Po’ Boys at R&O Restaurant There is no city in the world like New Orleans. Its history, culture and cuisine truly make it a magical and captivating place. From muffuletta sandwiches at Central Grocery to oysters Rockefeller at Galatoire’s, even the most touristy restaurants are irresistible. On my last visit, I discovered a new favorite… Read More →
How to Prepare a Geoduck We go behind the scenes at last year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival to show you how to prepare the most delicious clam in the world. I often say eating geoduck is like kissing a mermaid. Try it and I guarantee you’ll agree. The giant clam can be daunting… Read More →
How to Kill a Lobster Dispatching a lobster is most likely what’s preventing you from cooking it at home, but learning the proper and most humane way to do it will make it less intimidating. I believe the most humane way to kill a lobster is to first put it in the freezer for 5… Read More →
Martina Located in Linden Hills in the old Upton 43 space—which got stripped of its sterile Scandinavian decor for a more inviting dining room modeled after traditional estancias, or Argentinian ranches—Martina may be new, but its seafood-centric menu has earned its place among the city’s great restaurants. It’s the first solo endeavor of chef Daniel… Read More →
Grand Cafe Important restaurants keep exploding all over the Twin Cities. Grand Cafe joins the list that includes Spoon & Stable, Heyday, Bellecour, Corner Table and many new to the scene like Kado No Mise and Martina, that are proof positive Minnesota is ground zero for some of the best food in America. Photograph… Read More →
Shuang Cheng Everyone knows a Chinese restaurant like this one, armed with an enormous 400-item menu that mostly caters to a Westerner’s palate. And while Shuang Cheng offers a dizzying variety of dishes, it defies the stereotype that quantity does not equal quality. I usually skip straight to the seafood page of the menu. If… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate Last Week Lucky for me, last week’s press junket for the season premiere of Bizarre Foods included lunch at Balthazar in New York City. Did I spring for the Plateau de Mer for one??? Yes, yes I did. This restaurant is one of my favorites in New York, serving French… Read More →
The Best Thing I Ate This Week By Andrew Zimmern In celebration of his latest book, Derek Dammann came down from Montreal to cook a special dinner with Jamie Bissonnette in Toro’s private dining room in New York City. The food was eclectic and lumberjack chic, with a foie gras course incorporating some devilishly delicious apple and maple… Read More →
Classic San Fran Seafood Located in the Nob Hill neighborhood, Swan Oyster Depot is more than 100 years old—an amazing feat in the restaurant business, especially considering they haven’t lost any relevancy. Get there early or expect to wait, folks start queuing up for one of the 18 counter seats before they open at 10:15am, and the… Read More →
Modern Take on the Classic Oyster Bar This is an amazing raw bar that serves a couple dozen varieties of fresh oysters and shellfish with innovative accoutrements like pickled ginger or kimchi ice. Dishes like the house-cured herring with beet ice amiably remind you that the kitchen is jamming on all cylinders and knows what it’s doing.… Read More →
Paradise Off the Coast of Panama Just 12 miles off the coast of Panama City, Isla Taboga is a tranquil tropical respite from the bustle of the rapidly growing metropolis. Hop on the ferry from Amador Causeway, take the less-than-an-hour scenic trip through the Bay of Panama to the small one-road island littered with beach shacks and leisure-seeking… Read More →
Homage to Gulf Seafood Located in the Warehouse District, just down the street from the famed pork-centric Cochon and the adjacent sandwich shop and salumeria Butcher, Pêche Seafood Grill is the newest addition to chef/restaurateur Donald Link’s growing list of praise worthy restaurants in New Orleans. The show piece of this rustic-meets-modern seafood restaurant is the… Read More →
Da Poke Shack If I could only eat one thing while visiting Hawaii, it’d have to be poke. A Hawaiian word meaning cut or slice, poke is a raw seafood salad typically made with fresh Ahi tuna. It’s refreshing, luxurious, and so simple. The best part? You don’t have to shell out the big bucks… Read More →
Recommendations for the Far Flung Faroe Islands Halfway between Iceland and Norway in the heart of the North Atlantic, the Faroe Islands have famously been described as ‘the windy edge of nowhere.’ The 50,000 Faroese who live among the 18 islands are proud descendants of a Viking culture that landed here 1,200 years ago. Centuries… Read More →
Sin City Recommendations Las Vegas is wholly intoxicating, a city dedicated to sensory overload that’s all about being the biggest and the best. And while chefs from all over the country are generating a lot of great food in glamorous settings on the Strip, you won’t be sorry if you venture off the main drag… Read More →
Tropical Retreat On the drive from Miami to Key West, you’ll pass dozens of fantastic red snapper and stone crab shacks that are worth a try. After a week of shooting the Bizarre Foods America: Florida Keys episode, or a tough year at the office, most folks want to sit on a beach for a… Read More →
#TBT I recently cleaned out my basement and stumbled upon boxes filled with literally hundreds of VHS tapes. These are just too good not to share, so this is the first in a weekly series of Throwback Thursday videos. This clip comes from a video I made all the way back in 2001 called “Simply… Read More →
Hong Kong-Style Seafood Fishman Lobster Clubhouse is the best Hong Kong-style seafood restaurant in North America. Whole king crabs, fish, eels, and massive lobsters are all cooked family-style with such finesse and in so many styles that I think about this place every day. Made from a single crustacean, the 13-pound lobster tower with chiles… Read More →
An Ode to The Sea Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, the duo behind the popular meat-centric Animal, are bringing LA gourmands a piece of their Floridian roots with the seafood studded menu at Son of a Gun. It’s a small space with a laid back vibe, a long communal table and walls covered in kitschy nautical… Read More →
An Ode to The Sea Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, the duo behind the popular meat-centric Animal, are bringing LA gourmands a piece of their Floridian roots with the seafood studded menu at Son of a Gun. It’s a small space with a laid back vibe, a long communal table and walls covered in kitschy nautical… Read More →
