When in doubt, your favorite cookbooks will pave the way.

Some days, we have no idea what we want for dinner. When that happens, we'll grab a few of our favorite cookbooks and do a quick flip through to see if anything strikes our fancy. With Matthew having only one night left home before leaving for tour, we wanted to make this dinner count, but at the same time, didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen with a pile of dishes in the sink.

We are both into robust, heavily-spiced dishes -- we aren't typically excited about delicate flavors. Our spice cabinet isn't to be joked about (really, we have an entire cabinet filled only with spices). We opted for an Ottolenghi/Tamimi recipe from Jerusalem -- Turkey and Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin. For a side, we opted for Lebovitz Lemon-pistachio Israeli Couscous, also in My Paris Kitchen.

Of course, when I was in a hurry to run to the market because we made a last minute dinner decision, I skimmed the recipes. This is always a formula for disaster -- I read lemon, but not preserved lemon (which couldn't be more different). I will definitely be making this again with preserved lemon, and making some to keep on standby as David does, but it was still absolutely beautiful and tasted great. I compensated with extra salt and a hefty squeeze of lemon juice. I'll report back when I make it correctly, although, this was still fabulous. I love everything about pistachios -- I'm even making pistachio ice cream this weekend! And the dried fruit was an unexpected sweetness in a typically savory dish.

Turkey burgers can be dry and tasteless -- these have to be the absolute best recipe for turkey burgers. Moist, well-spiced, with a sumac-lemon-yogurt-sour cream sauce that we basically want to put on all meat from now on.

This is going to be one of our weeknight go-to's from now on. 

Beautiful, unsalted Pistachios.

Dried Cherries, Cranberries, and Apricots

Nuts, fruits, herbs, and spices for the couscous.

Turkey burgers brimming with herbs and spices.

Greek yogurt, sour cream, sumac, salt, garlic, pepper, and olive oil for the creamy sauce.

Colorful, and deliciously balanced couscous.

We have leaps and bounds to go when it comes to beautiful plating, but what matters most is that it was absolutely delicious.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Roasted Strawberry + Buttermilk Ice Cream

It's Memorial Day, so I'll begin with a note of memoriam for those who have served in the US military and lost their lives in the line of duty. We thank and salute you for your bravery.

Memorial Day is typically filled with general Americana. Plus, beaches, BBQ, and the day off of work. We decided to stay home and relax since Matthew departs for a European festival tour in just a few days. We always try to jam pack not only quality time, but all of the best home cooking we can squeeze in since it's about to be 4 weeks of catering, lunch meat, and eating out.

Today, we were jonesing for some homemade ice cream. We are obsessed with Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream. We buy it at our local Fresh Market, however, Matthew recently had the privilege of going to her storefront in Columbus, Ohio (color me jealous!) while on tour and brought the cookbook home for our library. 

I make ice cream all the time. It's definitely one of those things that seems a lot harder than it really is because good ice cream has minimal ingredients - cream, milk, sugar, and just a few extras for flavor. I also prefer American-style (Philadelphia-style) ice cream over French egg-custard. It's just a bit icier, less rich, and much easier to make (I'm known to curdle an egg/cream mixture).

We decided on Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk - it felt All-American and appropriate for the holiday. Buttermilk makes me all warm and fuzzy - it's such a Southern tradition - my grandmother drinks it out of the carton. As for me, I much prefer it in my recipes over drinking. We also decided to make a recommended balsamic reduction drizzle. 

I can't wait to figure out what to do with the leftover roasted strawberry puree - but I think I have a summer cocktail in mind!

This ice cream is absolute perfection - creamy and sweet with a touch of sour - I can't wait to make more from Jeni's. Knowing us, we'll be cooking our way through the entire book this year.

SOUNDTRACK: Early Rock 'n Roll Classics. Listen here.

COOKBOOK: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Fresh, Organic Strawberries

A few tablespoons of lemon perfectly balance the strawberry sweetness.

Vitamix for perfect pureeing!

