Umami Mart

This is not me, it’s a quote from Michael Ruhlman’s blog post about Yakitori Totto, which was recommended to him by none other than his good buddy and best chef in the world, Thomas Keller. He gushes uncontrollably about the chicken here. Can anyone back this up? I want to go there now for many […]

located at 360 Van Brunt (get it?) in Red Hook, 360 is one of my very favorite restaurants in NYC. i would call it american nouvelle with french flair– their head chef always gets really creative with flavors and textures, without going molecular, or overboard on yo ass. they change their menus everyday, so you […]

after years of longing from afar, i finally made it into Sugiyama last week for Japanese Restaurant Week– a restaurant that has been around for quite some time here in New York in Midtown West (at least 10 years maybe?). Ruth Reichl gave it 3 stars in 1999, but i would hands down give it […]

Anybody been to Kyotofu? Same people who did Chikalicious. “Like its precursors, ChikaLicious and Room4Dessert, Kyotofu endeavors to turn the meal’s last course into a dedicated evening outing, accessorized with fruity cocktails and wrapped up in a sleekly designed, date-friendly package. And with its focus on the flavors of Japan and the gracefully subtle incorporation […]

“Luxury” being the key word here. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a shift in my life towards decadence that I would have been to JLOB twice now in four months, but I thank the fates for it! \ (‘^ o ^ ‘ ) /* There were only two other parties when […]

8am, alarm goes off. i look outside, everything is white and covered in snow. what the… SNOW??? and while all of this is beautiful and enchanting and all–the snow coming down in a flurry–having to pep-talk yourself to leave the house SUCKS. walking in the snow to the subway station SUCKS. having to walk in […]

At Judson’s invitation, Alanna and I went to his favorite NY restaurant, Little Frankie’s (First Ave. btw 1 & 2 st.) last night and I learned two lessons: names are deceptive and size does not matter. Yes, Little Frankie’s is related to Frank, on Second Ave., that Italian joint that is ALWAYS over-crowded with total […]

looks like a slew of japanese food companies and the tourism agency are putting on a Japanese Restaurant Week from sunday 3/4-monday 3/12 (odd dates, but i’ll take it). not quite sure what the prices will be like or what kind of “discount” it will end up being- i’m guessing they will all differ, seeing […]

what can i say, i was wrong about Frank. i didn’t think he had the balls to respond to Chodorow, but clearly he’s gone flaunting his balls all around town. Frank’s review this week in the Times was possibly the most hilarious piece i’ve read by him since his tell-all play-by-play as an undercover waiter […]