Momofuko in the Wasteland
The Upper West Side just joined the world. Move over East Village; now us UWS Jews can sneak out of synagogue on the High Holy Days and chow down on steamed pork buns without leaving our own...
View ArticleThe Best Pork Dish in America
That’s a loaded statement so let me describe the dish before we go any further. It’s a pot of clam chowder — with a light cream base — with succulent, dinner-sized hunks of pork, rosy-pink and tender...
View ArticleCzeching In
“I just need to get out of the apartment.” I whined to my friend Blaine on the phone. “It’s raining.” He replied. I looked out the window. It was just drizzling. “I don’t care. I need to do...
View ArticleCode Ko
I was lucky enough to snag a seat at the hallowed (and reservation demented) Momofuku Ko in New York in early October because someone had (oh my god!) cancelled and I was quick enough to grab the...
View ArticleNew York City Through a Foodie's Eyes
If you are a foodie visiting New York, you're probably planning on visiting Mario Batali's Eataly where you'll wander the crowded aisles a bit dazed. Glass fronted counters and small eating areas...
View ArticleA Trip to New York and a Culinary Discovery
Going to New York is always a treat. Like everyone else, I love walking around the city. A leisurely stroll through Central Park when the flowering trees are in bloom is one of life's great...
View ArticleMurray's Bagels
It is the tail end of another Manhattan winter, and my boyfriend and I have started hunkering down on extravagant costs. Everyone, as we know, is in a bit of a financial panic, but for us, it’s just a...
View ArticleAn Artful Dinner at The Modern in NYC
Working on an article for Bespoke Magazine about multi-course upscale dining, I interviewed Chef Gabriel Kreuther at MoMA's The Modern. We talked on the phone for half an hour during which time he told...
View ArticleBalthazar
I have always wanted to eat at Balthazar. After many years of fruitlessly trying to go to Balthazar, I finally succeeded. Maybe it was the way the restaurant teased me over these past few years that I...
View ArticleA Night at Nathan's
My boyfriend and I have next to no private time. Much to our chagrin we both are currently back in our parent's houses and our date nights generally consist of holing up in his childhood bedroom trying...
View ArticleNew York state of mind at Baumgart's Café
There's a place in New Jersey where you can have a New York milkshake with your sushi. Seriously. Baumgart's Café, name aside, is Asian with a quirky edge. I spent hours on their menu and I have to say...
View ArticleCarmines NYC
My new best friend, Laraine Newman, recently took me to Carmines here in Los Angeles, an old school Italian joint that was once the stomping grounds of the Rat pack. From what I heard, there was quite...
View ArticleLuke's Lobster Roll
Winter on the Upper West Side of New York is a strange time and place to open a lobster shack. Where’s the beach, for example? Where’s the sun? The seagulls? It’s hard to conjure up seafood by the...
View ArticleReuben, Reuben, I've Been Thinking
“Have you ever been to Eisenberg’s?” This question from my daughter, Alison. “Shannon and I went after the gym the other day,” she says. “Best Reuben I’ve had in a long time. You should check it out.”...
View ArticleCafe Orlin
There are many foods I will not miss about New York City: street cart hot dogs dressed in a syrupy mess called “onions,” over-priced dry pasta from ancient red sauce joints in Little Italy, the...
View ArticleCapizzi
I’ve been in rehearsal this week for a reading we’re doing on Friday. It’s a fun piece called “Old Jews Telling Jokes” based on the website of the same name. All this is to say that this week I’m a...
View ArticleSerendipity 3
Trips to New York City have become scarce over the years. (Maybe non-existent is a better description.) I don't have family, friends or business in New York. All past trips have been purely...
View ArticleA Table at Rao's
We all know the few things in our lives that give us status above and beyond our own reality. Our dog, Buzz (an apricot poodle that bears an uncanny resemblance to Rod Stewart), always attracts...
View ArticleCasa Mono
I have yet to go on a date in New York without breaking into a mental sweat. When scouting for potential mates, I have learned pretentious is better than shallow, irritatingly intelligent better than...
View ArticleLei ha preso la posta (You've got mail) @ Cafe Lalo
It’s Sunday morning, and the last thing I want to hear is a discrete ringing sound, calling out from my computer, to alert me that I have mail. I ignore my computer, throw on my jeans, and catch the...
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