I've never made ice cream with cream cheese before. It added such an amazing creaminess with a touch of sour.

The puree/dairy swirl.

Leftover puree, jarred and ready for another use this week.

We use our KitchenAid mixer with the frozen bowl attachment. It's so easy and low mess.

Two scoops with a balsamic reduction drizzle.

Parlez-vous French cooking? Not really, but we can try.

Saturday usually means spending the day making something more laborious than we would normally have time for on a weekday. Matthew gifted me the latest cookbook from my favorite food writer, David Lebovitz, for my birthday (My Paris Kitchen), but I waited until he was home so we could dig into our first recipe from it together.

French cooking is no joke. I'm not a big rule follower, and French cooking requires a lot of line-by-line instructions to be followed exactly. David Lebovitz manages to create recipes that infuse French culinary traditions while not being overly obtuse. If I can follow it without the itch to stray, anyone can. And lucky for me, Matthew is a big rule follower, so he keeps me in check.

We are huge fans of meat pie dishes as we both grew up with Southern grandparents. Naturally, the first dish we had to attempt was the Chicken pot Parmentier -- a French-style chicken take on a beef pie. 

The recipe called for two little tablespoons of white wine, so we had to open something we wanted to drink. We still had one bottle of Sauvignon Blanc left from Matthew's recent travels to Fairview Winery in South Africa. We know very little about wine and food pairings, but it actually worked beautifully.

One issue we had to troubleshoot through was ricing the potatoes. We don't have a potato ricer, and David Lebovitz explicitly states not to mash them with a beater to make sure the potatoes stayed light and not gluey. We made a shot-in-the-dark call that the KitchenAid mixer with the grater attachment would be the best shot... and it worked! Perfectly riced potatoes.

During the final step of piping the potatoes on, I couldn't for the life of me find my metal tips, so we winged it with a pastry bag with a small cut opening. 

This recipe took some time, so by the time it came out of the oven, we were starving and dug in before photographing the end result! (Picture the final photo with a crispier brown edge).

SOUNDTRACK: French Gypsy Jazz. Listen here.

COOKBOOK: My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz

I couldn't resist these beautiful peonies at the market. They match my tattoos!

Shout out to our friends at our fave ramen joint, Ramen Tatsu-Ya!

Baie Dankie. Buy a Donkey? Adventures in South African Pizza

We love pizza, especially pizza that isn't traditionally American. One of our favorite things to do is recreate flavors from the road. Matthew recently ventured to South Africa for the first time. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the trek. On top of bringing back amazing chocolate, coffee, and wine, he came back gushing about a flavor combination that he knew I would love. Sometimes I miss out on great culinary experiences, and that's where our kitchen conquests begin.

If you've never made pizza dough, you're missing out. It's not as daunting as it sounds and it's very inexpensive to make. The taste is incomparable to store bought, and you can always freeze the extra for standby pizzas. After trying out quite a few, the best recipe we have found is Jamie Oliver's.

In preparation, Matthew cooked 3/4 lb. of bacon (natural, no-sulfites-added!) and cubed 2 Hass avocados. After rolling out a thin crust, he sprinkled 8 oz. of feta cheese and sprinkled on all of the bacon. The big twist here is the egg addition. The pizza he had in South Africa didn't have an egg, but in Matthew's mind, everything is better with a sunny side up egg on it. After cracking two eggs on top, he placed it in a 500 degree oven for 10 minutes. We use a baking sheet - after many swearing episodes with pizza stone fails. During the last minute, he evenly spread the avocado across. From previous experience, it gets mushy when cooked too long.

Tangy feta, creamy avocado, salty bacon - simple, yet a perfect pizza profile.

Baie Dankie is "thank you very much" in Afrikaans which is kind of hilarious. Thanks for reading our first post!

