About Gael Greene
Photo: Steven Richter
In her role as restaurant critic of New York Magazine (1968 to January 2002) Detroit-born Gael Greene helped change the way New Yorkers (and many Americans) think about food.
"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ice Cream But Were Too Fat To Ask," "The Mafia Guide to Dining Out." and " Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen" were early pieces. In more recent years her annual roundup of New York City's dining favorites, Ask Gael, was a gourmand's collectible for many years and she continues to write a weekly Ask Gael column for NYM. Earlier she worked at the New York Post.
As co-founder with James Beard and a continuing force behind Citymeals-on-Wheels as board chair, Ms. Greene has made a significant impact on the city of New York. Citymeals, the largest public/private partnership in the country, has raised $200 million in its twenty-six-year history to help feed the city's frail elderly shut-ins.
Ms. Greene's memoir, "Insatiable, Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess" was published April, 2006. Earlier non-fiction books include "Delicious Sex, A Gourmet Guide for Women and the Men Who Want to Love Them Better" and "BITE: A New York Restaurant Strategy." Her two novels Blue skies, No Candy" and "Doctor Love" were NY Times best sellers.
Gael Greene
Articles used with permission of Gael Greene, Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Steven Richter's photographs may not be used without permission.
Gael Greene's New York City Restaurant Reviews and more....
Archives
The NYC Insiders Guide
for women who aren't kids
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Gael Greene
Gael Greene's New York City Restaurant Reviews and more....
The NYC Insiders Guide
for women who aren't kids
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
Ask Gael: "My out-of-town friends seek lunchtime perfection. "
Dear Gael,
A longtime friend has asked me for lunch recommendations for herself and three of her friends who refer to their group as “The Theatre Ladies.” These four women have been meeting in New York annually for more than 10 years. Their motivation is: the theatre and the never-ending choice of restaurants.
Coming from Charleston SC, Cohasset, Massachusetts, Waterford, Connecticut and the DC area, they stay at the Marriott Marquis at Broadway and 46th Street and take their chances on the plays they can see, using the TKTS booth at Times Square. Lady Luck is part of the fun, they say, but not for lunch.
Their deal at the Marriott provides them with a buffet breakfast and an hors d’oeuvre buffet in the late afternoon-early evening. So, they’re on their own for lunch and in need of your suggestions. Although they’re partial to restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, they’re not afraid to hail a taxi.
Your recommendation last year of “Jean-Georges” (which I passed along to them) was such a hit that they hope to reprise it this time and they wait in anticipation for your suggestions for their remaining 4 days.
Love, Naomi
Dear Naomi,
Everyone who knows it loves chef Michael White’s Convivio in Tudor City for highly original as well as traditional southern Italian food. We order sfizi (little bowls) to share and one of the lush pastas to follow. Lunch Monday thru Friday 12 to 2 p.m.
A tasting menu at Devi (8 East 18th Street) solves my usual dilemma of what and how to order from the typically dauntingly vast Indian menu of similarly saucey offerings. Here the gifted chefs have it all organized in small portions with unusual chutneys and vegetables dishes and something fabulous from the Tandoori. Lunch Monday to Friday noon to 2.
I love Harold Moore’s cooking at Commerce (50 Commerce Street) on a charming Village street although the noise can be forbidding. I’ve not yet tasted his brunch but it ought to be good too. Sundays only 11 to 4.
Choose vegetables or the sensational ferro soup, the braised rib, a small cut of lasagna or any of daily changing Assaggi (Italian for tastes) on chef Cesare Casella’s inexpensive menu at Salumeria Rosi, a fancy grocery at 283 Amsterdam just north of 73rd Street. 212 877 4800. Noon to 3 eight days a week. Best reserve.
I love Tom Valenti’s lush American cooking at Oeust on Broadway at 83rd Street. I have never tasted his Sunday only brunch (11 to 2) but I would bet on it, too.
None of these are secret discoveries…so best reserve ahead.
Break an egg,
Gael
