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Born and Bred – Seoul, South Korea
We've all heard of wagyu beef, Japan's absurdly marbled steaks that, according to urban legend, come from cows treated like kings––given...

the_maestro
Nov 17, 20236 min read
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Clues for the Clueless – Sushi in Japan
I like to think I am knowledgable about food and beverages. But sometimes one has an experience that reminds you just how little you...

the_maestro
Nov 10, 202310 min read
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Maz – Tokyo, Japan
Virgilio MartÃnez was just 31 when he took his Cordon Bleu training and line cooking experience back to his native Peru with a goal of...

the_maestro
Nov 3, 202313 min read
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Street Food in Omoide Yokocho – Tokyo, Japan
Tucked in the belly of the glistening skyscrapers of Shinjuku is Tokyo's own "Memory Lane," or Omoide Yokocho, a narrow alleyway housing...

the_maestro
Oct 28, 20234 min read
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Benu – San Francisco, CA
The Bay Area is special to me––not only is it my birthplace, but it was the site of my first big foray into foodiedom. Back when I was...

the_maestro
Oct 14, 202310 min read
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SingleThread (2) – Healdsburg, CA
I've been lucky enough (before this meal) to enjoy Kyle Connaughton's cuisine from SingleThread twice––once at the restaurant in...

the_maestro
Sep 19, 202313 min read
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Noz 17 (and Depression) – New York, NY
Both of y'all loyal readers will have to forgive my spotty (i.e., completely absent) blogging for the better part of the last year. I...

the_maestro
Sep 15, 20238 min read
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The Charter Oak – St. Helena, CA
In 2020 the Glass Fire tore through northern Napa and Sonoma in an unprecedented disaster for California's epicenter of wine growing....

the_maestro
Mar 7, 20233 min read
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The Back(b)log: Tasting Wine on Colorado's Western Slope
It's a small obsession of mine to find places making wine where you'd never assume excellent grapes would grow. Most recently I visited...

the_maestro
Dec 21, 20227 min read
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Mom's 65th at Angler – San Francisco, CA
Since Josh Skenes stepped away from the kitchen at Saison, his new flagship project is the mini-chain of Angler restaurants in San...

the_maestro
Dec 17, 20226 min read
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Back(b)log: Roister and Aviary – Chicago, IL
One of the evenings I missed writing up in the shuffle of my big move out west was a combo dinner and cocktail night during Chicago Pride...

the_maestro
Dec 14, 20226 min read
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Nari – San Francisco, CA
Most often, the experience at eating at a Thai restaurant in any given city in America is largely predictable––inexpensive food in strip...

the_maestro
Dec 11, 20225 min read
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Boulevard – San Francisco, CA
Nothing could have made me happier than a visit from my mother and sister a few months after my move to northern California, even more...

the_maestro
Nov 20, 20224 min read
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The Maestro in California
I finally left academia after my rather disastrous and traumatic experience teaching at Davidson College. Making woefully little money,...

the_maestro
Oct 11, 20225 min read
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Comparing Impossible and Beyond Burgers
I confess I was a shameless ridiculer of the new meat-substitute products that have flooded the market and taken even fast food...

the_maestro
Jul 13, 20226 min read
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The Inn at Little Washington – Washington, VA
Decades before the widespread propagation of the very idea of "fine dining" in America, DC native and self-taught chef Patrick O'Connell...

the_maestro
Jul 4, 202211 min read
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Albi – Washington, DC
As covered previously in the latest installment of the "Eat Like the Maestro" series, during my little road trip out east a multi-day...

the_maestro
Jul 2, 20227 min read
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Eat like the Maestro in DC
Car Talk, my very favorite old NPR show, took calls from all over the country, and whenever Tom and Ray got a call from DC, Tom always...

the_maestro
Jun 29, 20224 min read
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Eeva – Philadelphia, PA
Eater 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_maestro
Jun 21, 20224 min read
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The best lobster roll in Maine, Part 2
Once 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_maestro
Jun 18, 20225 min read
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