The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2017 were announced earlier today, and it turns out I’ve been to seven of them, one fewer than off the 2016 list. But that’s only because Chef René Redzepi shuttered Noma, which held the #1 spot back when I had my birthday dinner there in 2015. You’ll find my reactions to those seven meals here, as well as a write-up of Manresa, which came in at #90.

My reaction to this year’s list is—man, do I need to get to Spain!

Also—I really must go back to Eleven Madison Park. For—as you’ll see if you read my linked review below—while the food was flawless during my visit, I felt the presentation and ambience had been harmed by an overreaction on the part of the restaurant to a then-recent negative review. (At least, that’s my interpretation of what I experienced here.) Now that time has passed and that year’s historical NYC menu is no more, I hope to encounter the restaurant anew.

Here’s the full 2017 list:

1. Eleven Madison Park (New York City)
2. Osteria Francescana (Modena, Italy)
3. El Celler de Can Roca (Girona, Spain)
4. Mirazur (Menton, France)
5. Central (Lima)
6. Asador Etxebarri (Axpe, Spain)
7. Gaggan (Bangkok)
8. Maido (Lima)
9. Mugaritz (Errenteria, Spain)
10. Steirereck (Vienna, Austria)
11. Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Pocantico Hills, New York)
12. L’Arpège (Paris)
13. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée (Paris)
14. Restaurant Andre (Singapore)
15. Piazza Duomo (Alba, Italy)
16. D.O.M. (São Paulo)
17. Le Bernardin (New York City)
18. Narisawa (Tokyo)
19. Geranium (Copenhagen)
20. Pujol (Mexico City)
21. Alinea (Chicago)
22. Quintonil (Mexico City)
23. White Rabbit (Moscow)
24. Amber (Hong Kong)
25. Tickets (Barcelona)
26. The Clove Club (London)
27. The Ledbury (London)
28. Nahm (Bangkok)
29. Le Calandre (Rubano, Italy)
30. Arzak (San Sebastian, Spain)
31. Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen (Paris)
32. Attica (Melbourne)
33. Astrid y Gastón (Lima)
34. De Librije (Zwolle, Netherlands)
35. Septime (Paris)
36. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (London)
37. Saison (San Francisco)
38. Azurmendi (Larrabetzu, Spain)
39. Relae (Copenhagen)
40. Cosme (New York City)
41. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet (Shanghai)
42. Boragó (Santiago, Chile)
43. Reale (Castel Di Sangro, Italy)
44. Brae (Birregurra, Australia)
45. Den (Tokyo)
46. L’Astrance (Paris)
47. Vendôme (Cologne, Germany)
48. Restaurant Tim Raue (Berlin)
49. Tegui (Buenos Aires)
50. Hof Van Cleve (Kruishoutem, Belgium)

I doubt my travels will allow me to hit any additional restaurants off this list during 2017—none from either Helsinki or St. Petersburg are present after all—but perhaps 2018 will be kinder toward me.

If everything had gone according to plan, you would have heard an episode of Eating the Fantastic recorded at Convivial, a restaurant in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., last February with guest Tom Doyle in Episode 4. But reservations were hard to come by, because the spot was #5 on Tom Sietsema’s list of the Top 10 restaurants in The Washington Post’s 2016 Fall Dining Guide and #9 on Eater’s Winter 2017 list of The 38 Essential D.C. Restaurants.

One year later, though, I had better luck, and so was joined there by Sunny Moraine, who has published short fiction in Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Apex, Uncanny, Lightspeed, and other magazines, as well as many novels, and was dubbed in Locus Online to be the most promising author of 2013.

We discussed the best writing advice they’ve heard, how being named the most promising author of 2013 messed with their mind, their favorite Ray Bradbury story (which is one of their all-time favorite stories period), why they write Walking Dead fan fiction, the contradictions of writing a breakout book, how they decided their trilogies were meant to be trilogies, and more. (They refused, however, to tell me for whom the bell actually tolls or why birds suddenly appear every time you’re near.) Plus—I reveal how Tim Burton prevented me from eating a perfect sticky toffee pudding!

