Four Diamonds I am currently in my 10th year of writing this weekly column. For the last decade I have written approximately 750 words every week, 52 weeks a year, without ever missing a column. Over the course of those 520 columns, 352 recipes, and roughly 390,000 words, I have written about strange foodstuffs, quirky [...]

The First Presbyterian Church in my hometown asked me to serve as a judge in their first annual chili cook-off this weekend. After some persistence, I agreed. I have tried to wean myself off of judging cooking contests. Several years ago I was asked to judge an out-of-state cooking contest where the contestants were asked [...]

What’s In A Name? Whenever I give a speech or speak to a classroom full of students, I always solicit questions. It’s my favorite part of the process. I am much more interested in responding to issues people are interested in than trying to decipher what they want to hear. One of the most common [...]

The 11 Worst Foods of 2008 I have been told that more gym memberships are sold in January than during the other months of the year, combined. Being in the restaurant business for 28 years, I can attest that more diets are started during the first month of the year. I can personally confirm that [...]

Culinary Infidelity I have been cheating on my wife. It’s true. I’ve been sneaking around behind her back, and lately my rendezvous’ have been getting more frequent. I feel guilty and believe it’s time to air out my dirty laundry. This might seem like an odd forum to address marital infidelity, but I am not [...]

Move Over, Ralph Lauren, The Burger King’s In Town When I was a young boy, a neighbor asked if Santa was going to bring me everything on my Christmas wish list. I told her, “Yes.” My mother jumped in and said, “Don’t be so sure, Robert. You know Santa keeps a naughty and nice list.” [...]

Robert’s Top Ten 2008 Each year, my final column is a list of the top ten dining experiences I enjoyed over the previous twelve months. 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. The only considerations are [...]

Eggnog I am not a fan of eggnog. I quit drinking alcohol over two decades ago, but that has nothing to do with my dislike of eggnog. I could drink the non-alcoholic variety if I wanted to; I just never developed a taste for it. Earlier today, while watching a football game, my 11-year old [...]

Give Me Some Skin Big Ganny During the first 20 years of my life I never encountered a boneless, skinless chicken breast. When I was a child, all chicken came under cellophane with bone and skin attached. The drumstick, the breast, the thigh, and even the wing, all had skin and bones. That’s the way [...]

We Wish You A Figgy Christmas A group of Christmas carolers stopped by my house last night. I like the whole caroling thing, but I often worry about the family of unsuspecting foreigners who might have just moved into the neighborhood from a faraway land with divergent customs. I wonder what they must think when [...]