I was supposed to have dinner at Bryan Voltaggio’s newest restaurant, Aggio, back when it opened, but an ice storm forced me to cancel. That an ice storm was the cause will show how early in the year this was. I wanted to try again, but life was far too busy for me to make it happen, until Saturday, when I finally had that dinner … and also the crazy idea of making it at all-Voltaggio day at the same time.

Which meant that before the evening’s meeting of the Seersucker League—aka me and Charlie Newton—first came breakfast at Family Meal and lunch at Volt. (more…)

Before heading off to Wooster last week to visit the Ohio Light Opera, I checked Yelp in search of a worthy restaurant to stop at for lunch, not wanting to rely on whatever fast-food monstrosity happened to be visible from the highway. About 2 1/2 hours out (which based on our planned departure, would be just the right time for lunch), in a little town called Acme, I found a spot called Brady’s Restaurant, which at first seemed as if it would not be a place anyone would want to eat.

There were lots of one- and two-star reviews for Brady’s on Yelp, complaining about the “terrible service,” turkey that “always tastes gamey,” and “the absolute most disgusting meatloaf ever” … but as I read on, I came across this review by Greg B.—

Good food at decent prices. If your some snooty tourist who is used to eating hormone injected slop that’s full of who know’s what, then don’t come here. The meet is locally raised and some of the fish is from right up the road. The people who own this place are decent hardworking people who give allot to local charities. The original owner was a hard working business women who employed 100’s of people in the area and never turned someone down in need. My family fell on hard times many years ago and Mrs. Brady was always willing to help us out and even brought us christmas gifts one winter when my wife passed away. The night she delivered the gifts, my children and I watched her through the candlighted window as she walked over 30 yards in her work dress through a snow drift to bring my kids a christmas ham and I’ll be damned if I will stand for some jerk with a smartphone disparage her and the business she created. This place serves good food at decent prices. IF you want something fancy, then go up the highway . The Brady’s don’t need your cash. Excuse me, you people with your bad reviews probably pay with credit cards because you spend your paycheck before it came in.

Which had me saying, I don’t care what all those other reviewers say—I’m in! (more…)

It’s been two weeks and a day since my dinner at Journeyman during Readercon, a meal which I should have shared with you sooner. Ah, Life … it does get in the way.

But since it would be unfair to the wonderful meal not to give you a few details even after this passage of time, read on.

After last year’s meal at Journeyman, I was eager to return.

And so, on Saturday night, I skipped out on the con, along with Cecilia Tan (above), David Shaw, Diane Martin, and others, for a meal that began at 8:00 p.m. and went on way past midnight. (And if I’d gotten to this sooner, I could have told you exactly when we left.) (more…)

On Friday, Irene and I drove more than 300 miles to the small town of Chilhowie, Virginia for dinner. Why? It was a celebration of sorts for the 40th anniversary of the day we met, June 24, 1974, which was when I started at Marvel Comics.

But why Chilhowie?

The New York Times asked the same question back in 2009 when chefs John Shields and Karen Urie, who’d worked at Alinea and Charlie Trotter’s, chose to open Town House there rather than launch a Las Vegas Charlie Trotter’s spin-off. And what they whipped up at Town House earned them raves from bloggers and John a nod for Best New Chef from Food & Wine.

John and Karen left Town House a few years ago in the hopes of opening a restaurant in Washington, D.C., a plan which they’re still hoping to pull off. But until then, they’ve decided to offer dinners a few nights a month—only three each in June and July, for example—at Riverstead, a beautifully renovated 1903 home on 30 acres. It’s an intimate experience, with a maximum of 14 diners per seating, I believe, and only two rooms for overnight guests.

Once we realized that the June 20th opening night was close to to the date of our anniversary—and exactly how luxurious the renovated accommodations would be—and that it would be a straight shot for us down I-81—we snapped up a reservation. (more…)

Two weeks ago, right around this time, I was in the midst of dining at the Los Gatos restaurant Manresa. I’d meant to tell you all about the meal long before now, but first I had to survive and recover from the Nebula Awards weekend, then complete my second new short story of the year, then host Geoff Landis and Mary Turzillo as they stopped here for a night on the way to Balticon, then start in on another new story. But before any more time passes, let’s get to it!

I’d made my reservation at Manresa having no idea who might join me, but sure that I’d find three other foodies at the Nebula weekend who’d want to take part. I’ve done that before with restaurants I trusted would deliver peak dining experiences, and haven’t been left with an empty seat yet. Based on what I’d been told, if I could eat only one meal in San Jose, it should be at David Kinch’s restaurant, so I knew that there’d be eager co-conspirators.

Joining me two weeks ago were Jenn Reese, her agent Barry Goldbatt (who snapped the picture above), and Jaym Gates. This was taken after we returned from our meal. Can you tell that we’re happy and satiated? Well, after spending five hours and 12 minutes at Manresa … we’d better be! (more…)

I’ve had many culinary firsts, and can easily remember them all. There was my first octopus. My first foie gras. My first meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant. My first sous vide. My first suckling pig. My first guinea pig. My first visit to a restaurant on the World’s 50 Best list. My first durian.

