Treasure Found As our family drove down a perfectly straight highway that seemed to extend to infinity, the sky was movie-set blue and the clouds felt like a 3D Charmin ad. My wife, Sandy, and I were nearing Santa Fe when our daughters, Maya and Talia, otherwise known as M&T, noticed ominous dark clouds in … Continue reading Treasure Found
The morning of September 11, 2001, I was living in Los Angeles. I didn’t have a TV or the internet, but I did have a small Nokia cell phone. When I saw that my company’s administrative assistant left me a voicemail at 6:30 AM, I knew something was wrong. She, like many who’ve spent their … Continue reading Roll With the Punches
My father was 8 years old when Russian authorities invaded his town in Poland, murdered his father, and shipped most of the family — my dad, his mother, and 3 of his 4 siblings — off on a train. Stuffed in a car with many other families, they began a days-long journey without food or … Continue reading Out of the Woods
Here’s a little secret for those who don’t know me very well: I’ve never been crazy about New York City. I grew up and attended college in Syracuse and spent my first 6 years out of school in Los Angeles. When I moved to NYC for grad school, it was supposed to be temporary. I … Continue reading New York
A hot and crowded train station in Florence, Italy. It’s 1997. There’s no such thing as social media, email barely exists, and cell phones are mainly for the rich. Ten days ago in Amsterdam, I made plans to meet my friend Elliot here at noon, but it was a long shot either of us would … Continue reading The Old World
The discovery of a new favorite wine, grape, or region can happen at any time or place, and it often occurs when you least expect it. For some, it happens at a fancy restaurant. For others, in a beautiful vineyard. With me, it all started in a sewer. Let me back up. In 2004, I … Continue reading All the World’s a Pub
Note: the below post was a guest blog I wrote for Morrell & Company Wines Wine gets better with age. Everyone knows that, right? I mean, growing up the only bottles I ever saw were Manischewitz and — later — Boone’s, yet somehow I feel like I’ve known this since the day I was born. … Continue reading A Matter of Maturity
Note: the below post was a guest blog I wrote for Morrell & Company Wines. Which one of these is not like the others? Good wine Sophisticated food Stimulating conversation Young children I love my kids. More than anything. But, I also love entertaining. And, sometimes the former makes the latter just a tad more … Continue reading A Perfect–Imperfect Balancing Act
In the cold winter months, cooking can quickly become redundant. Fresh produce on this side of the country is practically non-existent during this time, and as much as I love my proteins, I can only eat steak, chicken, or fish so many times in a given week. So, it is a rare but welcome moment … Continue reading Eleven Madison Park: Venison with Beets
Sea Urchin. AKA Uni. The gonads of this spiny echinoderm have been a delicacy in Japan and parts of the Mediterranean for years. In the past decade, however, uni has become such a trendy culinary product that it’s now difficult and expensive to track down a good source. I prefer Santa Barbara uni, which tends … Continue reading Battersby: Spaghetti with Chile and Sea Urchin
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