Breakfast Quest I

Breakfast Quest I (Trivium, Devildriver, After The Burial, Sylosis Leg 1 North American Tour, 3rd/4th Quarter 2013)

When I think back in the years, I don’t ever recall being a huge American breakfast fan. Since I always had the option of Japanese breakfast growing up, I don’t think I appreciated the greatness that is the American breakfast. Lately, Paolo and I’s thing has been nabbing up as much amazing breakfast in the USA as possible. America does several things very well in food, and breakfast (now that I am of the converted) in America is pretty damn amazing sometimes.

When it comes to narrowing specifics, anything in the range of the diner realm is something I gravitate towards. Whether it’s a greasy spoon, old school diner; or something like a New American diner doing familiar dishes with impeccably sourced local ingredients, having fun and taking liberties with adding in the unexpected - America has something darn fine going on (Canada does a good diner sometimes too).

This best-of-the-best list takes you to the spots I stuffed my face at first thing in the (touring band dudes’) morning (typically 11:45am/noon).

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1. Albuquerque, NM. The Grove.

This is the cafe that Walter White in Breaking Bad frequented. This is where the Stevia packet was poured. This New American-style diner does modern and classic favorites alike; it has cookbooks and kitchen utensils and such for safe; the orders are done at the counters, and man is everything fantastic here. Paolo and I shared breakfast with Chris and John from Devildriver, I had: coffee, croque madame (toast with ham, cheese, and an egg on top), a side of thick back bacon, and macaroons. I am a sucker for French food, and The Grove nailed it. Best breakfast of the tour in a sacred location of television.

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2. Asheville, NC. Early Girl Eatery.

Asheville’s Early Girl Eatery has the charm of an old diner, mixed in with being something run by cool local kids. We had lots of the Trivium band and crew in tow here for our feast. The meal included: Local sausage and sweet potato scramble, multigrain pancakes, and fried green tomatoes. The fried green tomatoes here are a show-stopper.

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3. Chicago, IL. Little Goat.

Little Goat is in my mental notes of the sort of place I would open if I ever owned a restaurant. A modern, sleekly, yet warmly designed spot with the traditional diner as the backbone and inspiration upon what is built up here. Little Goat in Chicago and Skillet in Seattle are my favorite vibes of the “modern” diner as I call ‘em. Chicago is a beast when it comes to having an endless supply of mind-blowing food, and Little Goat follows suit. I went for their corned beef hash and a coffee. It was familiar, but done in that New American way that I love so much in the USA.

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4. Minneapolis, MN. Moose And Sadie’s.

Moose And Sadie’s like everything previously mentioned has become our tradition every time we hit the city. Moose And Sadie’s is setup like a local coffee shop with a counter you order at which slings out some really delicious stuff. I went for the huevos rancheros and a side of potatoes. Really impeccably done in it’s simplicity and freshness of ingredients.

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5. Boise, ID. Goldy’ Breakfast Bistro.

Great local diner run by younger folks. Beautifully done diner classics. I went for the omelette with spinach and gruyere, Goldy’s peps potatoes, maple house-made sausage, and wheat toast.

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6. Spokane, WA. Frank’s Diner.

Of the list, this is the first truly old school diner that is still hanging around sending out fantastically done breakfast and diner classics. I went for the hobo scramble here. I am a big fan of eggs, potatoes, cheese, and a meat all being paired up. As a kid, my dad would always mash all those components up in his breakfast and him and my sister would call it “mush”. It took me a few decade - but now all I want is “mush”.

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7. Charlotte, NC. Mattie’s Diner.

P90 Omelette.

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8. Boston, MA. Eastern Standard.

Scrambled Eggs, French Toast.

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9. Thunder Bay, Ontario. Niva’s.

The Big Finn

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10. Denver, CO. Syrup.

The Remedy.

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11. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Poached Egg.

Breakfast Plate.

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Dishonorable Mention:

Toronto, Ontario. The Senator.

I had the senator omelette. It was vastly overpriced, the potatoes were sad and obviously from a frozen bag, the eggs were burnt, the waitress very rude to Paolo, Chris (Devildriver), and myself. I don’t normally pick out spots to call out - but we walked far as heck to get there, were treated badly, fed badly, and ripped off as far as I’m concerned. Don’t go there.

