Adam D. Roberts's Blog, page 82
October 8, 2012
One-Eared Stag & Cardamom Hill
I’m writing to you now from Emory Village, a flash from the past, as I prepare to speak to Emory Students at 2 PM, sign books at the Emory Book Store at 4 PM and then hustle over to Empire State South where I’m hosting a dinner at 6:15. There are still seats available, so, Atlantans, please come! Call 404-541-1105.
Now before all of this happens, I want to tell you about two incredible meals I’ve had so far since arriving in Atlanta on Friday. Let’s start with the brunch I had yesterday with Atlanta Magazine food critic Bill Addison at the One-Eared Stag near Imman Park.
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October 4, 2012
The Porchetta Sandwich at Maialino
Sometimes going away from a city gives you permission, upon your return, to do things that you wouldn’t normally do when you lived there.
Case in point: eating alone at the bar at Maialino on a Friday night. There are a million reasons I would never have done that as a New York City resident: what if someone I know sees me? What about all the people jammed in there waiting for their tables looking at this guy, alone, reading Salman Rushdie’s article in The New Yorker? Somehow, though, my time away has made me feel like a tourist in the city I once called home…which is how I worked up the courage to walk in and ask for a seat at the bar.
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October 3, 2012
Lunch at Roberta’s
The first time that I went to Roberta’s in Bushwick it was in the middle of winter and they seated us next to a swinging door which produced an arctic blast anytime a server or a customer swung it open. We sat in our winter coats, shivering, and huddling around a heater in between courses. It was a memorable, if not quite ideal, dining experience.
Things were warmer and better at Roberta’s last week, when I ate lunch there before appearing on Michael Harlan Turkell’s Heritage Radio Network show, “The Food Seen” (which is recorded on the Roberta’s complex).
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Book Tour Updates
A few updates to share about my book tour (which starts on Friday when I fly to Atlanta!). New Yorkers: you can RSVP here on Facebook for the Greenlight Bookstore event with Amanda Hesser and Jonathan Waxman that’s happening a week from today (10/10). Also, because the first Eataly event sold out, there’ll be a 2nd event on November 9th that you can sign up for here. If you’re in L.A., you can make reservations for the 10/15 Mozza dinner here. And if you’re in San Francisco, you can sign up for the Tartine Afterhours event on 10/17 here. Excited to meet you all soon!
October 2, 2012
Amanda Cohen’s Dirt Candy Cookbook (A Video Interview)
My friend Amanda Cohen, chef at Dirt Candy in New York’s East Village, has a pretty incredible cookbook out right now called, appropriately enough, Dirt Candy. The remarkable thing about the book is that it’s in a graphic novel format, so there are drawings and speech balloons and little boxes and exclamations and all of that good stuff you expect to see in a graphic novel. What’s great is how this format enhances the experience of reading a cookbook…the combination of text and imagery carries the points home further so the various techniques described (sweating, reducing, etc.) are made incredibly clear. Today I popped into Dirt Candy to sit down with Amanda to chat about the book, how it came about, how she wrote it in this format, and to get the dirt on some of the stories she tells (about Iron Chef, for example). Thanks Amanda for taking the time to talk to me and congrats on your awesome new book!
October 1, 2012
Where Do You Escape For A Romantic Dinner?
Sometimes the most romantic restaurants are the ones that don’t present themselves as romantic restaurants. Other times, you want all of the trappings of a romantic dinner spot, Lady and the Tramp style. In my life, I tend to avoid traditionally romantic restaurants on occasions where romance is expected (Valentine’s Day, our anniversary). Instead, I just think of those days as opportunities to splurge on a nice meal, regardless of venue. And sometimes that decision comes back to bite me: cerebral food in a sterile environment does not a romantic dinner make. So, when I make up my mind to turn up the dial on romance, these are the restaurants that totally do the trick.
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September 28, 2012
Casellula, Maison Kayser & Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria
You may not be surprised to learn that when it comes to what I eat, at any given moment, I can be a bit of a control freak. In fact I have a theory that most food people are control freaks: what better way to control what goes into your body than to become an expert on the subject? It’s rare to find a food person grabbing handfuls of snack food willy-nilly off a snack cart. Give a food person the opportunity to select his or own snack from a larger selection and a careful decision will be rendered. That makes us discerning, but also kind-of obnoxious in terms of going with the flow.
So lately, I’ve been going with the flow. The other night I met my friend Lauren for dinner and when she suggested a restaurant I’d never heard of–Casellula off 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen–I said “sure.” Turns out that’s the best decision I’ve made in a long time.
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September 27, 2012
The Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl
The other night, I cooked (well, chopped) for the first time in the apartment where I’m staying on the Upper East Side. Since I was cooking for just myself, I figured a salad was the right move. There was a cucumber, there was a box of cherry heirloom tomatoes, half of a red onion (sliced thin), a red pepper and a yellow pepper. The dressing had balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and olive oil. At the end, I crumbled blue cheese over everything. It was a good salad.
Only, while I was making it, I found it frustrating that the garbage can was a tiny one under the sink. I didn’t want to have to swivel and pull out the can to make the top go up ever time I wanted to throw away an onion peel or red pepper seeds. Which is when I recalled the famous Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl.
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September 26, 2012
The Food Seen
Yesterday was a real thrill for me because for the first time since finishing the cookbook, I got to talk all about what’s inside it with Michael Harlan Turkell on his Heritage Radio Network Show The Food Seen. Click that link to hear how the book came together, how the chefs were selected, which recipes are my favorites and my fantasy for what the next book might be. Thanks, Michael, for having me on!
September 25, 2012
Smorgasburg
It’s impossible to write about Williamsburg without using the word “hipster.” I’ll do my best.
On Saturday, I joined my friends Patty and Lauren and their gorgeous new baby Audra for a trip to the land of the bespeckled and heavily tattooed to consume hand-crafted foods along the water. This event, known as Smorgasburg, was something that just started as I left for L.A. last year. It’s got a lot to recommend it: fall weather, beautiful views, and some of the best food you can eat outside of a restaurant in New York.
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