26 lb lamb on a motorized spit, baby; my neighbors know what’s up.

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I was fortunate, and very flattered, to be featured in the 2013 Edible Manhattan “Alcohol Issue.”  Huge thanks to the Edible team for including me, and especially to Joshua David Stein, who wrote such a great piece. (And, yes, I really was slapped by Liev Schreiber every night on stage for a summer…but JDS left […]

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I’ll be writing a monthly column for Nation’s Restaurant News called “Raising the Bar.” A pic of my first print piece:

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Wine vs Beer: The United States Battle Tuesday, January 29th, 7:00 pm (menu below) Wine vs Beer: The International Throw-Down Tuesday, February 12th, 7:00 pm (menu below) Scholars and historians tell us that ales are the oldest alcoholic beverages produced by man (although some Mead fanatics may dispute that….but who cares about those Viking-loving heathens). […]

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Ask an Insider is an interview series that talks to the people that make, serve, shake, sip, pump, pour, crush, distill, and bring life to this industry.  (For other interviews in the series, click the Ask an Insider tag at the bottom) Carla Rzeszewski, Wine Director The Spotted Pig, The Breslin & The John Dory […]

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One of my English relatives is known for his famous Vodka Christmas Cake.  While the exact creator is unknown (and an undisputed genius in the kitchen), I was able to liberate the recipe from his guarded lair.  And lucky for us, fair readers, it was fresh in his mind as he, “Made mine this morning!!!!” […]

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After months of curious gawkers cruising the windows and hypothesizing on the local blogs as to what exactly this massive project would bloom into, the Strand Smokehouse opened on Broadway in Astoria this weekend. In a former Blockbuster space that really shouldn’t have surprised anyone when it went out of business last year (although I […]

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At long last, Astoria now has a craft beer retail shop it can be proud of.  (No offense, Euro Market, you do have quite a fine selection of craft beers, but I’m convinced some of your offerings have been on the shelf since Clinton was President). But not just a retail shop: it’s also a […]

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My brother and I rolled into Peconic, NY, yesterday to our wee getaway house on the North Fork of Long Island.  After getting the recommendation from Mike Mraz at the North Fork Table and Inn, we hit up the Southold Fish Market and began our grill brigade. Above is a picture of Phase 1: Scallop, […]

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Slower | Start | Faster To see the full size images, you need to enable javascript in your browser. These awesome pics, by Gabi Porter, are of our recent Manhattan Cocktail Classic event at Hearth: From Farm to Still:  NY Spirits and NY Roast Pig.  65 people.  4 courses.  520 Cocktails.  In 2 hours. Huge […]

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What’s the date today?  Really?  Wow.  Where did the week go?  Oh, right.  We’re opening a new wine bar in the next few days…on a railroad track…in the sky…but more on that later. In the meantime, I must close up some loose ends for the Manhattan Cocktail Classic because it went more beautifully than a […]

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Mark your calendars, people. Rally the homebrew club.  Cancel your weekend gambling trip to Macao.  Request the day off from work…hell, request two days off from work.  Cause it’s about to be ON. Four days from now, it’s time to stand up for the craft beer cause.  Time to declare your independence from the mass-produced […]

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Stoked to hear, hot off the presses of the Beard Foundations Twitter account, that my boss/colleague/compatriot/rebel-rouser/mentor/fearless maniac, Paul Grieco, just won the 2012 James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional. This is awesome, well-deserved news for me and all the other glorious misfits that call Hearth & Terroir home.  Well done, Paul. […]

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One year ago today, Kat and I donned backpacks and boarded a plane to Paris.   What followed was a 93-day journey which wound us through Europe, with only wine and beer as our compass.  8 countries, 34 hotels, 9 rental cars…and 3 years of dreaming.  Like ants in a newly-begun ant farm, we forged our […]

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It’s truly amazing how much work goes into opening a restaurant. Having now worked on the operations side of things for four years, I’m still amazed by this.  And even more amazed how the guests on the other side of the bar have no idea what this process entails.  The thought of someone thinking, “Oh, […]

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