the_maestro
Pizza on Two Coasts – L'Industrie and Cheese Board
A little curveball today celebrating Spring Break Round 2 visits to two spots producing some of the best pizza in the country––one from...
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the_maestro
Apr 18, 20225 min read
Los Angeles River Wine Company at Red Hook Winery – Brooklyn, NY
Deep in a vague suburb of London between Hackney and Islington on a chilly and dark fall evening, the Maestro approached a cozy...
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the_maestro
Apr 9, 20223 min read
Eat Like the Maestro in Boston
Oooo 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...
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the_maestro
Mar 18, 20229 min read
Wine Tasting in Texas Hill Country
The 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...
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the_maestro
Mar 4, 20226 min read
Sushi Note – Los Angeles, CA
If 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....
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the_maestro
Feb 26, 202211 min read
Usu-Zan by SingleThread at Blue Sky Ranch – Wanship, UT
It was a frigid evening and I was about three cocktails deep when a well-agorithmed article found its way to my feed––"SingleThread...
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the_maestro
Feb 3, 20225 min read
Provisions + Dented Brick Distilling – Salt Lake City, UT
Provisions reliably serves some of the best food in Salt Lake City. When Lugano, the previous occupant of the space, closed some ten or...
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the_maestro
Jan 25, 20225 min read
The Chef in Charlotte – Bolognese
I 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...
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the_maestro
Jan 16, 20228 min read
The Chef in Charlotte – Soup Billi-Bi
I excitedly watched the weekend weather forecast for the Charlotte metro area develop over the past week––a massive winter storm was set...
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the_maestro
Jan 12, 20228 min read
The quiet perniciousness of cashless restaurants
The pandemic has upended much of our lives, and the hospitality industry is one of the primary victims. In the process, many restaurants,...
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the_maestro
Dec 31, 20219 min read
The 2021 Variant of the Big Drunk Gay Awards
Perhaps it was the sense of impending doom resulting from waking up every day in this pandemic, now again in a terrible phase, that...
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the_maestro
Dec 30, 20215 min read
36 hours of fantastic food and bev in Athens
I am woefully behind on blog posts owing to the end of the semester at Davidson and the ensuing whirlwind travel schedule. I know both of...
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the_maestro
Dec 5, 202121 min read
Noma – Copenhagen, Denmark
Years before I came to understand what fine dining really meant––or rather, what it really could mean––my attraction to the best...
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the_maestro
Nov 26, 20215 min read
St. John Bread and Wine – London, UK
It was wonderful to be back in London, the site of a brisk 36-hour layover en route to meet my sister's probably-future in-laws in...
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the_maestro
Nov 24, 20216 min read
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, 20214 min read
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, 202110 min read
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...
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the_maestro
Nov 10, 20213 min read
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 7, 20217 min read
Table for One – The slight against solo diners
I have few particular complaints about my single lifestyle. It allows me to be nimble and spontaneous, easily adapt to new circumstances,...
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the_maestro
Nov 6, 20214 min read
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...
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