Umami Mart

Troy is a dear friend who lives and works in Brooklyn- he only comes out into the city on special occasions (good for him!). He recently went on a gourmet market splurge around Brooklyn, picked up a bunch of delightful foodstuffs, and stayed in and cooked with his lucky bf Corey. Considering how much we […]

My buddy Ray recently had his birthday gathering at Tomales Bay Oyster Company. It was genius. We headed north from SF over the Golden Gate and about another hour and a half on highway 1 winding through Stenson Beach to Tomales Bay. The place is simple. They sell super fresh oysters from a stand and […]

They say the sun comes up every morningAnd if you listen oh so carefully The winds that ride on the high timeWhistle in melody And so the people started to sing And thats how the surf gave birth untold To California soul, California Soul– Ashford & Simpson You know what the surf all along the […]

Last month there was a gathering of sustainable purveyors in the space that use to occupy the historic Fulton Fish Market in NYC, near South Street Seaport- a place that, until recently, has held outdoor makets for New Yorkers since the 1600’s. An organization called New Amsterdam Public invited a group of local farmers, wild […]

Just got back from a 6 day jaunt around the pristine and spectacular Pacific Northwest, stopping in Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. The trip was cloudless, seamless, no accidents, no trip-ups– just good times drinking, eating, discovering, and mellowing with my friend Kristi, who gets a cookie for putting up with me through 2 states, 2 […]

tmonkey lost his mind last night. I came home from work at 10:30. The apartment was sweltering. tmonkey was walking around, sweaty, shirtless with a small knife. He mumbling something about mozzarella cheese. He had been blogging. I knew there would be trouble. “Do you know how to shuck oysters?” he asked. I told him […]

*TI went to Murray’s Cheese Shop on the way home from work today and walked out a lot lighter in the wallet. Who knew cheese could do that? One of the things that caught my eye was the package of “Burrata Di Andria”, apparently the latest import from Italy’s Puglia region that is making gastronomes […]

I’m the worst and haven’t blogged in a week– my apologies. But to make up for it, I’m going to talk about my absolute favorite restaurant in the city, the Grand Central Oyster Bar. I was introduced to this place by my dear family friends, the Hashimoto’s, when I first moved here over 4 years […]

I’ve walked by Brooklyn Fish Camp many a time, and the few times I’d tried to just “drop in” I’d been turned away either by the charming hostess or the long lines (or the hours of operation). Last night, I stumbled there, weak from low blood sugar (lunch sushi from Sunrise Mart never seems to […]

Ever since reading Aya’s “なまがき fest: Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar” post, I had been out on a mission to eat oysters. Which has since brought me to Shimokitazawa’s Jackpot Oyster Kitchen twice. There’s something perfect about celebrating pay day (which, by the way, seems to have coincided for those of you in NY and us […]