Dinner Date

One evening, many Thanksgivings ago, my great Uncle Nick pulled me aside and dispensed one of the most valuable pieces of drunken advice I’ve ever received. Never, he said, eat a sit-down meal anywhere that you can pump gas, rent bowling shoes, or play 18 holes of golf. Smart man, my Uncle Nick. Turned out

In the restaurant world, there is one inviolable commandment: Never, ever—under any godforsaken circumstance—utter the phrase “passion project.” It’s a sure-fire jinx. An instant karma killer. You might as well stroll under a giant ladder, a broken mirror cracking underfoot, while you pet a black cat. When seasoned industry folks hear that phrase, their thoughts

Imagine, for a moment, that the Fates—pushy little deities that they are—somehow persuaded you to take a totally different career path. Let’s say that you, wholly ignoring common sense and financial prudence, decided you were born to cook and run restaurants for a living. And, by some miracle, you defied the odds and hit it

The American craft beer movement, delivered unto the world to rid us of those cheap, watered-down corporate brews that plagued American beer-drinkers the ’70s and ’80s, finds itself at a rather interesting crossroads. Sure, the good guys and gals—all those serious hop hunters and wort-obsessed wizards—seem to be winning the war, but has the movement

It’s one of the more baffling restaurant mysteries of the last half century. Why, in the name of Herodotus, do so many Greek restaurants continue to trot out, decade after decade, the same tired old offerings that were popular when Aristotle Onassis was courting Jackie Kennedy? Who’s to blame for this icy stasis, for local

The paths restaurateurs follow as they create destinations for the dining public weave from city to suburb, township to village. But the aim is always the same: to shape places that draw and satisfy local clientele. That Ryan O’Donnell and Glenn Keefer’s path has led them to open not just one, but two Sophia Steak