This month kicked off my 44th year in the restaurant business. The first seven years were spent working for other people. Mostly as a server while I worked my way through college. But for the past 37 years I’ve owned restaurants. I love my line of work and consider myself overly blessed to have aContinue reading “For the Love of Fish”
Author Archives: paul
Big Apple Birthdays
BROOKLYN— Growing up I had relatives in New York. My maternal grandmother and grandfather lived here for 10 years or so. He worked on Madison Avenue for the entire decade of the sixties. My first visit here was as a three-year-old in 1964 during the World’s Fair. I don’t remember any of it other thanContinue reading “Big Apple Birthdays”
Simply the Best
For the 26-plus years this column has been in existence I have typed over 1,000 words a week, every week, never missing a week. That’s over 1,300,000 total words published in your newspaper. These days, in addition to newspapers, this column is also consumed online and through email subscriptions. In the early days I tookContinue reading “Simply the Best”
My Kind Of Town
CHICAGO— No one would ever accuse me of being a creature of habit. Other than my morning breakfast routine, I have managed to live a life free from getting pigeonholed into repetitive activities. There aren’t too many places I visit on an annual basis. For the past quarter of a century my wife, two kids,Continue reading “My Kind Of Town”
My Top 25 Cookbooks
The view from my desk is inspirational. I’ve been in the same office for 27 years. There are no windows, but I have surrounded myself with things that inspire me and things that I love. There are a lot of photos of family all over the room. There are also a lot of photos ofContinue reading “My Top 25 Cookbooks”
Travel Connections
QUEENS, NEW YORK— After 62 years, and millions of miles logged, I have learned that travel is about one thing— connection. I am jet-lagged, tired from lack of sleep and sitting up in bed in a dark room in an airport hotel in New York after a flight cancellation wrecked my homeward-bound itinerary. I’ve beenContinue reading “Travel Connections”
A True Magical Mystery Tour
LIVERPOOL— I am midway through a 10-day tour of England and Scotland with a group of 26 Americans. All have travelled with me before. For a few of them it’s their seventh trip as my guests. They are a stellar crew and I have become friends with all of them before this current journey started.Continue reading “A True Magical Mystery Tour”
RSJ’s Advice to Upcoming Graduates 2024
My advice to upcoming graduates: You are a few years away from beginning your professional life, but you are only weeks away from planning for it. The decision you make about your professional life should be the easiest decision you ever make — your career should be about one thing: passion. It’s not about moneyContinue reading “RSJ’s Advice to Upcoming Graduates 2024”
If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On
Music has been a constant companion throughout my life. It has accompanied me in times of joy and sorrow and never let me down. My earliest memories are of my bedroom on 22nd Ave in my hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I was probably four or five years old. I had a small, cheap, table-mounted open-topContinue reading “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On”