New York is such a scene, isn’t it, what with its gossip girls and tourists, bomb threats and celebrity wars? During the first weekend in May, New York becomes temporarily mobbed with chefs and their groupies, all flocking to attend what has been dubbed, “the Oscars […]

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travel: fêtes and feasts…

James Beard Awards Lincoln Center, New York, New York New York is such a scene, isn’t it, what with its gossip girls and tourists, bomb threats and celebrity wars? During the first weekend in May, New York becomes temporarily mobbed with chefs and their groupies, all flocking to attend what has been dubbed, “the Oscars […]

Continue

review: blade runner…

CityZen Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C. I have very good instincts about restaurants. They work for me, anyway. I’d say that about 80% my restaurant experiences match my expectations. I tend to walk in with a glass slightly less than half-empty and hope that the restaurant can fill ‘er up.  If it doesn’t, there’s not a […]

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review: blade runner…

CityZen Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C. I have very good instincts about restaurants. They work for me, anyway. I’d say that about 80% my restaurant experiences match my expectations. I tend to walk in with a glass slightly less than half-empty and hope that the restaurant can fill ‘er up.  If it doesn’t, there’s not a […]

Continue

review: pan hellenic…

komi, Washington, D.C. It was the year that April Bloomfield brought the gastro pub to the West Village, Dan Barber opened a restaurant in a stone barn in Pocantico Hills, and Grant Achatz cast a wrinkle in the fabric of modern cuisine with an archaic symbol. Joël Robuchon landed in Las Vegas at The Mansion, […]

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review: pan hellenic…

komi, Washington, D.C. It was the year that April Bloomfield brought the gastro pub to the West Village, Dan Barber opened a restaurant in a stone barn in Pocantico Hills, and Grant Achatz cast a wrinkle in the fabric of modern cuisine with an archaic symbol. Joël Robuchon landed in Las Vegas at The Mansion, […]

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review: a tropical umbrella…

Mango-Anchovy Ravioli Cafe Atlantico, Washington, D.C. I can’t believe that I lived in Washington, D.C. and never once stepped foot in Cafe Atlantico. Jaleo, yes.  But never Cafe Atlantico. Neither did I visit Jose Andres’s Mediterranean “mezze” restaurant, Zaytinya, which opened shortly before I moved away, or minibar, which always seemed (and still seems) like […]

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review: a tropical umbrella…

Mango-Anchovy Ravioli Cafe Atlantico, Washington, D.C. I can’t believe that I lived in Washington, D.C. and never once stepped foot in Cafe Atlantico. Jaleo, yes.  But never Cafe Atlantico. Neither did I visit Jose Andres’s Mediterranean “mezze” restaurant, Zaytinya, which opened shortly before I moved away, or minibar, which always seemed (and still seems) like […]

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review: happy in the kitchen…

Ahi Tuna Burger Central Michel Richard, Washington, D.C. The temperature was dropping rapidly.  In the hour it took to get from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to lunch, the thermometer trimmed itself of nearly twenty degrees.  Cold rain might turn into snow, they said.  Freezing temperatures were expected by early evening. […]

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review: happy in the kitchen…

Ahi Tuna Burger Central Michel Richard, Washington, D.C. The temperature was dropping rapidly.  In the hour it took to get from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to lunch, the thermometer trimmed itself of nearly twenty degrees.  Cold rain might turn into snow, they said.  Freezing temperatures were expected by early evening. […]

Continue

travel: a vernal showing…

Cherry Blossoms Dunbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. The cherry trees were beginning their vernal show around the Tidal Basin.  And despite the unexpected freeze, they held up nicely for the official start to the Cherry Blossom Festival. Though I can’t say I enjoyed living there, it was good to be back in Washington, D.C.  I hadn’t […]

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travel: a vernal showing…

Cherry Blossoms Dunbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. The cherry trees were beginning their vernal show around the Tidal Basin.  And despite the unexpected freeze, they held up nicely for the official start to the Cherry Blossom Festival. Though I can’t say I enjoyed living there, it was good to be back in Washington, D.C.  I hadn’t […]

Continue

review: three sisters and a chef…

Brigtsen’s, New Orleans, Louisiana … walk into a bar. Kidding. Sandra, Rhonda, and Marna. Those are three names you should have in your pocket when you arrive at Brigtsen’s.* These three women opened the restaurant in 1986 with Marna’s husband, Frank Brigtsen. It was Marna’s night off on my recent visit to the restaurant.  But […]

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review: three sisters and a chef…

Brigtsen’s, New Orleans, Louisiana … walk into a bar. Kidding. Sandra, Rhonda, and Marna. Those are three names you should have in your pocket when you arrive at Brigtsen’s.* These three women opened the restaurant in 1986 with Marna’s husband, Frank Brigtsen. It was Marna’s night off on my recent visit to the restaurant.  But […]

Continue

review: six blocks to elysian fields…

Lobster, Egg, and Caviar Stella!, New Orleans, Louisiana Coincidence is a curious thing.  Sometimes, it can be a b*tch. Just before dessert, the sommelier arrived with a bottle of Champagne, a gift from the chef, Scott Boswell. To explain how this happened, let me rewind to the beginning of our meal at his restaurant, Stella! […]

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review: six blocks to elysian fields…

Lobster, Egg, and Caviar Stella!, New Orleans, Louisiana Coincidence is a curious thing.  Sometimes, it can be a b*tch. Just before dessert, the sommelier arrived with a bottle of Champagne, a gift from the chef, Scott Boswell. To explain how this happened, let me rewind to the beginning of our meal at his restaurant, Stella! […]

Continue

review: galatwahs…

Oysters Rockefeller Galatoire’s, New Orleans, Louisiana As with the “The Quartah,” “oystahs,” and “Chartah Street,” the locals drop the “r” and call it “Galatwahs.” Founded in 1905 by French immigrant Jean Galatoire, over the last century, this unassuming restaurant on Bourbon Street has become New Orleans’s most beloved institution. This is where the city celebrates. […]

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review: galatwahs…

Oysters Rockefeller Galatoire’s, New Orleans, Louisiana As with the “The Quartah,” “oystahs,” and “Chartah Street,” the locals drop the “r” and call it “Galatwahs.” Founded in 1905 by French immigrant Jean Galatoire, over the last century, this unassuming restaurant on Bourbon Street has become New Orleans’s most beloved institution. This is where the city celebrates. […]

Continue