Retired Burger Hand Model
My experiences in New York City. The restaurants I have visited and the activities I have done.
When two of my top ten favorites, Gotham Burger Social Club and Smith & Wollensky, join forces for a pop-up, there’s no question: I’m going. I’ve been following Gotham Burger since the early days, from those gritty pandemic pop-ups to their Lower East Side brick-and-mortar, and it’s been a front-row seat to watching a burger…
Yankee season is deep into the playoff push, and while everyone’s losing their minds over wild card tickets, I’m sitting back and watching the prices hit home-run levels. Section 123? $170 before fees. That’s not watching baseball, that’s financial cardio. Over the years, I found a better alternative: skip the stadium chaos and head to…
It’s the most Roman thing in the world for me to get lost on the way to a restaurant that has multiple locations. My friends joke about it — if there’s more than one, I’ll always end up at the wrong one unless someone specifies. And true to form, I headed to Dante on MacDougal…
Some Saturday nights, you don’t want to deal with people. This was one of those nights. However, I also had my Amex Resy credit to use before the quarter ended, so I figured, why not treat myself? Nothing crazy, just a solo meal somewhere new, something to shake things up a bit.Dynamo Room caught my…
Frank has been around forever, and for good reason—it’s one of those East Village staples that always delivers. The whole family of restaurants feels like walking into your grandma’s kitchen (if your grandma also had a killer HVAC system and three guys working an 8×8 kitchen nonstop). The vibe is simple, chill, and always reliable….
When we left off, we had just wrapped up dinner at Minetta Tavern and wandered over to Dear Strangers. This spot sits right by NYU, in my old stomping grounds, where I spent way too much time (and money) in dive bars back in the day. But this place? Whole different vibe. Dear Strangers You…
Every now and then, the stars align and Peaches makes it back to the East Coast. She’s one of those friends I don’t get to see nearly enough, so when she does roll through, it always turns into a proper feast. This time, we kicked things off at Minetta Tavern , a New York institution…
The question of the night: If you cook your own food at a Michelin-starred Korean BBQ like COTE NYC, does that make you a Michelin chef? Luckily, at COTE, you don’t have to worry about that—they handle most of the grilling for you. Minus the occasional stolen piece from a friend who insists on eating…
The day after the Yankees–Red Sox game, Eddie and I somehow ended up unsupervised (always a dangerous thing). This whole journey started after a round at Dead Rabbit and a quick stop at Watermark — though I won’t bother with a full write-up there since everyone already knows it’s the place to grab those giant…
Carne Mare is… interesting. Gorgeous setting, right on Pier 17 with the water view and a perfect breeze. (Not the place you want to be in winter, but that’s another rant.)Now, let me get this out of the way: I’m petty. Like, world-class petty. I will hold a grudge for years—decades even. So, while everyone…