The Mint Julep Rule number 237 of the 362 Undeniable Truths of the Deep South Restaurant Business is: True Southerners never drink mint juleps. When a customer steps up to the bar in a Southern restaurant and orders a mint julep, we already know five things about him: 1.) He comes from North of the [...]

Screaming Yellow Zonkers In 1969 my Mom, a widowed art teacher raising two small boys on a limited income, taught painting classes out of a small studio room in our attic. Her students— various ladies from the neighborhood— learned how to paint mushrooms onto small blocks of wood using shades of avocado green and harvest [...]

“Yes” + Touch = Memorable Meal When dining in a restaurant and the chef approaches your table asking, “What are you in the mood for?” Your reply should be, “What do you recommend?” If he or she then asks, “Do you want me to take care of you?” Your answer should always be an unequivocal, [...]

Peanut Butter and Jelly I took my son to a birthday party over the weekend. The kids ran and bounced in one of those blow-up jumpy things, drank some punch, and then ran and bounced some more. After a few hours of play time everyone was called to lunch: Barbeque and all of the usual [...]

Revival, Reopening, and Renewal My last New Orleans meal prior to Hurricane Katrina was a lunch with my wife and children at K-Paul’s restaurant. I have often revisited that memorable experience during the stress and rebuilding of these last four months. For my first dining experience back in the city I wanted to return to [...]

Robert’s Top Ten 2005 As is the tradition in this column, every December I compile a list of the top ten dining experiences I enjoyed over the past year. The list is never based on price or atmosphere. I believe that good food can be served in a fine-dining environment or in a run-down diner. [...]

A Tale of Two Letters. These are the letters to Santa that my children dictated to me last night (Holleman 8-year old, Harrison 4-year old). I wrote down everything they said as they said it. I then forwarded the letters to Santa. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for Harrison! RSJ Dear Santa, How are the [...]

Christmas 2005 Christmas is a season for reflection. As I look back over 44 years, I am humbled by the joys and blessings that I have received, and I am in awe of all of the warm Christmas memories that have been created. It took me almost 40 years to realize the aspects of life [...]

The Great Christmas Compromise Christmas is full of compromises. When couples wed they bring many things into the union. I’m not talking about bachelor-apartment wire-bale coffee tables, milk-carton two-by-four college-dorm shelving, or great-grandmother’s tacky faux-antique tea set. I’m talking about family traditions and ideas about how things are done within the family unit. Nowhere are [...]

Small-Town Pancakes I love living in the South. As far as my literary agent in New York is concerned, I live in a small Southern town. In reality, I live in a medium-to-large-sized town by Southern standards. Whether my metropolitan area is large, medium, or small, there are two events each year that make me [...]