Chin Chin

The Return Of The Kiichi-Kun III (as published in Burrn magazine)

The Return Of Kiichi-kun III

In our epic conclusion to the trio that is "The Return Of Kiichi-kun III," Ashely and I were finally able to venture into Tokyo and begin our exploration of all things Japan.

The first expedition found us wandering the back streets of Shibuya to head towards Harajuku. At first, we felt as if we were completely lost, attempting to utilize my phone maps (which for a USA phone in Japan, it doesn't quite work right). Eventually we found the shops getting cooler, the food stalls becoming far more interesting looking. We popped in and out of punk-clothing shops, a baby clothes store that featured graffiti-style printed clothes for toddlers, some thrift shops, then gradually made our way towards Kiddy Land; the king of all toy stores. I've hit Kiddy Land each time in Japan, collecting my Final Fantasy toys, but this time they had none! We stocked up on omiyage for our friends and family, then went for food.

This trip was mainly about food, so I'll be sure to summarize the choicest eats: 

Harajuku Gyozalo was lunch; and man, lemme tell ya, gyoza is one of my favorite things on earth. Meat stored in little packets of carbohydrate-y goodness is always what I have a craving for. Needless to say, this legendary gyoza shack was amazing. 

Shabuzen was dinner. We reunited with Koji from Roadrunner to sit back and chow down on all things meat. My okasan would always make sukiyaki at home, but I've never tried it in Japan; my goodness was this place good. Shabuzen was Ashley's favorite meal of the whole trip; this restaurant is the spot where Bill Murray and Scarlet J. had their fight in "Lost In Translation."

The following day found us traveling as a duo towards Asakusa to wander the shops and eat fresh senbei. A good friend of mine - Ken Sakurada - who owns Shin Sushi in Orlando (sushi as good as Japan basically) told me to meet up with his friend who works at Yoshikami, Azuma-san.

Yoshikami for me was one of the truly most unique things I've ever eaten. Yoshikami's food reflects the American soldier's description of the diner in Japan; it's basically the Japanese interpretation of what the American diner is, but utilizing a Japanese spin on it all. Omme-rice and pork cutlets were our lunch, along with some ice cream for desert, and for me it was a wonderfully unique experience. Omme-rice is something my okasan would always make for me for breakfast.

After our lunch, we grabbed the train to Ueno park and the Tokyo art museum. It was a Japanese cultural tour that inspired "Shogun," and this time around the limitless sea of inspiration I found within the museum will certainly be seen throughout many musical things I create next in Trivium and Mrityu. Spanning from ancient triptychs that could be new tattoos for me, to busts of ancient demons and goddesses who could be referenced in song, wandering the halls of the art museum in Tokyo was fuel to the creativity that I always long for.

Ashley had a step-tracker wrist band that she had on for the day, when we finally got back to our room after our day of sightseeing, it said we logged 10 miles!

I Love Meat was our dinner pick for the night: Yaki niku; always a crowd pleaser. We had multiple cuts of beef here, unfortunately we had no Japanese speaking friend with us, so it was a lot of pointing at images of cartoon cows to figure out the cuts of what we were eating.

Afterwords, we hit Ishinohana for a Pisco Sour and something fancy I can't recall the name of that Ash guzzled down. Ishonohana was a seriously fancy little joint for cocktails. The waiters were dressed in the prohibition-era style that is so popular in America; these guys sure had their craft down. Watching the bartenders here is watching artists at work.

Our final day saw tempura udon for breakfast, followed by a trek into Loft (for cute omiyage), Mandarake (to browse some anime comics), Blitz (for a metal T shirt or two), a panchinko arcade, then some photo booths that turn everyone into giant-eyed anime-girls. Yes - I did this as well. Lunch? More ramen and gyoza!!

For dinner, we found ourselves at an all chicken restaurant called Toriyoshi that we had with Koji-san. We had: Kirin, a thick chicken soup, a salad featuring chicken, a thick and rich oden with all parts of the chicken, yaki-tori chicken parts, oyaku-donburi, then even more chicken in the form of tempura. Holy chicken, Batman! It was a delicious final meal with our beloved pal Koji.

