Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Mississippi legislature is banning fried foods from our school cafeterias. At least we’re better off than Rhode Island. In that postage stamp of a state they’ve banned talking in the school cafeteria during lunch. Well actually only one school has barred talking, but you know how these things work— once one falls the othersContinue reading “Fried Chicken Once a Month, Please”

Olives When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the Beau Rivage hotel and casino was inundated with water and its future changed forever. Its restaurants were completely wiped out and the entire operation was shut down for one year. In 99.9 percent of the cases, that was a bad thing. For that .1 percent thereContinue reading “Olives”

Viva Las Diet LAS VEGAS— So much for the diet. I was on a two-week roll with eight pounds lost, good eating habits formed, and metabolism ginning like a gnat’s— then came the Christmas present. Christmas morning my wife gave me a trip to see the new Cirque de Soleil show based on the Beatles’Continue reading “Viva Las Diet”

Diet Diary Week II Welcome to week two of dieting hell. I hesitated to write about this subject two weeks in a row for fear that new readers to this column might think that the only topics ever discussed within these paragraphs are my eating habits (or lack thereof). The hesitation only lasted a fewContinue reading “Diet Diary Week II”

2007 New York has banned trans fats, Chicago has banned foie gras, and my hometown of Hattiesburg has just banned cigarettes. That is how I intended to start this week’s column. Typically, I would use the next several paragraphs to make fun of the overzealous food police, vegetarians, and New Yorkers in general— some ofContinue reading “2007”

Robert’s Top Ten 2006 As is the tradition in this column, each year I compile a list of the top ten dining experiences I enjoyed over the past year. 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.Continue reading “Robert’s Top Ten 2006”

Ravioli and Sweet Tea in NYC I bit the bullet. Actually, I bit the Big Apple and took the kids to New York. Over the last 18 years, my visits to the island of Manhattan have focused on one thing: eating. Each year my schedule is dictated by restaurants, business meetings and theatre, in thatContinue reading “Ravioli and Sweet Tea in NYC”

Of Fires, Dogs, and Fruitcakes Every year we close the restaurant early one Sunday before Christmas and host a large party for all 150 of our employees. Each employee brings a guest and we open the bar, hire a band, and prepare a feast from the kitchen. I host a dinner for all of theContinue reading “Of Fires, Dogs, and Fruitcakes”

A few weeks ago I wrote a column about dining in joints. In the column I asked readers to e-mail their favorite joint. Before I publish the reader’s submissions and comments, I would like to revisit the definition of a joint. At first glance, a joint might not look like a restaurant one wouldn’t evenContinue reading “The Charm of Dining in Joints”