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.


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Gael Greene's New York City Restaurant Reviews and more....
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
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I don't mind if the bun is common at Fairway Cafe when the burger is great.Photo: Steven Richter

From my porthole overlooking the pounding surf in Lala Land, I see the blogs are all atwitter over New York burgers, the passion that knows no season. The truth is, when I feel the need, I don’t waste my mouth on a trifling low-end generic. I want a proud, compelling burger – caramelized, rare and juicy, like 5 Napkin’s iconic hunk or the Brooklyn Diner’s proud beauty. Fairway Café’s meaty dinner burger, $12 with two toppings – I like well-done bacon and grilled onions – is as low-end as I go. Tales of the Corner Bistro have never drawn me to the West Village and now, with Bruni’s report, I’m even less sure I need to check it out. I tasted the beloved Shake Shack just once.  It was fun nibbling it al fresco with fries in lush, leafy Madison Park on a vibrant spring day, but thin, too cooked, and with that pickle tucked in the middle, it tasted like an adolescent White Castle on hormones. Good enough for kids who aren’t ready to grow up.

Fairway Café -- 2127 Broadway between 74/75th Sts. 2nd floor -- 212 595 1888 I do my breakfast meetings and sometimes lunch at Fairway (true, it’s a block from my home and a block from my office). But often I am back at dinner time when they lower the lights and put out table cloths. Often I just have to have the expertly-made burger, with bacon and cheese and a double order of coleslaw.  But just as often, I order flank steak or skate on the $29.00 three course dinner --  a gift of thrift to the upper west side -- imagine a glass of drinkable wine for just $6 or $7, with Mitch London’s lush and slovenly primitive apple pie à la mode. When Mitch is there, he bustles like an obsessed Jewish mother and drives the staff relentlessly if they don’t treat the customers like the spoiled divas that many of us are. 

Brooklyn Diner -- 212 West 57 St. btw B'way and 7th Av. 212 977 2280. Also at 155 West 43rd Street just east of B'way.
At least once every week or two my soul mate Vicki and I follow a play or a screening with a heaping hill of Chinese chicken salad to share. When I am about to succumb to the lure of the mythic cheesecake, she saves me from myself.  Happily, when my guy and I drop in to share a Brooklyn salad and devour a very rare burger -- with bacon and a toussle of friend onions, he is as vulnerable as I…and a cheescake ritual is almost always observed,

5 Napkin Burgers-  630 9th Avenue at 45th Street, NYC 212-757-2277
Read Gael's previous review here.


Where does Gael Greene go for great burgers?