Vegan Dining to the Max
There are four reasons why I could never be vegan, and their names are Red Hawk, Milk in My Coffee, Butter, and Macaroni and Cheese... Pleased to meet you. I do, however, hold a healthy respect for anyone with willpower enough to strike these demonic joys from their lives. I couldn’t do it, for sanity’s sake, yet I envy their healthy digestion :)I attended last night’s vegan dinner at Beaver’s to satisfy a long-standing curiosity. My concept of vegan foods had been the nasty-lo

Loves Me Some Chicken and Waffles
Without a doubt, chicken-and-waffles is one of the best inventions to come out of the 1800’s, right alongside the light bulb, the telephone, and industrialization. Seriously. More recently, this historically soulful concoction has found a little cubbyhole in my heart that I never knew existed. And while I generally don’t love mixing savory with sweet, I’ve developed a shameful lust for C-n-W that demands to be kindled. To that end, I’ve been making my way around town in hopes of locating the very best iteration. Fried Chicken? Awesome. Waffles? Awesome. Fried chicken and waffles together? Triple

The Shame of Our Schools
You might already know that I teach 10th grade English at a rigorous, low-income charter school called YES Prep. What you might not know is that more than 80% of our students qualify for free and reduced meals -- and what you almost assuredly do not know is what “free and reduced lunch” looks like. Well, here you go. It looks like this.

Pumpkins at Canino's...
Are just .25/pound! And man, are they gorgeous. Every time I go to Canino’s I kick myself for not going more often.

Ciao Bello
Tony Vallone hasn’t gone out of his way to promote his new restaurant, Ciao Bello, yet it’s near-packed early on a Wednesday night. Sheesh. Given the stature of the Vallone name around town, this is not a big shock. Also not surprising is that Ciao Bello is another gold star on his already dazzling resume. Walking in you’ll notice that the place is a near replica of the restaurant’s previous iteration, complete with high ceilings, beautiful bar, and a window into the kitchen. It’s a nice enough space, but prepare to get a little cozy -- the dining room is so crammed with