about

the strong buzz

I am a big fan of food. I have always loved to eat. This is not necessarily a good thing for a woman with a tortoise-like metabolism, but such is the state of my life. Passions come in all forms, and mine (one of them at least) comes in the form of food. Cooking it, eating it, sharing it, even staring at it. And I am an equal opportunity eater. A slab of country pate with coarse mustard and cornichons, a simple salad of heirloom tomatoes tossed and fresh herbs, a messy, sweet-spiced pulled pork sandwich, a juicy hot dog, a cold bottle of Brooklyn Brown Ale, or a glass of Chenin Blanc from the North Fork’s Paumanok Vineyards, I am easy to please. So, I guess I am what you might affectionately call a food slut. I’ll eat anything. And the subjects of my articles are as broad as my love of food. I write about chefs, restaurants, menu trends, farmers, hot spots, late-night dives, power lunches, organic breakfasts, wild and wacky ingredients, wine, cocktails, spirits—you name it, I’ve not only eaten it, but written about it (or at least have tried).

Most of my work appears in The New York Post (every Sunday) but I have also written for The New York Times (Dining Section), Real Simple, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Organic Style, and Time Out New York. My restaurant reviews appear monthly in Paper Magazine.

I also co-wrote a cookbook called Sparks in the Kitchen (Knopf, 2006) with chef Katy Sparks, which, in my humble and totally unbiased opinion, is an amazing collection of recipes written by a professional chef for the home cook. You’ll actually use this book and love it. I promise!

I was honored in October 2003, when an article I wrote for The Times entitled, “An Ode To Sloppy Joe, A Delicious Mess” (see “What I’ve Written), was selected for inclusion in THE BEST FOOD WRITING OF 2003, edited by Holly Hughes (Marlowe & Company, 2003).

In addition to writing about food, I teach an introduction to food writing at Media Bistro (www.mediabistro.com).

Let’s see, what else can I tell you about me. Well, before deciding to freelance full-time, I was associate food editor at Restaurant Business Magazine (a bi-monthly magazine to the trade), where I wrote regular columns about food trends, chefs, industry news, and other restaurant-related business issues.

Before joining RB as associate food editor, I worked in the front of the house at various restaurants around town—Isla, Miracle Grill, and Tribeca Grill. And get this: before working in hospitality, I was a lawyer. Yup. A corporate lawyer. No joke. I graduated from Brooklyn Law, summa cum laude, in 1994, and practiced law in New York City for five years before seeing the light, and making a break for it.

That's the short story. To learn more about how I made the move from law to restaurateur to writer, see The Long Story.