Greasing the Wheels at the Michigan Diner

"Work has been kinda slow since cartoons went to color. Boop-boop-be-doop"

Hungry for a greasy breakfast, we take the concierge’s recommendation and taxi to the Michigan Diner (220 E Michigan St). The menu is ordinary:  eggs; eggs and toast; eggs, toast and a side of bacon, sausage, hash browns or American fries.

What’s [...]

Das ist gut: Dinner at Mader’s

Mader's German Restaurant

Milwaukee is both my former home and my adopted hometown. Every return visit feels like a homecoming. But this visit to Milwaukee will be a little bit tourist trip.

I want to see and do the things I always meant to see and do. One, I  have never eaten at [...]

Tribeca Grill becomes a Standard

My first visit to Tribeca Grill was sometime during my first year in New York, in 1992 or 1993.

I was overly impressed that Robert DeNiro owned the restaurant that I WAS EATING IN. I really  thought DeNiro might be standing quietly at the end of the bar, notice me and my friends and [...]

The Palm’s Carrot Cake, A Love Triangle

I live by my diet rules–rules give me willpower.One year, I made a No Chocolate rule. No chocolate means that my favorite desserts: carrot cake, cheesecake and Key Lime Pie, ducked the ban. 2008, a more stringent rule-year, saw the ban of all desserts. Only a few exceptions were made: My birthday (Cheesecake Factory [...]