Author Archives: Robert

For the 22 years I have written in this space, I have always reserved the final column inches of the year to list my top ten meals of the previous 12 months. Here’s this year’s list. 10. Trattoria Mario, Florence I first ate at Mario in 2011 with my wife, 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son.Continue reading “RSJ Top 10 Meals 2022”

Nothing quite matches the energy and excitement one experiences as a kid during the Christmas Eves of his or her youth. My family always ate a formal dinner the night before and my memories of those meals are so overwhelmingly positive. The food was great, sure. But my remembrances are partially slanted on the positiveContinue reading “RSJ’s Top 10 Christmas Movies”

Music has always been a huge part of my life. It surprises me that— in the 23 years I have occupied this weekly space— I have never written about music. I am such an ardent admirer of all genres of music I could have been writing a bi-weekly column for the past 23 years andContinue reading “My Top 20 Christmas Songs”

Appetizers are often the most interesting part of a restaurant menu. I could live in the appetizer section, alone, and often do. There are several reasons for this. Starters are easier to develop. Center-of-the-plate proteins need more focus, they cost more, and the gross profit is greater so more care needs to be taken whenContinue reading “Pass the Crackers (and the butter, and the slaw, and the comeback), Please”

It has been said that the four seasons in Mississippi are— almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas. I have friends who believe that the four seasons in Mississippi are— dove season, duck season, deer season, and turkey season. There are also people who would argue football season, basketball season, baseball season, and football pre-season.Continue reading “My Favorite Season”

L. Frank Baum nailed it when he penned the line, “There’s no place like home,” in his novel about the man behind the green curtain in land of Oz. Five truer words may never have been spoken. Home is where our lives grow fuller and richer. It’s one of the main sources of joy forContinue reading “Home Is Where the Realized Nouns Are”

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Yesterday I was having a conversation with one of my travel guests who was talking about being homesick when she was sent to camp as an eight-year-old. I tried to remember a time, over the past 61 years, when I might have been homesick. I have a vague memory of visiting some cousinsContinue reading “Restaurantsick”

Barberino-Tavarnelle, Tuscany— For the past 11 years I have spent considerable time in this region. Specifically in the two towns of Barberino and Tavarnelle in the Tuscan countryside exactly halfway between Florence and Siena. Over the past six years I have led over 600 people, in groups of 25 each, through European cites in SpainContinue reading “RSJ’s Tuscan Top Ten”

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, ITALY— Is it possible that one can fall in love with a town? I love my hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi— deeply— and can’t see myself living anywhere else. Ever. But I am a sixth-generation citizen in that part of the world. My roots are deep there. My history is long there. My businesses areContinue reading “Home Away From Home”