Author Archives: Robert

The World’s Best Smoked Tuna Dip WATERCOLOR, Fla.— Twenty years ago, before I opened my first restaurant, I lived in the Florida Panhandle and worked as a waiter. I was single, the money was good, and I had the stress level of a turtle. In my Florida days I awoke around 10 a.m., traveled acrossContinue reading “The World’s Best Smoked Tuna Dip”

The Camellia Grill On a hot August day in 1989, I took a young, beautiful, and adventurous 22-year old girl to New Orleans for our first, out-of-town date. We spent time in the French Quarter and then drove down Canal Street to admire the houses and their architecture. We were at the testing phase ofContinue reading “The Camellia Grill”

Luke My daughter turned ten-years old last week. To celebrate her decade on the planet she asked to be taken to New Orleans to eat breakfast, lunch, and shop (not necessarily in that order). The moment she mentioned breakfast I knew exactly where to take her. Chef John Besh has opened yet another restaurant— Luke.Continue reading “Luke”

ISLA MUJERES, MEXICO— The next time I gripe about the summer heat in Mississippi, I will try to remember Mexico at noon, in May. Business took me to the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Easternmost point of Mexico, an island on the Caribbean Sea— Isla Mujeres. The island is surrounded by clear, turquoise water with— whatContinue reading “Top Secret Ceviche”

News travels fast, but incorrect news travels even faster. Five weeks ago I wrote a column that opened with this sentence: “Soft-shell crab season is here. Halleluiah, amen, and pass the Remoulade sauce!” That was a true statement— at the time. By the time the column was published there were no soft shells to beContinue reading “The Great Soft-Shell Crab Crisis of 2007”

I am in my 46th year. Some days I feel every minute of those four and a half decades, others I feel as I did in my teens. My wife would say that, maturity-wise, I am still in my teens… early teens. I ate breakfast this past Saturday and felt older than I have everContinue reading “Donuts and Age”

New Carpet I purchased new carpeting for my son’s room last week. You wouldn’t believe how badly a five-year old boy’s carpet can look and smell after a few short years. Stains and spots were scattered from the center of the room to its most remote corners. With some we knew the origin, others remainedContinue reading “New Carpet”

 (but not your arrest record… or your pedicure) Last week I read a story in The Evening Standard that opened with the sentence: “Hugh Grant has been arrested after allegedly hurling a tub of baked beans at a photographer.” O.K., I’ll bite. How can one read an opening line such as that and not continue?Continue reading “Beans, Beans, Good for Your Heart”

Roll Out the Vertical Stripes The diet is over. On January 8th I began dieting in preparation of a photographer flying in from New York to shoot my next book. My goal was to lose 30 pounds in four months. The time has come. The photographer is here. I hit just above 50% of myContinue reading “Roll Out the Vertical Stripes”