the_maestroJun 214 minEeva – Philadelphia, PAEater has been doing a pretty cool "Best New Restaurants in America" list of late, and since I found myself with a car and no real...
the_maestroJun 185 minThe best lobster roll in Maine, Part 2Once I'd dropped off my friend's new Bernedoodle puppy in Boston and enjoyed some culinary offerings in one of my favorite cities in the...
the_maestroJun 128 minA day tasting wine in the Finger LakesI made the probably silly but still fun decision to help out some friends by picking up their freshly-adopted Bernedoodle puppy in...
the_maestroMay 1920 minA journey down Kentucky's Bourbon TrailPlanning to coop myself up at Mom's in Iowa for much of the summer while I plot my next move meant that I needed to drive myself and my...
the_maestroMay 173 minEat Like the Maestro in AshevilleI'm on the cusp of bidding "adieu" to Charlotte for good but have many fond memories of the Queen City, particularly its many green...
the_maestroMay 77 minSushi|Bar at Scratch – Los Angeles, CAY'all already know the Maestro's first item on his to-do list when visiting Los Angeles––eat sushi. Because of LA's proximity to the...
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_maestroMay 14 minPacific Cocktail Haven – San Francisco, CAJust over a year ago a fire claimed the original location of Pacific Cocktail Haven, perhaps the most important cocktail bar to open in...
the_maestroApr 297 minImmi at Turntable/Lord Stanley – San Francisco, CAMany restaurants made dramatic changes to their operations as a consequence of the pandemic. Lord Stanley, a one-Michelin-starred...
the_maestroApr 205 minPizza on Two Coasts – L'Industrie and Cheese BoardA little curveball today celebrating Spring Break Round 2 visits to two spots producing some of the best pizza in the country––one from...
the_maestroApr 185 minLos Angeles River Wine Company at Red Hook Winery – Brooklyn, NYDeep in a vague suburb of London between Hackney and Islington on a chilly and dark fall evening, the Maestro approached a cozy...
the_maestroApr 93 minEat Like the Maestro in BostonOooo kiddos––it's been a busy time in the Maestro's life, and I have a backlog of blogs that resembles a California freeway at 4pm. So...
the_maestroMar 189 minWine Tasting in Texas Hill CountryThe first time I was even aware that wine was made in Texas, I was in the Austin airport at Vino Volo searching for a flight of wine to...
the_maestroMar 46 minSushi Note – Los Angeles, CAIf I'm in LA, I'm in the best sushi city in the United States. And that means I am almost certainly seeking out a new omakase to sample....
the_maestroFeb 2611 minUsu-Zan by SingleThread at Blue Sky Ranch – Wanship, UTIt was a frigid evening and I was about three cocktails deep when a well-agorithmed article found its way to my feed––"SingleThread...
the_maestroFeb 35 minProvisions + Dented Brick Distilling – Salt Lake City, UTProvisions reliably serves some of the best food in Salt Lake City. When Lugano, the previous occupant of the space, closed some ten or...
the_maestroJan 255 minThe Chef in Charlotte – BologneseI am lucky to have family nearby––if I'm ever feeling lonesome in Charlotte or need a change of pace, it's an easy 90 minute drive up to...
the_maestroJan 168 minThe Chef in Charlotte – Soup Billi-BiI excitedly watched the weekend weather forecast for the Charlotte metro area develop over the past week––a massive winter storm was set...
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...