Cebu-Style Lechon Nearly 10 percent of Jersey City’s population is Filipino, and with more than 40,000 new Filipino immigrants arriving in this country every year, the city’s Pinoy population is growing, dynamic and still very tied to the traditions and tastes of their homeland. I love Filipino food. The post-colonial cuisine combines the best of South… Read More →
Perfect Peking Duck By Bob & Sue In between our memorable meals at Alinea and Grace, we enjoyed Sun Wah’s perfectly prepared Peking duck with soft buns. This informal north side neighborhood restaurant attracts large crowds of appreciative diners who also enjoy the delicious egg rolls, barbecued pork, and Singapore style rice noodles. Contact 5039 N Broadway Chicago, IL… Read More →
Indulge in the City of Light The French take their food very seriously. This is the country that created the tasting menu, doesn’t believe in low fat, and treats pastries as a kind of religion. Here are my favorite restaurants and hotels in Paris, from old school French bistros and Michelin-starred dining to casual spots… Read More →
Carnivorous Bliss Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook are rockstars of the Los Angeles food scene. The chefs co-own and operate two of LA’s most exciting eateries – Animal, where meat is the main course, and Son of a Gun where they channel their Floridian roots and focus on seafood (they also recently opened Trois Mec… Read More →
Paris’ Most Coveted Reservation By Bob & Sue This 25-seat restaurant is one of Paris’ most desired reservations and special dining experiences. At L’Astrance, Pascal Barbot’s creativity is evident in every course including the langoustine with bone marrow, poached oyster and Kombu jelly, a razor clam and veal tartare with bergamot foam and spring garlic,… Read More →
Paris’ Most Coveted Reservation By Bob & Sue This 25-seat restaurant is one of Paris’ most desired reservations and special dining experiences. At L’Astrance, Pascal Barbot’s creativity is evident in every course including the langoustine with bone marrow, poached oyster and Kombu jelly, a razor clam and veal tartare with bergamot foam and spring garlic,… Read More →
Home Sweet Home I was born and raised in New York City. I love going back to my hometown. There is an energy in the city like no other, and it is home to the best food scene in the world. I could list amazing places to check out in NYC for days, but here… Read More →
Stellar Nepalese Cuisine Located inside the roti bakery Tawa Foods in Jackson Heights, Dhaulagiri Kitchen is a closet-sized eatery with only a half dozen seats, but it serves the best Nepalese food I’ve ever had. I’d put this family’s food up against any white-tablecloth restaurant in America, based on the astounding number of techniques and complex… Read More →
Preserving Eastern European Heritage Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company is an iconic Twin Cities restaurant and deli, serving Eastern European sausages and comfort classics for more than 50 years. The Kramarczuk family’s story is an ultimate immigrant success story. Wasyl and Anna Kramarczuk moved to the United States to escape war-torn Europe in 1949. In the 50s,… Read More →
A New York City Classic J. G. Melon is my favorite bar burger, bar none. All the fancy stuff can come and go, but this is the burger I grew up on, and it holds a special place in my heart. The restaurant may be adorned in watermelon decor and the service can be iffy,… Read More →
My Hometown I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for over a couple of decades now, and I couldn’t be more proud to call it my adopted hometown. Not only is it a beautiful city, but it has an incredible food scene, a passion for the arts, and it is filled with wonderful people. Since I… Read More →
The World’s Best Bread Buried deep under Paris’ ancient streets, you’ll find the baking and proofing rooms of Poilâne Bakery. Since opening in 1932, this place has become a staple in the city and beyond, known for their incredible pain au levain. Frank Sinatra and Lauren Bacall were huge fans in their day, and Salvador Dali… Read More →
Recipes of a Modern Jewish Delicatessen While a few highly-regarded delis are still going strong (Katz’s Delicatessen and Barney Greengrass in NYC, and Toronto’s Caplansky’s are at the top of my list), authentic Jewish delis are a dying breed in the United States. But, as artisan meats (charcuterie!), breads and cheeses are becoming a trend-setting staple… Read More →
A Tough Reservation, But Totally Worth It. After culinary school, French chef Gregory Marchand honed his skills in New York, Hong Kong and Spain. A few years ago, he returned to his homeland and opened Frenchie (a nickname he earned while staging at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in London) in an out-of-the-way alley in the second… Read More →
Going Green in Cleveland At chef Jonathon Sawyer’s flagship Cleveland restaurant, The Greenhouse Tavern, he’s serving incredible French-inspired bistro fare made with local, seasonal ingredients. Not only is he a committed locavore, he’s also running Ohio’s first green certified restaurant, meaning he and his team focus on using recyclables (reclaimed wood paneling and concrete bar tops… Read More →
