Recipe Sketchbook: Barbecue Pork Banh Mi Sandwich

Hosting a picnic for about twenty people, I needed to come up with a few sandwich ideas.  Sandwiches that would be big taste ‘bang’ for the buck, that people would like and, most importantly, that I was interested in making.  Immediately I thought of the Vietnamese Banh Mi.  One of my all-time favorite foods.  but [...]

In Line at Starbucks: Brand Interaction Dunkin’ Donuts Can Learn From

If you are a westerner with a pulse you have most probably been in a Starbucks.  With its over 11,000 stores in the US alone, Starbucks has grown to become the assumed go-to location when someone says, “let’s get a coffee”.  In fact, they might even say ‘I want a Starbucks”.  Very few brands can [...]

Restaurant Naming: Jonathan Benno’s Hype Meets Reality

On May 25th the New York Times reported that chef Jonathan Benno’s new restaurant being built at Lincoln Center for the Patina Restaurant Group did not yet have a name.
The next morning I sent a letter to Nick Valenti, head of Patina with a suggestion for a name I thought would be fitting for the new [...]

Restaurant (Week) Review: Dovetail

Another chapter of New York Restaurant Week has begun.  And with that another case of the butterflies for me.  I see Restaurant Week as a dual-edged sword of incentives.  The cheaper price fix is an incentive for more diners to eat out.  As well as an incentive to try restaurants they might not normally go [...]

Hello? Chiquita Banana Sticker Contest

I know it’s kinda silly but I couldn’t resist submitting an entry for the Chiquita Banana Sticker Contest.  Judging by the entries that are already posted I am not even sure if this is a real contest.  But the only issue for me is that the submission requirements are slightly limiting.  The Chiquita website allows [...]

Fancy Food Show 2010: ‘Design Thinking’ or ‘Stomach Thinking’?

I took the opportunity recently to speed through the Fancy Food Show, the great confluence (purportedly) of all things gourmet and culinarily high-brow held every summer at New York’s Javits Center.  At first blush the floor of the show looks like a mash-up of Disney’s Epcot Center, Whole Foods, The Euro-Zone Dairy Farmers Union, an [...]

‘Modern Views’: to Benefit Farnsworth House and the Glass House’

The National Trust For Historic Preservation is launching a major exhibition this evening at the iconic Four Seasons Restaurant in New York to raise money for the restoration and repair of Philip Johnson’s Glass House and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House.  The exhibition, entitled ‘Modern Views: A Project to Benefit Farnsworth House and the Glass House’ [...]

New York Public Library Menu Archive: New Aquisition

I was surprised to find out today that a menu I designed has been accepted into the New York Public Library’s Menu Collection archive.  I was also surprised to find out that the New York Public Library has a Menu Collection in the first place.  In retrospect it does seem obvious that the NYPL would.  But [...]

Introducing the ‘Consumption’ Porcelain Collection

I am happy to introduce some new design work…
The ‘Consumption’ Porcelain Dinnerware Collection
We are conditioned by our culture to take for granted what we consume.  In a consumerist society it is considered healthy.  We are just ‘doing our part’ and ‘contributing to society’ by consuming.  The new ‘Consumption’ collection, however, sheds a different light on our habits.  [...]

Recipe Sketchbook: Rich Mid-Spring Lemon Pepper Pasta

Quick lunch pasta:  Penne, lemon infused olive oil, lemon zest, glazed pearl onions, fresh thyme, bacon, bread crumbs, mascarpone, lots of pepper.
Awesome.