The morning of our flight, naturally - I wanted ramen again, but Ashley said she was “ramen-ed out”. My favorite breakfast is the Japanese breakfast (rice, salmon, miso soup, and tea), Ashley’s - the French breakfast (croque madame and cafe’ au lait). Lo and behold in all it’s combined splendor, we found the best of both worlds, we found a Japanese/French bakery. We had matcha croissants and scones; crossaints with cheese; a hotdog-stuffed pastry of some sort; and another cheesy roll. Ashley was a very happy Francophile. 

Unfortunately for us, it was time to fly back home; Ashley was to get back to her job as Creative Director at a local creative agency, and it was time for me to get back on tour again in North America, melting the faces of countless metalheads around the USA and Canada. 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Japan is the greatest place on Earth.

The Return Of The Kiichi-Kun II (as published in Burrn magazine)

The Return Of The Kiichi-kun II

It was a short van ride to Saitama from the Tokyu Excel for Loud Park; when we finally arrived, we all grabbed our bags and stage clothes and headed to the dressing rooms. 

Like pretty much everything else in this country, Japan really has the dressing room situation figured out; not only figured out, but basically has all things hospitality, nailed down better than any other country could even fathom. Each band has their own large private space, a decent rider in their room, temperature controls for your room (you’d be surprised how rare this feature is typically), a clean bathroom and showers nearby (a rarity in some countries to even have a shower or toilet), world-class catering (with Japanese food), and really pro backstage crew (including stage crew, caterers, hospitality, security, press, etc.). Japan, just like in everything else, does the backstage world better than anyone else.

To preserve my voice pre-show, I usually limit myself from little to no press before a show, but today there were a couple big bits, like a cross-talk interview with Baby Metal! It really is astounding to see a band so young, not only playing metal, but playing metal to thousands and thousands of people already. I felt a linking parallel to the band in that I joined Trivium when I was 12 as well; it’s just that they’re playing to way more people than I did initially. My first several years of shows never saw more than 15-50 people at a time.  

After a bit of press, we each warmed up in our usual fashion. My warm up routine is as follows: 4 hours before show, I need to be sure to cut off any and all food; 2 hours before is when I start to warm up guitar (utilizing selected warm ups from John Petrucci’s “Rock Discipline”); 1 and a half hours before show, I warm up my voice with Melissa Cross’s vocal warm ups (first baritone, then tenor); an hour before set, I stretch using my yoga mat, using selected stretches from the Ashtanga yoga series; 30 minutes before set, I change into my stage gear, put in my in-ears; then 15 before set, I make sure I’m by the stage, ready to rock. 

The show this time around in Tokyo truly was not only the best Japanese show of Trivium’s career, but one of the greatest shows of our career. The entire crowd knew every single word, knew every part to jump, mosh, clap, or circle pit. The circle pit we saw in the arena was so big, spanning so many barricades, that it created a giant “heart-shaped” circle pit in the crowd. We played rather early that day for such a massive audience, roughly some time around 2:00pm. I heard that our crowd was the most insane of the entire festival, and that’s always a good feeling.  

After the show, we had a large batch of press to take care of; everything we did was performed by some of the best press people in the industry. I even was interviewed by one of my favorite bands on the planet: Sigh; Japan’s best black metal band.  

When everything wrapped up, the entire Trivium band and crew headed back to the hotel, and then to Jyanka for yaki niku. Each of us loaded up on Suntory Premium Malts and meat. We started with Korean-style pickles, various cuts of impeccably delectable beef, a couple vegetables (for good measure), into beef with ground wasabi, more meat, cow stomach, even more meat, then a few sweets for everyone to share. Yaki niku is one of my favorites to chow down on in Japan; it encourages sharing, it encourages everyone to partake of the same thing, so each can really enjoy the same experience together; that’s my favorite way to eat. 

