I have a thing for these types of restaurants- the ones that feel like they’ve been around since 1796, carefully preserved like antiques, charming and authentic in their rusticity. The only indication of modernity would be the kitchen equipment, electricity and some indie-folk rock playing out of the Bose speakers. In New York, rustic [...]
Entries from January 2009
January 30, 2009
Babbo, an Exercise in Escapism
A brilliant and rare combination of factors resulted in my dining at Babbo Wednesday night. First, I had two gift certificates (thank you again…you know who you are). Second, I called the restaurant on a whim Tuesday and was shocked when the hostess gave me three reservation times for the NEXT DAY, one of them [...]
January 28, 2009
Park City Powder
I spent last weekend in Park City. No, I did not hit up Sundance, that festival down at the bottom of the mountain where I stayed. Maybe, if the mountains weren’t so gorgeous, and the slopes so plentiful, I might have ventured down to see a flick and some B-lister in shearling Uggs hoarding [...]
January 28, 2009
Best Pizza in Town…for Now
It’s about time I paid homage to my favorite pizza place in New York. Next week, I plan on hitting Jim Lahey’s new Co. to see if his pizza tastes as phenomenally delicious as these pictures, from serious eats, make it look. I will report then. But already, I feel a momentous pizza experience [...]
January 12, 2009
Macao Trading Co. in Tribeca
The guys behind Employees Only have opened up a new spot in Tribeca, and it’s another ode to a time and place long gone by. Employees Only is a handsome Prohibition era hideaway (a place I grudgingly admit is a great bar with surprisingly good food.) Macao Trading Co is worthy of a [...]
January 11, 2009
Roast Chicken: It’s Like Street Cred for Cooks
I’m getting serious this year about cooking. The first step in getting serious is making a roast chicken. A delicious roast chicken: crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, flavorful, lots of jus. And the fact is, everyone seems to think that if you can roast a deliciosa chicken, you can do anything. HOLY [...]
January 9, 2009
Being a Foodie. And Reading “Heat.”
In 2009, the year of the new frugality (at least as it pertains to me), I plan on cooking more. I must be a good cook, I reason with myself, because I’ve eaten so many damn good meals and dude, my mom’s a chef. Oh, how much there is to learn. I almost wish [...]
January 7, 2009
Two Reasons to Visit Duane Park
A long long time ago I wrote a short review of Duane Park for nymag.com. My impression of it was that it was a sleepy kind of place, good for locals with a taste for finer things. I never went back. Fast forward three (or four) years. Cruising by one sunny Saturday afternoon, I notice [...]
