Casa 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 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 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 ArticleBar Tano in Brooklyn
We’d finally made it all the way to Park Slope, it was less than warm, and I’m pretty sure I had mascara on my forehead from frantically trying to fix my make-up on the subway. You can imagine my...
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 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 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 ArticleA High Class Lunch at Ai Fiori
The Big Dog and I lunched this afternoon at Ai Fiori, The Big Dog is my high-priced attorney. We were discussing some ultra-subtle legal maneuver that could only be fully investigated in a very, very...
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 ArticleAutumn in New York
The weather turned yesterday. The air was suddenly, blissfully free of the sodden end-of-summer heaviness and the scent of August — that heady perfume of sixteen million sweaty feet in sandals —...
View ArticleKyotofu Dessert Bar
OK fine. I'll admit it. I'm the person who studies the menu online before going out to eat. I devour every edible word and let the taste bud anticipation work its magic. The moment I knew I would be...
View ArticleDanji
I had an experience the other night that was right out of Larry David’s universe or Seinfeld’s. A classic. I’ll try to describe it for you. It was around 9:45 and I was at Danji, the wonderful Korean...
View ArticleRuss and Daughters: A NY Favorite
If you have been to Russ and Daughters you know that they have 5 kinds of salmon, the best smoked fish, many flavors of cream cheese and then you have to pick a bagel, toasted or not: lots of choices...
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 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...
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 ArticleBrisket Town
I went to New York recently to visit my daughter Lena, see her apartment and meet her dog, Fabio, a rescued Mexican Hairless. She lives in an area of Brooklyn known as Crown Heights? That’s supposed to...
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 ArticleA High Class Lunch at Ai Fiori
The Big Dog and I lunched this afternoon at Ai Fiori, The Big Dog is my high-priced attorney. We were discussing some ultra-subtle legal maneuver that could only be fully investigated in a very, very...
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...
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