Here’s how you can get convivial with us— (more…)

I love Momofuku Noodle Bar, but it’s in Manhattan, 275 miles away.

I love Momofuku Shoto, but it’s even further away, more than 400 miles, and on top of that, it’s on the other side of the Canadian border.

So when Chef David Chang expanded his empire to Washington, D.C. which only requires a minor rather than a major road trip, I was thrilled. I’ve made several visits to the new Momofuku CCDC since it opened, and knew that when it came time to record an episode of Eating the Fantastic with Rosemary Claire Smith—who was part of my 2013 Franklin BBQ expedition—this was definitely the place.

Rosemary has published multiple science fiction stories—plus multiple guest editorials—in Analog. And between the time we recorded this episode and you’ll be hearing it, she’s received an additional recognition from the magazine, and has become an AnLab Awards finalist.

We discussed why she can’t seem to stop writing about dinosaurs, how her years as a lawyer helped her become a better writer, what caused an angry audience member to confront her after one of her readings, whether she’d be willing to risk Ray Bradbury’s butterfly effect by traveling back in time, if there are editorial differences between Analog editors Stanley Schmidt and Trevor Quachri, and much more.

But before you give this episode listen, remember—if you’d like episodes of Eating the Fantastic to come at you more frequently, you can help me achieve that goal by making a small recurring monthly donation over at Patreon. Check it out!

And now—here’s how you can share the ramen— (more…)

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— (more…)

My trip to Manhattan to record episodes of Eating the Fantastic started off with Ellen Datlow and a Ukrainian lunch, followed by Craig Engler and a BBQ dinner. And now, at the request of this episode’s guest, it’s time for deli at Ben’s New York Kosher Delicatessen.

My guest loves Ben’s more than any other NYC deli, and who am I to turn down Barry N. Malzberg, who among other things, was winner of the first John W. Campbell Award for his novel Beyond Apollo, and both a Hugo and Nebula Award finalist for stories I published when I was the editor of Science Fiction Age magazine?

One unusual aspect to this episode is that it features as mere onlooker a writer deserving of his own episode someday—Paul Di Filippo, who felt compelled to come along and witness this recording. After all, the first of his more than 100 published stories was a Malzberg homage!

Barry and I discussed why being able to sell his first drafts was so important at the beginning of his writing career, how his debut short story collection came to be published under the pseudonym K. M. O’Donnell, what it was like to edit both Amazing and Fantastic magazines during the late ’60s, the identity of his greatest discovery during his years at the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, what’s up with the long-promised movie version of Beyond Apollo, how Harry Harrison could have (but didn’t) shut down the filming of Soylent Green, and more.

Here’s how you can nosh with us— (more…)

When I moved out of New York more than 30 years ago, there was no such thing as authentic BBQ there. (Well, as far as I knew. Feel free to prove me wrong.) But all that’s changed, as my visits to such places as Hometown Bar-B-Que and BrisketTown show. So when this episode’s guest recommended we record at John Brown Smokehouse, which Eater has called “the most faithful rendition of Kansas City-style barbecue in NYC,” I was so in.

My guest for this 28th episode of Eating the Fantastic is my former Syfy boss of more than 13 years, Craig Engler, who’s now the Co-Creator/Writer/Co-Executive Producer of the hit zombie TV show Z Nation, which was recently renewed for a fourth season on Syfy. (And would you like to see me taking a bullet in the head for Craig? Of course you would!)

Join us as we discuss what life’s like when you’re a professional game player for Nintendo, how running the Syfy Channel’s digital side led to him getting a shot at writing TV movies such as Zombie Apocalypse, why he wrote Weight Hacking, his geek guide to losing weight and getting fit, plus much more, including behind-the-scenes secrets on the past, present, and future of his hit zombie TV show Z Nation.

Here’s how you can share the BBQ— (more…)

My wife has been attending the New Jersey Romance Writers Convention for decades, and for many years, I’ve been tagging along, using that trip as an excuse to head into Manhattan and hang with friends. The most recent trip was different from all the rest, though, in that now, I have a podcast (one which you can help grow bigger and better via your Patreon support), which means you can eavesdrop on all those lunches and dinners.