Needless to say, we celebrated the perfect show in the best way possible. 

The following morning, we assembled the entire team for one final meal out together; we hit Kamakura as a group since it was the only thing open that early in the morning for breakfast. I had my usual ramen, gyudon, gyoza, oni-giri breakfast. We all walked back to the hotel where Ashley and I said our farewells to 3/4’s of the Trivium band and our entire crew, it was now finally vacation time in Tokyo.

Le Bremner

Montreal, Quebec

There's no question that I am one lucky son-of-a-gun; I get to play guitar and scream at people for a living (and they enjoy it), and my favorite hobby is eating the best food I can find everywhere on Earth. 

I am very fortunately able to investigate and chow down on some of the top bites on the globe, and if speaking in terms of: "what's the best thing I've ever eaten in North America?" I can finally quickly and confidently answer that in one restaurant name: Le Bremner. 

Le Bremner is owned by chef Chuck Hughes, a badass chef who has multiple T.V. shows, several cookbooks, two wonderful restaurants (Le Bremner, Garde Manger), and has catered what I consider to be the best damn catering of any festival in music: Heavy MTL. I first met Chuck when we played Heavy MTL for the second time; we all were talking about how amazing it was the first time, and I wanted to merely thank the chef. When I was introduced to Chuck, I realized that this was the same Chuck whose show I watch all the time when I'm home. Chuck was a super cool dude; we chatted a bit, he checked out the show, we traded contacts, then we were off to another city.It wouldn't be until a little over a year later when Trivium returned to Montreal; Chuck was in another city working, but he had his chef Danny and his crew at Le Bremner welcome us into their home. 

Le Bremner is a beautiful little spot, tucked away down a flight of stairs off the noisey main street; It mildly reminds you of a nautical theme - almost sea-side castle-basement; open and inviting while retaining it's coziness. Playing cool music, with a hip and friendly staff - Le Bremner is very inviting. The easter egg of interior decor is the air conditioner. The A.C., decked out in stickers, is a nod to the rock n' roll/ punk rock vibe that several of the dudes here come from - it made me feel at home, a link of sorts that shows the music and food worlds convergence. 

Danny greeted us and asked if we'd want to try several things of his choice: Hell. Yes. 

At the table tonight was Joey B (our tour manager, front of house engineer, production manager, and one of my Jiu-Jitsu partners), Corey and Paolo. We started with oysters and lobster in a freakin' snare drum that contained some of the most marvelous oysters I've had on this continent, served with Chuck's own hot sauce. Next, we tucked into snow crab kimchi that was just perfect - both main components majorly complimented each other. 

Already - we could see the creativity in the kitchen the chefs like to riff on. 

For my beverage of choice: house-made ginger beer (fantastic). We were greeted next by tuna and tahini sashimi (a pairing I wouldn't have ever guessed that would go as well as this did, it almost generates a peanut flavor the way the two pair), into a scallop crudo chamoy aioli. Both of these dishes were Japanese sashimi quality fish, riffed upon with new school French Canadian master-mind gastro-tricks of simply pairing ingredients other wouldn't have thought to pair. Just look at the tuna and tahini: Japanese-style prepared fish utilizing a Middle Eastern component, finished with French technique? Whew…

The moment when everything I knew about food was turned upside down? The shrimp and cornbread, and the hot lobster sandwich with a 63 degree egg. The cornbread was sweet and exactly as cornbread should be in texture, with this delicious shrimp sauce on top; it played off flavors of sweet, salty, savory, shrimpy (in a great way); it was like eating dinner and desert at the same time. Everyone at the table was flipping out on this one. The lobster sandwich did this in a similar way as well, playing off of sweet and savory, but taken to new heights. The gravy was rich and deep, bursting with a warm, reduced flavoring; the lobster and bread had a hint of sweetness that makes your brain able to enjoy the full spectrum of taste in one dish.

