2. The room is empty Why is nobody here on a Thursday night? Just opened? Don’t kid me, I can see ... restaurant doesn’t want birds near their tables. I’m resisting the obvious jokes. 5. Smells If you can ... or the cooking oil or the restaurant is on fire. 6. Carpet I’m particularly thinking about loud ... physically. If your hands are sticky after touching a menu then the restaurant very probably doesn’t care...

Being that my trip to the States is coming to a rapid close, I decided that there was no better way to spend a beautiful fall evening than visiting one of a handful of Spanish Tapas Restaurants in the Northern suburb of Evanston, Illinois. Squeezed amongst the plethora of high ...

... and John Brecher regarding restaurant wine service. Several great pet peeves were mentioned that I've ... to order more just to spite them! 2. Wait-staff pouring wine from an ordered bottle at all. This is just like it sounds and I am in the camp that says I would rather pour my own when I want more ... . Any restaurant that is going to serve wine should at least know the appropriate temperature to serve...

... to share, you are lucky :) Since I tend to write and talk about food and wine all the time, many...

AWESOME! We had the 1997 Napa Cabernet for dinner last night along side another well known Napa Valley Cabernet producer. The wines were perfectly matched for a comparison tasting - both 1997s, both from Napa Valley and both produced within 4 miles of each other. There was no comparison. Our ...

We recently opened a 1996 Leonardini Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. What a great bottle of wine! Ten years was the perfect aging time on this wine since the tannins were still intact, but soft, the fruit was opulent and the oak, very subtle. If you have any of this wine around, ...

Fourth of July is a big deal in our family. We always eat some fantastic food and drink some incredible wines from producers all over the world. This year was no different. Some of us always start out with a margarita and some with the new release Chardonnay. Tom Sr. ...

There is a god. And he provides a horizontal spit of lamb barbecued over white hot coals. This is what makes Lambs on Spit (245 Malvern Road, South Yarra, vic 3141 +61 3 9826 8201 ) the best late night kebab in Melbourne. Drop in and you may just find the creative director of the Melbourne Food ... – just up the road from Hungry Jacks – with the hot coals. Incidentally, I recently passed another...

A new restaurant needs to be put in context. For Lau’s Family Kitchen (4 Acland St, St Kilda 3182 ... ’s finest Chinese restaurant. He’s sold out of Melbourne’s Flower Drum. This year it slipped (sans ... ’t some flash opening party, simply the first night of a new restaurant which until late this afternoon ... as starting any new restaurant often is. No stars that I know of attended. But I recognised plenty of local...

Spanish joint Movida I believe has already found a site in Sydney. I just hope they don't replicate...