the_maestro
Omakase Room by Mitsu – New York, NY
I can't stay away from omakase meals in New York City. My last NYC omakase at Nakazawa just reinforced what I already knew––an excellent...
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the_maestro
- Nov 20, 2021
- 4 min
Rezdôra – New York, NY
I am bad at making reservations. I tend to wait to book trips until only a few weeks before, and at that point it's too late to get the...
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the_maestro
- Nov 17, 2021
- 10 min
Prime Fish vs. O-Ku – Charlotte, NC
Charlotte is a budding food city, and a particularly good locale for many varieties of Asian cuisine. The notable exception is...
351 views1 comment
the_maestro
- Nov 10, 2021
- 3 min
Taste of Shu – Charlotte, NC
I am having a passionate love affair with Sichuan cuisine these days. This started with my exploration of one of the most classic Sichuan...
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the_maestro
- Nov 6, 2021
- 4 min
Futo Buta – Charlotte, NC
When I was first preparing to move to Charlotte, I heard all around that South End was the happening-est neighborhood in town. When I...
24 views1 comment
the_maestro
- Oct 30, 2021
- 4 min
Lang Van – Charlotte, NC
There are some restaurants that are just too precious, wonderful, and important than can be believed––institutions of food that quietly...
193 views0 comments
the_maestro
- Oct 27, 2021
- 3 min
Haberdish – Charlotte, NC
Certain areas of Charlotte experienced a mass migration of rural Appalachian and Carolina Piedmont populations, as well as formerly...
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the_maestro
- Oct 15, 2021
- 7 min
Log Haven – Salt Lake City, UT
It's hard to pinpoint a seminal dining experience that made me into the insatiable food lover that I am today, but the closest thing I...
17 views0 comments
the_maestro
- Oct 13, 2021
- 8 min
Atoboy – New York, NY
I've always been a staunch defender of northern California's food scene over New York City's, mostly because that's where I learned to...
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the_maestro
- Oct 9, 2021
- 8 min
Sushi Nakazawa – New York, NY
Sushi omakase meals are a dime a dozen in New York City (or, perhaps more accurately, three grand a dozen). The super-high-end sushi...
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the_maestro
- Oct 5, 2021
- 9 min
Finding the Best Lobster Roll in Midcoast Maine
The Maine coast has approximately 24,398,423,876,323,907 restaurants serving lobster. This is the land of “lobstah,” especially this time...
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the_maestro
- Oct 3, 2021
- 6 min
Pammy's – Cambridge, MA
Boston is one of those cities I feel bad that I haven't spent more time visiting. I finally got up to Boston to see a dear friend's...
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the_maestro
- Sep 28, 2021
- 5 min
Kindred – Davidson, NC
I must admit that I have been pretty bad about exploring my new city and environs and seeing what's on offer. When I had dinner with a...
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the_maestro
- Sep 24, 2021
- 4 min
An Overnight Layover in Chicago
I hadn't been back to Chicago since my last (brief) visit mid-summer of 2020, when almost everything was shuttered, but my sister and I...
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the_maestro
- Sep 12, 2021
- 11 min
Is Las Vegas Undergoing a Culinary Revival? A Case Study
Back in the era of big name European celebrity chefs establishing outpost restaurants, in the heyday of places like the Bellagio, when...
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the_maestro
- Sep 1, 2021
- 4 min
Bazaar Meat – Las Vegas, NV
Both regular readers of my blog know that I adore José Andrés, the Spanish celebrity chef who is also the founder of World Central...
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the_maestro
- Aug 29, 2021
- 9 min
Mélisse – Los Angeles, CA
When I lived in Los Angeles, I used to visit Mélisse, one of West LA's most storied fine dining destinations, with some regularity, since...
104 views0 comments
the_maestro
- Aug 22, 2021
- 7 min
The Brothers Sushi – Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles is probably the best sushi city in the United States. New Yorkers may @ me, but much of the better sushi in NYC, while world...
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the_maestro
- Aug 15, 2021
- 6 min
Rodina – Cedar Rapids, IA
Back when I was starting to realize I wouldn't get a teaching job for Fall 2019, fresh out of my doctorate and settled in Mom's guest...
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the_maestro
- Aug 8, 2021
- 9 min
Chef Jonathan Tam in Residence at Stone Barns – Pocantico Hills, NY
Stone Barns is starting to feel like a bit of a home. The people, the ethos, and the amazing food––everything about it makes me so joyful...
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