But a first I’ve never experienced before is visiting a restaurant run by a chef I’d originally met when he was a toddler. That took place Sunday night in Portland at Chef Gabriel Rucker’s Le Pigeon. I was supposed to dine there with Gene O’Neill, with whom I’d attended Clarion in 1979. Gene’s kids used to babysit Rucker when the families were neighbors, and I apparently met the future chef during one of my visits to Napa. Who knew that chubby cheeked kid would turn out to be a world-class chef?

I was supposed to head over to Le Pigeon with Gene the Friday night of last weekend’s World Horror Convention, but my old Clarion pal cancelled out on the con. I wasn’t going to let that stop me from hitting Le Pigeon, though, especially not after getting a look at its amazing menu. Which meant that Friday night was given over to Pok Pok, and I made Sunday reservations for Le Pigeon.

I ended up going with Ellen Datlow (who’s joined me for other fine dining outings), Portlander Leslie What (who shared a ton of local foodie tips), and Greg Chapman (an Australian with whom I co-presented this year’s Stoker for Superior Achievement in a Graphic novel).

Le Pigeon is set up for communal dining, and I was glad we arrived before the four others who were to join us, because our rectangular table narrowed as it jutted out from the wall, and if we’d been on the outside, that would have meant less room for food. And since the many dishes we ordered were large and beautifully plated, we needed all the room we could get. (more…)

Adam Richman is my favorite of all the TV food hosts. When I watched his shows Man v. Food and then Man v. Food Nation, he always seemed genuine to me, coming across as a real person rather than someone who was trying to turn himself into a brand.

And because (contrary to what some might think) I’m about more than just the sort of high-end fine dining that can be found at restaurants such as Boragó, Steirereck, and Alinea, I’ve followed in Richman’s footsteps whenever I can, which has led me to everything from the Triple Threat Pork sandwich at Slow’s BBQ in Detroit to the famous three-pound cinnamon roll at San Antonio’s Lulu’s Bakery & Cafe.

So when it came time for me to attend the World Horror Convention in Portland last weekend, I made sure to check out where Richman had gone before me. And on Saturday, that led to lunch at Big-Ass Sandwiches, which had been featured on the show Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America.

I walked a mile or so to the food truck with Claude Lalumière, making Big-Ass Sandwiches an extension of the World Horror Convention for that afternoon. And I of course ordered the sandwich that bore Adam Richman’s name—The Richwich, which consisted of slow-roasted beef, bacon and grilled onions onto a ciabatta roll with hand-cut fries, covered with homemade Bechamel cheese sauce. As you can see above, it was a helluva sandwich, and I can easily understand why it was voted “Best Sandwich in the Northwest” by The Travel Channel. (more…)

I arrived back home yesterday from a trip to Portland for this year’s World Horror Convention, which turned out to be another one of those cons at which the only programming I attended was my own plus the awards banquet. So my con experience was primarily in the hallways, at the bar, and on the streets of Portland, where I continued my quest to never, ever have to eat in a hotel restaurant. And while out and about, I always try to drag along as many friends as I can, to in effect have a con away from the con.

Friday night’s traveling con took place at Pok Pok, known for Thai food that hasn’t been diluted for American tastes, but is instead representative of what can be found in Thailand—as well as for its fish sauce wings. If you read Yelp and other foodie review sites, you’ll see the wait can often be 90 minutes to two hours, but once I noticed that parties of five or more are allowed to get reservations, I made sure to wrangle at least that many people. The group included Keffy Kehrli and some of his writer friends whom I’d never met before, so I had a chance to experience new food and new people. Perfect!

With that large a party, I was hoping we’d have an opportunity to try those famous Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings in both the regular and spicy varieties, and we did. You can probably tell the difference between the regular …

… and the spicy by color alone.

The spicy was not, as I’d expected, “OMG, my head is on fire spicy,” but enough of a wake-up call for the meal to follow. I loved them both, though, because even the default wings have a satisfyingly complex flavor. They definitely live up to their buzz. (more…)

I’ll be off early tomorrow morning for Portland, Oregon to attend the World Horror Convention, but as my friends know, sometimes it’s debatable what’s actually bringing me to a town—the con or the food. And since I’m often asked where I plan to eat while traveling, here are are my Portland foodie destinations.

Friday night’s dinner will be at Pok Pok, chef Andy Ricker’s restaurant which, according to everything I’ve heard, serves Thai food unadulterated for U.S. tastes. Per their FAQ: “We serve food found at pubs, restaurants, homes and the streets of Southeast Asia with the majority of the food coming from Thailand, and specifically from the North and Northeast of Thailand. We do not make ‘fusion’ food here; everything has been researched, eaten, and/or prepared in the country of its origin prior to being put on the Pok Pok menu.”

My number one goal will be to sink my teeth into their signature dish, Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings. They’re available regular and spicy, and I assume our party will try both. (more…)

The same night Dave Beran wins the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, Next restaurant reveals the trailer for the restaurant’s newest menu.

Dig that the size of that fortune cookie!

Next: Modern Chinese from next restaurant on Vimeo.

Ticket for Modern Chinese are now on sale.

I’ve been to five other Next iterations so far, and have enjoyed them all—yes, even Vegan—so I hope I can make it to Chicago before the restaurant morphs again in September.