The first honest-to-goodness Philadelphian I ever met greeted me from behind a plainly planted table at 30th St. Station. Girlfriend and I had just gotten off the bus and circled the terminal in search of assurance. Spotting the phrase “Travelers Assistance,” I approached the man, who nursed a stack of unfolded maps and a nonchalant [...]
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that this blog has been alive for four years. It’s even harder to believe that in 2010 and 2009 I was able to bring on contributors from dining destinations are far-flung as Shanghai, Tokyo, Bonn, Majorca and even the American midwest. 2011 wasn’t quite as robust, since The [...]
In varying instances of hunger and maturity, I’ve wavered on the issue of deep dish pizza. I’ve never seemed to make up my mind on what makes a good one. When I was 11, Pizza Hut‘s pan pie was valued despite (because of) its orange-slicked handshake the morning after purchase. At age 18, the sweet, [...]
Chicago is Heaven on Earth for people who love dated signage, and quite possibly Hell in neon for those who don’t. Every self-respecting bar in Chicago seems to be the victim of some kind of small business moratorium on renovation, disallowed from admitting that America made it through the ’70s and convinced that the people [...]
Floridians can get surly when it comes to Key Lime Pie. I don’t blame them when bakeries across California serve too-sweet lime pies colored green and label them “Key” on menus. I’ve never tried the real thing, but breakfasts at Lois the Pie Queen have got me thinking: Maybe the best key lime pie in [...]
My latest column for Serious Eats is the first of two stories on Chicago’s Southside, where ribs come fiercely smoky and typically smothered in a barbecue sauce that is not for the meek.
I grew up in a doughnut town. As soon as I was capable of grasping a tiger tail, I relished trips to our local doughnut shop. Not just because the mixed aroma of weak coffee, fried dough and sugar was the next best thing to freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for a kid, but also [...]
For the next week, I’ll be writing short posts on the meals I enjoyed during a two-week vacation in my native California. There’s a bar in Long Beach that recognizes what every pickled egg in this country is missing: chilies. Rather than submerging its hard boiled eggs in beet-tinted brine, Joe Jost’s imbues them with [...]
For the next week, I’ll be writing short posts on the meals I enjoyed during a two-week vacation in my native California. My first hour in California runs like clockwork: Get off the plane. Find a restroom. Pick up my baggage. Drive to In-N-Out. Plenty have followed this routine for years, and plenty others have [...]
In mid-August, my great friend and epic eating comrade Boykji visited New York for a whirlwind tour of the city’s eats. The five days I spent sharing meals with Boyk reminded me of how lucky I am to live in New York, where one can literally spend hours on end walking, eating and repeating without [...]
