the_maestroMay 510 minSonoma County and an Exercise in Wine AdjectivesPeople rightfully make fun of the highfalutin nature of descriptors for wine that wineries, critics, tasting room staff, sommeliers,...
the_maestroJan 128 minThe quiet perniciousness of cashless restaurantsThe pandemic has upended much of our lives, and the hospitality industry is one of the primary victims. In the process, many restaurants,...
the_maestroDec 31, 20219 minThe 2021 Variant of the Big Drunk Gay AwardsPerhaps it was the sense of impending doom resulting from waking up every day in this pandemic, now again in a terrible phase, that...
the_maestroDec 5, 202121 minNoma – Copenhagen, DenmarkYears before I came to understand what fine dining really meant––or rather, what it really could mean––my attraction to the best...
the_maestroNov 8, 20217 minTable for One – The slight against solo dinersI have few particular complaints about my single lifestyle. It allows me to be nimble and spontaneous, easily adapt to new circumstances,...
the_maestroMar 7, 20218 minUnboxing the Farm: a week with Stone Barns' "resourcED" Grocery BoxMy mini-crusade to improve my choices and shift my life toward a more ethical food trajectory has involved a multitude of little...
the_maestroFeb 24, 20218 minInspired Ingredients – Hakurei TurnipsSomething I learned from my first visit to Stone Barns is how corporatized and streamlined our food experience has become. There are...
the_maestroFeb 22, 20214 minTable X @ Home – Salt Lake City, UTOne of the cooler trends we've been seeing emerge during the pandemic from restaurants are take-home, heat-and-eat style dinners. These...
the_maestroFeb 20, 20217 minQuarantine Cuisine: Xiao Long BaoDespite writing it up, I'd never posted this gem from back in the depths of Iowa quarantine in March 2020, but figured no time like the...
the_maestroJan 9, 20216 minThe Maestro's Big Drunk Gay Awards – 2020 Dumpster Fire Edition!I really enjoyed issuing a series of absolutely meaningless "Big Drunk Gay" awards last year, highlighting the very best things I ate,...
the_maestroSep 1, 20205 minThe Maestro moves to CharlotteWell kids, what can I say? Life is crazy, and my dearth of posts this past month was due in part to my grand adventure in Alaska, yes,...
the_maestroMay 11, 20203 minQuarantine Cuisine: Mother's Day SpecialHappy Mother's Day to all the mamas and mama figures out there! It's been a wonderful day here in Cedar Rapids. Despite some really...
the_maestroApr 21, 20205 minQuarantine Cuisine: Pit Barrel RibsHow are we lucky enough to have barbecue in our lives? I do not claim in the least to be a barbecue expert, so don't @ me, BBQ pros (very...
the_maestroApr 17, 20204 minQuarantine Cuisine: Greek Chicken ThighsIf you are like me, thirty-plus days of quarantine has begun to spark days of pronounced lethargy and depression––days where you stare...
the_maestroApr 15, 20203 minQuarantine Cuisine: Korean Kalbi Short RibsAs long as we can't travel physically, we might as well travel culinarily! Korean food is having a real moment in the Unites States....
the_maestroApr 14, 20203 minThe Quarantini Series: MargaritasWe have been drinking a not-very-small amount during this fiasco, and margaritas seem to form the backbone of the consumption. Magically,...
the_maestroApr 11, 20205 minQuarantine Cuisine: Turkish Lamb Loin ChopsI wasn't planning on creating anything transcendental with this meal, so the Quarantine Cuisine series was supposed to next travel to...
the_maestroApr 8, 20206 minQuarantine Cuisine: Surf and TurfApologies for the delay in posting this next installment! The Maestro's computer suffered an unfortunate cracked screen, so a new one had...
the_maestroMar 27, 20204 minQuarantine Cuisine: Octopus and Mole AmarilloThis week I present a double dose of seafood, because our Fulton Fish Market order was particularly large (so we could trigger the free...
the_maestroMar 21, 20207 minQuarantine Cuisine: ScallopsWell kiddos, as you may have noticed, the world has stopped moving. Restaurants and bars are closed, the stock market is crumbling, the...