Doyenne of Fine Dining By Bob & Sue Anne Sophie Pic is hitting her stride as one of France’s finest chefs, fully earning her designation as the only female 3-star Michelin chef in France. Our recent meal there with Burgundy winemaker Alex Gambal was made memorable by a number of stunning courses: poached langoustines in… Read More →
The Story of Houston Food At Houston’s acclaimed Underbelly, chef Chris Shepherd (a 2013 Food & Wine Best New Chef) celebrates the city’s ethnic diversity and unique, underutilized local ingredients. His food, which he calls “New American Creole,” is heavily influenced by the Vietnamese, Indian, Thai, Korean and Mexican communities that make the city such… Read More →
Amazing Barbecued Pig Snoots Otis and Earline Walker first opened Smoki O’s in the Soulard Market in 1997. The barbecue carryout joint known for incredible pig snouts and rib tips soon gained a following, outgrew its market stall and moved to its current home in north St. Louis, just a few minutes from downtown. Pig… Read More →
The Ultimate Japanese Kaiseki Meal By Bob & Sue One of Tokyo’s greatest Michelin 3 star chefs, Hideki Ishikawa features a creative tasting menu with natural umami savory flavors in every course. Among the many highlights were an unusual mackerel dumpling soup made from the bones and head of the fish, accented by ginger and… Read More →
Killer Mutton Barbecue When Catherine and Pappy Bosley bought Moonlite Bar-B-Q back in 1963 it was just a small roadside restaurant. Four generations later, the family-run company has grown to a multi-million dollar empire, churning out thousands of pounds of mutton for the successful 350-seat restaurant and huge catering business. From the bone-in ribs to… Read More →
Celebrating New England Flavors Chef-owners Matt and Kate Jennings of Farmstead, Inc. have a sincere passion for New England’s culinary heritage. They’re committed to procuring only the best local ingredients for their modern seasonal cuisine, from hand-milled Rhode Island corn polenta, to oysters and sustainable seafood from Narragansett Bay. Matt tailors his dynamic menu to… Read More →
Pit-Smoked Perfection Open since 1984, Miss Myra’s serves real hickory-smoked barbecue, cooked in a custom-built brick pit, alongside a killer line-up of homemade Southern desserts. It’s still a family-run restaurant and a favorite with locals, with fantastic chicken, ribs, pulled pork, legendary “white sauce” and a slew of home-style sides such as green beans, coleslaw,… Read More →
Everything’s Made From Scratch Nick Pihakis and his father, Jim, opened the first Jim ‘N Nick’s barbecue joint more than 25 years ago in Birmingham, Alabama. Known for a commitment to quality and an everything-made-from-scratch philosophy, the barbecue chain has now grown to more than 30 restaurants. Barbecue purists may scoff at the idea of a multi-unit… Read More →
Masters of Xi’an Cuisine Jason Wang of Xi’an Famous Foods fame is a phenomenal young entrepreneur. The family-run Chinese food empire is a result of an amazing combination of old world techniques – David Shi, the father, is a great chef from China who opened the first Xi’an Famous Foods in the Flushing mall in… Read More →
A Taste of Provence in Cajun Country During the Bizarre Foods America Third Coast shoot, I loved hanging out with my buddy John Besh doing all things duck at La Provence, his acclaimed restaurant located just north of New Orleans on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. At this day-trip-worthy French eatery, Besh and chef Erick Loos… Read More →
Cantonese Dim Sum Dating back more than 120 years, Honolulu’s Chinatown is reportedly the oldest in the United States, and it’s teaming with fantastic Chinese snack shops, bakeries, markets and restaurants. This neighborhood is energized by new waves of immigration and enriched by the prolific bounty of the South Seas. For old-school Cantonese dim sum,… Read More →
Hot on Hot Some of the best Chinese food near Los Angeles can be found east of the city in the San Gabriel Valley, where several restaurants specialize in Hunanese cuisine (located in South Central China, the Hunan Province is a large source of immigration to the city). Hunan dishes are known for their mouth-numbing… Read More →
The Cuisine of Xi’an China’s Shaanxi Province is known for its terra cotta army, built in the 11th century B.C. in the city of Xi’an (one of the oldest cities in China), as well as for its lamb- and noodle-heavy cuisine. At Shaanxi Gourmet, just east of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, you’ll… Read More →
Contemporary Comfort Food Chef Kevin Willmann’s adventurous take on comfort food, combined with his locavore philosophy, make Farmhaus one of the St. Louis’ top dining destinations. The Illinois-born chef spent his formative cooking years in the Florida panhandle, and his ever-changing menu marries his Midwestern roots and Southern cooking influences. Think roast turkey with chive spaetzle,… Read More →
Honest Northwestern Cuisine Chef Jenn Louis and her husband, David Welch, opened Lincoln on North Williams in 2008, with a focus on simple, ingredient-driven cuisine. Her ever-changing menu is full of made-from-scratch specialties that highlight seasonal produce from the Pacific Northwest, most of which comes from local farms and purveyors. On my visit to Lincoln,… Read More →