This first to be recorded this visit took place at the Ukranian restaurant Veselka, which turns out more than 3,000 pierogi each day, and has been around since 1954. My guest that afternoon was editor Ellen Datlow, who for more than 35 years has brought readers amazing stories in magazines such as Omni, on sites such as SCI FI Fiction, and in anthologies such as Fearful Symmetries, The Doll Collection, and more than 90 others.

We discussed why reading slush is relaxing, which editors she wanted to emulate when she began editing, how she winnows down her favorite stories for her Year’s Best anthologies, the complexities of navigating friendships when making editorial decisions, how Ed Bryant challenged her to become a better editor, and much more.

Here’s how you can listen in on our conversation— (more…)

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first Eating the Fantastic episode of 2017—which also happens to be the first episode recorded at an Uzbek restaurant. My guest and I snuck away from the Gaithersburg, Maryland convention Capclave one night for dinner at Silk Road Choyhona, where we feasted on plov, dimlama, and a variety of other delicacies.

My guest this episode is James Morrow, whose novels and short stories have won him multiple Nebula and World Fantasy Awards, as well as the Prix Utopia for life achievement from the French Utopiales International Festival.

His most recent novel, Galapagos Regained, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2015. His next will be The Asylum of Dr. Caligari, coming June 2017 from Tachyon Publications.

We discussed his first novel (written when he was only seven years old!), why he feels more connected to the fiction of Arthur C. Clarke than that of Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, his many paths not taken, including that of filmmaker, the ethical conundrum which occurred after Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. autographed a book “for Jim Morrow, who writes just like me,” how Charles Darwin “confiscated our passports,” and much more.

Here’s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation— (more…)

For the 25th episode of Eating the Fantastic—which is also the final episode of 2016—my guest and I brunched at Aggio during a break from the Baltimore Book Festival. Aggio is a restaurant from Chef Bryan Voltaggio which the Baltimore City Paper recently dubbed as offering the Best Modern Italian in town.

I’d eaten at Aggio before, but that was when it was still a pop-up within a different Voltaggio restaurant, Range, in Friendship Heights—where, by the way, I recorded an earlier episode of Eating the Fantastic with Carolyn Ives Gilman, which I hope you’ll be moved to download for dessert once you’re done with the entree of this episode.

My guest for this meal was the always entertaining Nalo Hopkinson, winner of the 1999 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. And she’s more than lived up to the promise of that award, winning the World Fantasy Award for her short story collection Skin Folk, as well as winning the Sunburst Award, the Prix Aurora Award, and many others. Plus her novel, Sister Mine, won my own personal award for being one of my favorite novels of 2013.

Over gazpacho and fried chicken cacciatore, we discussed how knowing Nobel Prize winner Derek Wolcott when she was young affected her future, why Samuel R. Delany’s The Motion of Light in Water is “a lifesaving book,” the Lemonade Award, which she launched to encourage generosity within the science fiction community, that time she cosplayed as Lt. Uhura at her first convention, and much more.

Here’s how you can take a seat at the table— (more…)

There are very few things which would cause me to drive two hours to a casino on its opening day—but one of those very few things was in play yesterday, because I’d managed to reserve a table for the opening service of Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse, the first collaboration between Bryan Voltaggio, whose hospitality I’ve experienced many times before at Volt, Range, and Family Meal, and his brother Michael, who’s made his name on the West Coast, and is therefore an unknown entity to my palate.

As you know, I love being present as a restaurant begins—I was also at the opening nights of both Range and Pineapples and Pearls—but as it turned out, there were issues surrounding this particular opening we hadn’t anticipated.

Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse isn’t a standalone restaurant, but rather one within the MGM Grand National Harbor casino, which proved so crowded once its doors opened that within an hour, it had reached capacity, and the venue began advising folks via its Twitter feed that perhaps they should consider coming by some other time. (more…)