A college friend of my wife’s was visiting her son in Ellicott City last weekend, and so we all planned to get together for dinner Sunday night. But where? What restaurant would have not just good food but also the right ambiance for conversation?

I knew nothing of Ellicott City, and while Yelp can help, I wanted a recommendation a little more personal—after all, I must know someone who knows someone in that area—so I threw the question out to the Twitterverse, and the Twitterverse replied—get thee to The Rumor Mill.

Based on its site, The Rumor Mill, operated by Chef Matthew Milani, offered an intriguing menu, and seemed like a good fit for folks who want to linger … plus the restaurant had just landed one of its desserts on the cover of Howard County magazine. So we were in!

The Rumor Mill is a small plates restaurant, with all dishes meant for sharing, and we started out with an assortment of olives, warmed in herbed olive oil, and sweet potato fries, tossed with cinnamon butter. I didn’t think to photograph these because, well, all olives and fries look pretty much the same, right? They ended up being excellent, but since no pic would have done them justice, missing out on the visuals doesn’t matter. The rest of the meal, however … (more…)

When Carol Pinchefsky and Keith DeCandido recently appeared on Jim Freund’s WBAI radio show Hour of the Wolf, the topic at hand was Doctor Who. However, I—along with my durian—also became a topic for discussion.

The durian discussed—along with a jackfruit—made an appearance at Readercon in 2011. And for those who don’t know what either of those fabled fruits look like, behold! Here are the very fruits which I stored in my hotel room while waiting for the Friday night “Meet the Prose” party to begin.

If you’ve no experience with either durian or jackfruit and are wondering about their size, here for contrast is a photo of me with one of the durian I brought to a Balticon several years ago. (more…)

Back in 1993, once readers had digested a few issues of Science Fiction Age, we wanted to find out what they thought of it. (And we also, as you’ll see, wanted to at the same time nudge them to re-up their subscriptions.)

So out went a questionnaire …

… resulting in a suggestion with which no one could disagree. (more…)

A new short story of mine is just out, the second this month. You can find “Things That Never Happened” in the new issue of Postscripts. It’s the fourth story of mine to be published in that hybrid magazine/anthology.

When the editors asked for a note to introduce the story, here’s what I had to say:

“We’d all like to be forgiven, and we all wish we had the capacity to forgive, but what if true forgiveness was an impossibility? Could we still find a way to grant or receive it anyway? I set up a situation to examine that theme, and came up with a scenario which many of us might someday find ourselves facing, mixed with aspects I hope none will ever have to face anywhere but in the pages of a story.”

If the thought of reading new fiction by me isn’t enough to get you to pick up the new Postscripts, then check out the full table of contents: (more…)

Early this morning, I bemoaned the fact I’d never seen a copy of the Incredible Hulk coloring book I’d written for Marvel Comics way back in the ’70s, and wasn’t even sure it had ever been published. Before noon, Paul Di Filippo pointed out that a copy was up for auction on eBay.

And in a few days, that copy will be in my hands.

Is it the same one I wrote a third of a century ago? As I peruse the scans the seller had posted in the listing, I think so. But my memories of the script are vague, and with each page containing only a few words, there’s no way I can recognize my style.

(more…)

Way back in the ’70s, around the same time I wrote those Mighty Marvel Superheroes Fun Books and The Captain Midnight Action Book for Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Sol Brodsky commissioned me to write an Incredible Hulk coloring book.

I wrote it, got paid for it … and then never heard anything about it again. I never knew whether the project had been published or abandoned. I always wondered what happened, though, because I’m a completist of my own work, and so I’d occasionally search online for any mention of the thing. I never had any success, though, and hadn’t thought about the book for years.

But then a few days ago, The Marvel Age of Comics linked to a cover over at The Vintage Toy Archive, and the mystery was over. My script for an Incredible Hulk coloring book had gotten published.

At, least … I think it was my script that got used for that 1977 coloring book. I no longer own a copy of the script, and have only vague memories of the plot. Did I write about the Hulk visiting the circus? I think I did, and seem to recall a circus, but I can’t be quite sure. It would make sense, considering the character’s history with the Ringmaster. But it could be only a false memory at this point.

No way to fully solve the mystery until I get my hands on the book itself, or find a site where someone has uploaded all the interior pages. Either of those should spark a few memories. At least I hope they would.

But considering it’s taken 33 years before I came across even this small crumb of proof, I’m not holding my breath. If you’ve got a copy and can help me out, though, let me know, OK?

Saturday night, Irene and I went to Brigadoon. Or at least … that’s how I think of it.

If you’ve been visiting here for awhile, you’ve already heard about Next, the Chicago restaurant that reinvents itself three times a year, totally changing its menu in an explorations of new cuisines. I’d already been there for Sicily, Kyoto, The Hunt, and Vegan.

