Entries tagged with 'Alan Richman'
Page 1 of 1
Alan Richman, "GQ" magazine food writer. Visiting Sweden? Hope to impress a Swede? Just want to appear worldly and stylish? The French Culinary Institute's Cooking Issues blog has been posting an ongoing series of photos it calls the Skål!/Skoal! Project that can school you in one small social custom. The series includes such food-world luminaries as Jeffrey Steingarten, Harold McGee, Wylie Dufresne, and Alan Richman (above), who has perhaps the most extreme skål to date. More pix after the jump....
Continue reading »
Photograph from roboppy on Flickr New York food critic Alan Richman should not be writing about Chicago hot dogs. But, that’s what happened in his GQ piece last week, as we've previously mentioned. Richman swooped into the Windy City, ate a dozen or so dogs—and by his own admission, cut them up like a street food dilettante with a plastic knife—and deigned to decree four of them so wonderful “even New York should be in awe.” Along the way, Richman, the man I like to call the Marilyn Manson of food critics (I feel he’s a public opinion puppeteer fully aware of both sides of an issue, but intent upon picking the side that incites the most controversy) took...
Continue reading »
Photograph from roboppy on Flickr GQ columnist Alan Richman hit what his Chicago hot dog-loving buddy called the dozen best franks in that hot dog-crazed town, but he didn't seem to love any. In fact, after reading his story twice, I don't think he got why Chicago residents are crazy about their tube steaks. His biggest problem: the way the hot dogs, loaded down with all the requisite Chicago toppings—chopped onions, sport peppers, tomato, pickle, and celery salt—fall apart when you bite into them. Richman hoped to file his top five list, but couldn't even find five good enough to make the cut. He liked the Wiener's Circle, Byron's, Rockstar Dogs, and Hot Doug's. He refers to Superdawg in...
Continue reading »
Food critic Alan Richman, blogging for GQ, totally dogs Les Halles, the restaurant many food TV fans know as Anthony Bourdain's joint. (Bourdain consults for Les Halles as "chef-at-large.") Says Richman: What's more appalling than the food or even the absurd title of Chef-at-Large is that the smirking Bourdain has somehow become the de facto public face of the restaurant industry. It's as if Steven Seagal had been named president of the Screen Actors Guild. The review is unusually harsh, from seating to dessert, and one can't help but wonder if it's payback for the Golden Clog award that Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman bestowed upon Richman last month. Why Les Halles? Why now?...
Continue reading »
I was wondering how long Alan Richman was going to last in the salt mines that are Bloomberg News. The answer came yesterday, when word got out that Richman resigned. Richman was probably way too independent-minded for the notoriously controlling Bloomberg editors, and he couldn't have been happy knowing his reviews were buried a zillion clicks down on the Bloomberg website. I hope that Richman, a terrific writer (check out his hilarious, spot-on review of Il Mulino) whom I have had disagreements with on occasion, finds a regular print or online home for his restaurant reviews. We need more funny, smart, and knowledgeable curmudgeons writing restaurant criticism. He will continue to write for GQ and Bon Appétit, and teach at...
Continue reading »
Alan Richman's latest GQ column on San Francisco's Ferry Building, "the West Coast's new temple of tastes" is a riveting read until you hit this sentence: "Alice Waters and sourdough bread aside, the Bay Area has contributed surprisingly little to the culinary ripening of America considering its proximity to fertile growing regions from the Central Valley to Napa and Sonoma counties." and then all you can do is shake your head, furrow your brow, and start wondering if he's begun smoking crack. The SF Chronicle's Michael Bauer naturally took exception and wrote about it on his blog, saying, "I simply don't know where to begin. Has he heard of wine? Artisan cheeses? Arugula?" and promises to post a list of...
Continue reading »
Alan Richman, one of the greatest food writers we have, and my occasional antagonist (he and I tangled over his New Orleans food piece in GQ), reviews Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World PBS television series. It's a very funny piece of writing, but after reading it a couple of times, I'm still not sure if he liked the show or not. My favorite line: "Not only are the cooking segments rudimentary, they're not even particularly practical. That paella expert in Spain will teach you how to control a fire made from the wood of orange trees. I doubt that's of value unless you happen to live in central Florida." Photograph of Mark Bittman from markbittman.com...
Continue reading »
Alan Richman of GQ says the ten foods nutrition experts say should put you in a good mood, like spinach and and low-fat yogurt, actually put him in a bad mood; and then he lists ten foods that do make him happy, like chocolate milk and an after-dinner cheese course. Does cottage cheese put you in a better mood than french fries? I know which one puts a smile on my face....
Continue reading »
Alan Richman is a colleague and friend. He is one of our greatest and most celebrated food writers. He is a professional curmudgeon who can be pointed and funny when he sets his sights on appropriate targets. All of that being said, Richman has written a slothful, meanspirited, and myopic piece about New Orleans food, restaurants, and culture in the November GQ. I could go on and on about Richman's shamefully skewed view of New Orleans. But another friend and colleague, Brett Anderson, has written an extremely insightful and cogent response. Please read Richman's piece and Anderson's response and decide for yourself. Chezpim also weighed in on this weighty topic....
Continue reading »
