Favorite Cookbooks

The French Laundry Cookbook (Thomas Keller)

Incredible! You HAVE to try the recipe for New Age Caesar Salad!!!

Chefs I recommend

Brendan Walsh (Ridgefield, CT)

In the 200+ years old Elms Inn in historic Ridgefield, Chef Brendan Walsh creates dishes that make the palate sing! His lobster (butter poached?), boneless breast of chicken are just two dishes you will remember long after your visit to this cozy rustic inn. Worth a visit - reservations are a must.

Restaurants I Recommend

Joe Fortes (Vancouver, BC)

Anything seafood, and more - a daring and creative chef, superb menu that changes frequently, excellent wine pairings and fine service really distinguish this famous Vancouver restaurant. There's always a waiting list for those without reservations, so it's best to make them. In case you forget, however, there's a wonderful bar to cozy up to where there's no waiting at all!

Trattoria Dell' Arte (New York City)

The best antipasto bar in New York! Exceptional food, no matter what you order. If you go on your birthday, you be serenaded by a group of (mostly) male servers, one down on one knee - they mostly actors, and bring a dramatic tickle to the important matter of taking your order. Our server was from Paris, had worked there, and deigned to bring us our less than expensive order. He was also insulted when we ordered a bottle of wine that was a mere $63, rather than the $127 bottle he recommended. The company - and the atmosphere - however, was wonderful. We were seated at a table next to Lorne Michaels (SNL), Sean Connery had just left, apparently, and Paul Newman was due in the private wine celler room (this was March 2008). It's near Fifth and 57th, so it's not far from Carnegie Hall, and you can enjoy a stroll after dinner, musing to yourself - he'd have had a better tip had he not cringed about that bottle of wine.