Full Disclosure

Qualifications?

None.   I have no interest in cooking and wouldn’t know an iron chef from an ironing board.  However, I’ve dined in over 600 Manhattan restaurants and have figured out what makes a good meal for me.

Personally, I often find reviews too inconsistent to be that helpful.  It’s hard to know what to believe when a single restaurant inspires comments like:

Best/worst place on the planet.

The service was totally abysmal/phenomenal.

Wild horses couldn’t keep me away/that’s probably what they were serving.

After a mind blowing array of contradictions, I traded reading for research then leapt in fork first.  As a result, I’ve had more memorable meals than I can count.

I’m happy to share where I went, what it was like and why it resonated.  My wish is that you try some off the list and have your own unforgettable experience.

It might be that we prize the same criteria for what makes a place good (in which case there’s an excellent chance you’ll enjoy many more).  And if you’d like personalized recommendations, I can give you those too, with Foodie 411 on 1.

As you scan The Blog, you’ll see a pattern.  More often than not, I tend to choose places below 14th Street.  Gramercy is usually the limit heading north.  There’s something about the tone and energy of downtown that’s impossible to resist.

Read up and eat up,

foodie 411