The final meal of my NYC trip—following Ukrainian with Ellen Datlow, BBQ with Craig Engler, and deli with Barry Malzberg—took place on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village at Café Reggio, which opened in 1927, and was apparently the first cafe in the U.S. to serve cappuccino. It’s also famous for its on-screen appearances, so you’d recognize the place if you’ve ever seen such films as The Godfather Part II, Shaft, and Serpico.

The venue was suggested by this episode’s guest, who happens to be a long-time resident of Greenwich Village—science fiction and fantasy writer Richard Bowes, who’s a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, and who has also won the International Horror Guild Award as well as the Lambda Award. That photo of him below is not from Café Reggio, however, but rather from the nearby New York Frost Factory, where we went in search of something sweet after the recording.

We discussed his early career as a designer of board games for clients like National Lampoon, why “going to conventions sober is beyond me,” the political transformation of Li’l Abner creator Al Capp, why everyone during the old folk scene days loathed Bob Dylan, what attracts him about writing mosaic novels, and more.

But before giving this episode a listen, remember—if the two-week wait between last episode and this one seemed a little too long for you, you can help me get to the point where I can increase the show’s usual frequency by making a small recurring monthly donation over at Patreon. (Or, if you’d prefer, making a one-time donation via Paypal.me.) I won’t be able to pick up the pace on my own, not with the travel, bandwidth, and meal costs associated with the show, so I’d appreciate your support as I attempt to capture all the amazing creators out there.

And now—here’s how you can dive into pugliese with Richard Bowes—

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Here’s what we dined on that night in New York—

Campagnola

Pugliese

Shaved Ice

Coming up in two weeks on Eating the Fantastic (perhaps earlier if we miraculously hit that first Patreon goal, which I know is highly unlikely in that timeframe) will be a lunch with Rosemary Claire Smith, who has published multiple science fiction stories—as well as multiple guest editorials—in Analog. I hope you’ll join us.

And thanks, as always, for listening.