The spicy tomato salad and romano looks as simple as can be, but is brimming with flavor, the dressing and cheese take two simple vegetables to such great heights. Out came a fried quail bucket with house-made ranch, and by this point each of us just looked at each other and laughed at how good this meal kept getting. Want the best fried chicken you've ever had? Get Le Bremner's fried quail bucket. Mixed wax beans, almonds, lardons, and a fried egg came out next; yet another thing I haven't personally had as a combo, especially a fried egg on wax beans. It sure as heck makes vegetables way more fun. The flavor combos while read French, it took me to flavors of Chinese and perhaps Malaysian. 

The finale' was lamb neck, mascarpone and mint agnolotti; house-made, naturally. Godly! I mean c'mon, what can't you do Le Bremner? Beautiful pasta made as good as Italy, herbs and spices and cheese that created a holy trinity on a plate. Hot damn… 

Afterwords, we wanted to thank the kitchen staff for treating us so incredibly. The talent of these men and women working out of the kitchen in Le Bremner is staggering. Montreal is a place I've always considered to be a food capitol of North America, and after tonight, Montreal is king of food in North America.

We outfitted some of the staff with some Trivium gear and said our farewells, then were handed some of their house-made deserts (just take a guess how those were). The Montreal crowd that night was the best crowd of the entire 69-show North American headlining tour. 

A massive merci beaucoup to Chuck, Danny, the entire staff of Le Bremner, and all things French Canadian.

http://www.chuckhughes.ca/

http://crownsalts.com/lebremner/

I Love New York City. Oh Yeah. New York City II. III.

I Love New York City. Oh Yeah. New York City II. III.

NYC, NY

The mission of the day was to hit one of my now-favorite diners in Brooklyn: Diner. I initially saw this place on one of Bourdain's shows, and from the first moment I saw this new-school interpretation of the traditional greasy spoon, I knew I had to chow down there. I'm not appropriately acquainted with the true history of Diner, but you can tell this place has stories to tell in its architecture; the floors look old, real old, the entryway is just a tiny little door - hardly even a logo on its facade. Inside, Diner feels like a mini-metallic hanger, you feel the commonalities with your average diner, only you feel a different air about the place: interesting looking kids run the place, with the same sort populating the tables and barstools.

This was the first introduction for each of us at Diner, and initially, when I saw the menu I was a little worried that I picked the wrong Diner; it had very simple selections with hardly a description: "sandwich," "salad," "burger" (at least I think it said burger on there). My lunch guests were Ashley and Darren (from 5B management) - I recall Darren looking at me and saying something along the lines of "are we at the right place? Should we maybe head somewhere else?" The location sure looked amazing, but were we possibly led astray into a different diner that wasn't Diner?When the waitress came by, she soon explained that the "sandwich" was in fact a giant fried chicken breast, served with greens, crisps, all nestled in bread; the soup was a white bean soup with far more ingredients than its modest monicker "soup" implied; there was a pig trotter "cake" with toast and jam; German brats with potato salad; and their "beer" was a Kulmbacher Pils. Quite unassuming titles if you ask me. Desert was to be their "pie": a lemon custard. So lo and behold - we were in the right place, and were about to get the good stuff. Each plate we shared - and each plate was something truly special. 

That's what I love about Brooklyn: take Diner for example… I feel if one were to not know that places with this much rugged "character" pump out some of the best things you can eat - they would assume this couldn't possibly be such a high-level spot for food; however, I'll take this kind of eating over anything. Does this fall in the New American range or title? Maybe not. Can you call it modern? I don't think it quite fits… it just sorta is. I'm finding more and more places like this around the globe: unassuming, maybe slightly renovated or simply just all-original-parts kind of thing (and not renovated, just it-is-what-is-kinda-joint), interesting looking (in the sense they're not the adorned in fancy work-gear) young people, real people working the tables and the knives.

All people deserve to eat wonderfully prepared, interesting food, from great sources, made by people who really give a damn; and a place like Diner sums that vibe up: it ain't fancy, it ain't exclusive for stuffy-types, it's its own unique thing; it's affordable, it's real, and it's filled with real people.

Have I mentioned I love these kind of places?