BITE will keep you in touch with what I’m eating and what I love and what I left on my plate. I’ll share dialogues I have with heroes and divas, princes and barracudas and what I overhear from the next table. Not every day will I have a meal worth writing about, I suspect, not good enough, not bad enough. Dear friends have asked me if I could try to be meaner so I fit in better on the net. I intend to try. As any man who has lived with me will tell you, I was born to be a critic. Of course, isn’t it the critic who has the thinnest skin of all? I must admit to a certain anxiety. It’s been a long time since I wrote without an editor, a fact checker and a copy-reader to catch my errors, misspellings and typos. I apologize in advance. I’m left-handed and that can sometimes be confusing. I might have stopped reviewing restaurants twenty-five years ago when my first novel, Blue Skies, No Candy lingered on the best seller list. But I am addicted to instant gratification. So I’m still here. On my death bed, I am sure my last words will echo those of the sister of Brillat Savarin:
“Bring on dessert.”
April 23, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Coco Pazzo Reboot
We’re packed into the modest Tribeca canteen and sandwich shop alongside clutches of youngsters from the neighborhood who probably never heard of The Dark Prince of Italian Dining…
April 16, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Simon & the Whale
We ask why it’s Simon, not Gabriel & the Whale...
April 8, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Zuma Encore
The space is even more stunning then I recall...
April 2, 2018 | About Gael
Don Angie
I’m haunted by memories of the chrysanthemum…
March 26, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
My Nights Off
Most of my evenings are spent exploring what’s...
March 19, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Oxbow Tavern
“What am I doing here?” Tom Valenti asks himself…
March 12, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
La Goulue
I figured it was one of those snooty East Side places I needed to brave with a regular…
February 26, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Sushi by Bae
She enumerated the thrills: the imported fish...
February 19, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Farewell Andre Surmain
Andre would have been deeply offended by the inelegance of the word Luxe...
February 12, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Opry City Stage
I've certainly had better fried green tomatoes…
February 5, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Bouley at Home
A small collection of young men in newsboy caps stands duty…
January 22, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Maison Pickle
We’ll take what’s left home in a doggy bag,
please ...
January 15, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Henry at Life Hotel
This is his first hotel and restaurant venture since he sold off his huge hospitality…
January 8, 2018 | BITE: My Journal
Chi Eats
I put myself in Jim’s hands, ready to try
whatever he suggests...
December 18, 2017 | BITE: My Journal
Legasea
We’re deep into fried chicken, indelicate
battered wedges, and giant biscuits...
December 11, 2017 | BITE: My Journal
The Lobster Club
There was no landmark claim in force at the old Brasserie on the uptown hip of the Seagram Building…
December 4, 2017 | BITE: My Journal
UES Classics
What’s a neighborhood place you’ve been going to forever...
November 27, 2017 | BITE: My Journal
Big Eats Time
It’s the season of Big Eats and I’ve signed on…