There was a time when Pino Luongo was at the top of the food chain in New York’s restaurant world.   He arrived here from his native Italy in 1981.  And after a brief stint working for other people, he opened Il Cantinori (Tel: 212 673…

 A      Adele 21 on the I-Pod     The wonderful orange and grapefruit smell of Anthony Logistics Sun Products for Men who donate a portion of their profits to Prostate Cancer Research and none, so far as we know, to Skin Cancer Research. Being…

After a day at the beach… nothing beats a dinner at Bonito Snag a table overlooking the harbor If anything captures what makes this island truly unique, it is Bonito, a new-to-us restaurant that took over what used to be called “Mandala”.  By its former…

Chef Eric Ripert        The weeknights leading up to Christmas are a time challenge to any home cook.  We all want to minimize the time it takes to get dinner on the table so that we can take care of everything else that’s…

C’est laVue! The Entrance to our Villa The front of the villa  This week I thought we’d share our trip to St. Barthelemy, in the French West Indies.  This is our 16th trip here in the last 20 years so you can probably tell that…

George Mendes outside Aldea         A while ago, we went to a then brand-new restaurant called “Aldea” at 31 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011 (Tel: 212-675-7223).  Its chef and owner, George Mendes, had the misfortune of opening at the precise moment Wall Street…

Renato (L) and Matt outside Baked in Red Hook Brooklyn         I am sure there are any number of readers who don’t believe Andrew cooks anything that isn’t from Baked, the Brooklyn bakery we’ve raved about before.  Now into their second cookbook, Baked’s founders really…

       They say that the mark of a good cook is whether they can deliver a perfect Roast Chicken.  Perfect…as  deeply juicy and tender meat covered with the crispest and crunchiest skin.  Frankly, I have never been satisfied with my Roast Chicken.  I’ve tried…

      I am always surprised at what the most popular recipes are on Chewing the Fat.  There’s no real common denominator at all.  I’d let you guess but since we are now onto post number 158, it might speed things up if I cut…

Chicago’s Stephanie Izard was the winner of the 4th Season of Top Chef.  She was the first woman to win, and thus far, the only one.  During the course of the show she won 4 Quick Fire challenges and finished at the top of elimination challenges…

Truman Capote and his ‘date’ Katherine Graham An entire book was written about Truman’s Black and White Ball  In 1966, Truman Capote was flush with success.  His ‘non-fiction novel’, the term he used to describe “In Cold Blood”, was a hit.  He decided to throw himself a…

      Quite honestly, to me ground turkey is one of life’s bigger turnoffs. In order to achieve its undoubtedly low calorie profile, every possible bit of fat has been given the heave ho leaving the cook desperate for ways to make it palatable.  Have…

Monte’s Scotch Eggs courtesy Melissa Clark’s recipe        Yes, I was at The Breslin yet again.  This time I went for dinner with friends.  Because Ms. Bloomfield has just knocked everyone’s socks off at the new John Dory Oyster Bar, on the other…

        Last winter, at a Food Writer’s boot camp, I met a woman named Leitha who was contemplating writing a blog devoted entirely to boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  After a very preliminary discussion with her boyfriend, she abandoned the project.  Apparently he told her point…