I have been a restaurateur for 20 years and a "foodie" my entire life (my experience with restaurants began as a child, when my mother, single and unable to afford a babysitter, had no choice but to drag me along on dates). Besides just being a "foodie," I have always been fascinated by the mechanics of restaurants. How do they, night after night, turn out so many meals consistently and on time (for the most part) with so many "cooks" in the kitchen. To this day, even after having opened so many restaurants, I am still amazed by the entire process. This blog was born partly out of my love for food and for great restaurants (from neighborhood joints to the world's finest) and partly in response to an increasingly negative, downright nasty climate that has surfaced in the world of restaurant journalism. My intent is to provide a different perspective-from a restaurateur's point of view-as well as to share some of the great food experiences I have been exposed to because of my success in the business. I've also made it my mission with this blog to comment on reviews that I feel are not-fair, not-objective and not-constructive. I look forward to hearing your comments. http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/ Fri, 03 Aug 2007 11:08:26 EST Fri, 03 Aug 2007 11:08:26 EST In regards to Frank Bruni's review of Wild Salmon in the New York Times, [Wednesday, August 1st] I found it surprising that Mr Bruni chose the focus of the first three paragraphs of his review to be on a missing decorative penguin (or chocolate fish) on the baked alaska dessert. I think the ultimate purpose of a review is to educate the publi... http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=9 Fri, 03 Aug 2007 11:08:26 EST http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=9 It has been a long drought. I didn't realize how much work would be involved in writing a blog in the way I wanted to do it--thoughtfully. And besides, I didn't know if people really cared about the South Beach Food and Wine Festival or Eataly. As for my perennial critics, Frank and Adam, I haven't had much reason to write. [I was g... http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=8 Thu, 24 May 2007 13:05:42 EST http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=8 A few weeks ago I went to Torino, site of last year's Winter Olympics, to see a new concept in food shopping and dining called, of all things, Eataly. Located in an historic renovated Italian liquor factory, this 120,000 square foot flagship is like a Whole Foods dedicated to the absolute bes... http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=7 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:03:56 EST http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=7 Fortunately, (or maybe unfortunately in the case of Robert's) I didn't have to follow Frank to either Momofuku Ssam Bar or Robert's; I have already been to both of them. David Chang is certainly a talented chef and I was happy to see him get his great review (although he certainly stressed about it in Eater the day before Frank reviewed it). ... http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=5 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:03:21 EST http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=5 WOW! What a firestorm! Within hours of my letter to the New York Times being published in last week's (February 21, 2007) Dining In/Dining Out Section, I was being interviewed live on CNBC and on the phone by several major news organizations. I had received hundreds of emails, text messages, and voicemails from friends and colleagues expres... http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=4 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:03:02 EST http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=4 I apologize for the delay in posting my new blog entry. This has been an overwhelming week given the reaction to the NY Times ad and dealing with all of the subsequent press inquiries. I will be updating the blog shortly!... http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=3 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:02:27 EST http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=3 Imagine you decided to start a small manufacturing business making a variety of products (30 to 40) designed to sell, for the most part, between $15 and $40. You're not sure precisely what will sell well and in what amounts, but you have to, nonetheless, be able to produce those products at expected levels while staying flexible in case some ... http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=2 Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:02:14 EST http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/viewEntry.cfm?i=2