I think of Next as Brigadoon because it’s here … and then gone. Unlike with other restaurants, you can’t say, oh, I’ll get there next year. Because whatever’s there now won’t be there a year from now. You’ve only approximately a three-month window in which to experience a meal, and then … it’s history.

Which is why Irene and I flew to Chicago Saturday specifically so we could experience Next’s final menu of 2013, a tribute to the Bocuse d’Or competition.

We sat at the Kitchen Table, which is the only table in the house capable of accommodating six people, and also the only one with a view of … well … the kitchen. I’ve been in the main dining room before, and loved my time there as well, but there’s something about seeing the process that’s captivating to me.

They say you should never see sausage being made, but the more I’ve eaten at restaurants with views of the kitchen, the more I feel that adage only works as a metaphor. I actually do want to see how the sausage is made. And the soufflé. And the consommé. And the pheasant … (more…)

I had a great meal Saturday night at the ever-changing Next restaurant, one which celebrated the Bocuse d’Or competition. I’ll tell you all about it later, and share plenty of pics, but first—moments ago, Next announced what its three cuisines for 2014 would be.

And here they are!

January – April 2014: Chicago Steak

We admit it—we have a love/hate relationship with steakhouses. Too often it’s just ‘meat on a plate’ without sauces and a bigger-is-better, size-trumps-all attitude.

We love a perfectly cooked, dry-aged cut of beef, marbled, juicy, & delicious. A great lobster thermidor. Perhaps a succulent shrimp cocktail, a silky bisque, simple but perfect vegetables and a few potatoes. Mix in a cocktail to start, a trophy red in the middle, and a digestif with dessert. Big music, big smiles, and a casual satisfying time for conviviality. Perfect night, right?

Next: Chicago Steak will marry the simple and delicious with wonderfully sourced ingredients, modern techniques, and an old-world vibe. Expect a party.

** please note: due to the cost of high-quality dry aged beef this menu will be priced slightly higher than previous Next menus.

May – August 2014: Chinese: Modern

What happens when a thousand year-old cuisine collides with the mind-set of culinary innovation? As China goes, so too does our Chinese Modern menu at Next.

Noodles, buns, dumplings, seafood, poultry, pork—all the basics could be covered. Chinese cuisine typically favors small portions of each dish but many bites, not unlike many of the menus at Next. But while we honor the ingredients and traditions, we will bring a unique Modernist attitude to this menu. Recognizably Chinese…. recognizably Next.

Chinese take-out anyone? You never know….

September – December 2014: Trio, January 20, 2004

Approaching the 10 year Anniversary of Alinea in 2015, our Grand Menu for the year will revisit the Tour de Force Menu that chef Achatz served on January 20, 2004.

Documented in their book Life, on the Line, the meal was the start of a conversation between Grant and Nick about building a restaurant. Barely over a year later Alinea opened.

A unique retrospective on the nascent ideas that became an identifiable cuisine… as well as a few ‘classics’ that were long ago put on the shelf, this menu will transport diners back to a great time in chef Achatz’ career. But it is hardly a museum piece. The cuisine remains vibrant, startling, and delicious.

Season tickets should go on sale soon. If you want in, keep an eye on Next’s Twitter feed and Facebook page, because scoring them ain’t so easy. (Well, unless you live online 24/7 the way I do.)

Mike Ashley, who for years has been hard at work on his multi-volume series The History of the Science Fiction Magazine—there have been four installments so far, covering 1926–1935, 1936–1945, 1946–1955, and 1956–1965—is finally into modern times, which includes Science Fiction Age, the magazine I edited from 1992-2000.

That means I spent a few weeks recently struggling to remember all I could about editing the magazine, as well as the planning that went on long before you saw the first issue, which launched at the 1992 World Science Fiction Convention in Orlando. Luckily, I didn’t have to rely entirely on memories, because when I was trying to convince Mark Hintz and Carl Gnam to choose me as the editor for their as-yet-unnamed science fiction magazine, I proactively prepared an 11-page document analyzing the periodicals market of the day and what could be our place in it, which I presented to them during our second meeting, held September 15, 1991.

I didn’t share the whole thing with Mike, nor will I share it with you—perhaps someday—but here are two excepts you might find interesting. So let’s go back more than 22 years, back to when I was hoping to persuade a couple of guys I’d only met a few days before to let me edit a new science fiction magazine for them. (A magazine which was their idea to begin with, but only a vague idea, as when they’d advertised in the Washington Post for a part-time editor they knew very little about the field, only that they perceived SF to be an underserved niche.) (more…)

From the sublime … to the ridiculous.

I read a few months back about the limited-time-only cheeseburger crust pizza that Pizza Hut was selling in the UK, which was called everything from a “horrifying creation” to “a vaguely angry coronary just waiting to happen” to “the perfect meal for those ‘I’ve given up on life’ moments.”

Well, you know what that meant. I knew that while in Brighton for the World Fantasy convention, I had to try one! (more…)