Author Archives: Robert

Whenever I am visiting a new town, for business or pleasure, I always go down to the front desk of the hotel in the early morning and ask, “Where is the best local breakfast joint? I want to go to the place where the old guys are reading the newspaper and arguing over politics andContinue reading “Eat Local”

In my 40-year restaurant career I have been a part of 22 new-restaurant openings. Three of those were at the beginning of my career and were for other people’s restaurants. The other 19 have been restaurants I currently own or have owned. Opening a restaurant is one of the most stressful endeavors one can experienceContinue reading “Soft Openings”

In a year in which it seems the headlines are filled with endless negative and controversial news stories, I thought it might be a nice break in the action to report on a few positive activities that occurred in 2020. Extra Table is a feeding charity that I founded in 2009. We supply healthy foodContinue reading “Extra Table, What A Year It Was”

Around this time of year newspapers are filled with end-of-the-year wrap-up stories about what has happened over the past 12 months. This year there seems to be no lack of articles chronicling how bad 2020 was. The preceding 10 months were certainly among the worst— on many levels— in all of my 60 years. ButContinue reading “Goodbye 2020”

For the past 20-plus years, my final column of the year is always a list of the top dining experiences I enjoyed throughout the previous year. Typically, it’s a pretty easy piece to write. For the past several years I have spent two or three months working in Italy. Over there, one can find aContinue reading “RSJ’s Top 10 for 2020”

In a few days, I will enter my 40th year in the restaurant business. Just over 33 of those years have been as a restaurant owner. I fell backwards into this business. Though from the first moment of the first shift, of the first day I worked in a restaurant, I knew I wanted toContinue reading “Time Is Running Out for Independent Restaurants”

Two days ago, a friend made a Facebook post that referenced the Christmas section of the old Sears Catalogue that used to come out once a year. The release of the Sears Christmas Wish Book was a momentous event every fall. I couldn’t tell you what any of my first-grade readers looked like, but IContinue reading “Easy-Bake Oven 2020”

Over the course of my 38-year restaurant career I have been a part of 21 restaurant/bar openings. Three of those openings— the first three— were while working in other people’s restaurants. The remaining 18 openings were restaurants that were my concepts. Opening a restaurant is one of the most stressful endeavors one will ever undertake.Continue reading “Recipe Testing”

This is the season of giving. We give gifts, we give of our time, and we give food. For decades, when Thanksgiving rolled around, I would volunteer my time at a soup kitchen, dishing up turkey and dressing for those less fortunate. Sometimes I’d donate a can or two from my home pantry for myContinue reading “Extra Table 2020”