Grand Central Station is one of the only New York City tourist destinations that I can stomach, and I mean that literally. Tucked away in one of the giant building’s cavernous hallways is a piece of quintessential New York — the Oyster Bar. It’s a great place to kill time drinking beer while waiting for Metro North. Oyster Bar is also a great place for a solo lunch. When I want to escape for a half an hour I sit at the bar, drink a nice cold draft beer and put the hurt on some oysters or a lobster roll. L-I-V-I-N.

More photos here.

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John Tinseth and I met sometime in 2008, back when I worked with J. Press. We met up one night for drinks with a mutual friend. I think John got stuck with the tab that night (which if memory serves was around $300; not that he has let me forget it).  In my defense, I would have happily paid, I’m not one to skip on a check especially when lubricated. Anyway, John started his website The Trad around the time I started ACL. The Trad is a little bit older actually — a fact I’m sure Tinseth enjoys privately. Well, it is at least something he doesn’t relish in front of me. Which is nice of him.

Tinseth and I hit it off immediately — the man is easily one of the best story tellers I have ever met in my life. Shit, add liquor into that mix and you have yourself one hell of an evening, which we always do. I don’t want John to get a big head, but The Trad is by far my favorite blog to read — especially since I know John and how he is in real life. Even if I didn’t know him I’m sure I would still love it. Tinseth has the rare skill of being a great story teller, but also being able to put those stories into words. I don’t know why he hasn’t been offered a book yet.

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Part of my July 4th weekend was spent in the most delicious way, baking southern-style biscuits. I asked my mother to supervise while I attempted to become a skilled and successful Yankee biscuit maker — something the Lee Brothers seemed to have accomplished. So I spent several hours making and tasting rolled biscuits (I haven’t even attempted drop biscuits, but they have to be easier to make), trying to get the rise just right and the insides fluffy and perfect. I should say that I’m not much of a cook and I am even less of a baker, but I really just want to master this one skill. I want to become a champion biscuit maker so I can selfishly enjoy my own creations, and also so I can impress people. Shit, I want to impress people from the south. At the end of the day, I just don’t want to have to drive to Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill to get a good biscuit. While my quest of biscuit cookery continues, I wonder who has the best biscuits in New York. And in that same thought, who makes the best biscuits in the world?

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One morning a few months ago I was thinking about donuts. That seems normal right? Thinking about donuts in the morning. Especially if you consider it was me doing the thinking. Well anyway, I was wondering who has better donuts, New York or Los Angeles? So I did what anyone would do, I took to twitter to conduct an impromptu (and non-scientific) poll of the best spots in their respective cities. One place that numerous people called-out in the Greater Los Angeles area (I just like how that sounds, Greater Los Angeles) was Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood. And man, I have to agree. Randy’s makes some tasty donuts. After a long flight in LAX, nothing is better than stopping at Randy’s for a cup of coffee and a donut.

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If you happen to find yourself out in the country in Wisconsin, do yourself a favor and stop by the Pleasant Ridge Store for a burger and a beer. That’s exactly what I did not too long ago and I’m a happier man for it. Situated seemingly in the middle of nowhere (and I mean that in the best possible way) the Pleasant Ridge Store used to be exactly that, a country store, but these days they serve the farmers and dairy folk with cold Wisconsin brews and bar food.

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An unscientific survey of some of L.A.’s best burgers. Jonah and Palmer — the gents from Aether (who are friends, clients and advertisers on ACL) — and I decided to visit five (or so) burger destinations while I am on my left coast tour. The first stop, Umami Burger, was a place many had highly recommended. We met up at the outpost on La Brea for lunch and Umami did not disappoint.

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Speaking of regional delicacies, meet Cheerwine. The super bubbly cherry soda from Salisbury, North Carolina is the perfect companion for a hot summer day or a trip the your favorite BBQ spot. In fact, Manhattanites rejoice, Cheerwine is available at Brother Jimmy’s and I’m sure a few other locations throughout the city. The delicious soft drink lays a serious ass whoopin’ on Cherry Coke, and I don’t even ever drink Pepsi products so whatever they make that is cherry flavored probably isn’t as good as Cheerwine either.

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A Biscuitville near Greensboro, North Carolina.

The thing that makes homogenization work is that it makes people comfortable; you can go to Starbucks in Chicago or Dubai and it will basically be the same thing. While this can be soulless and depressing, it can also come in handy. A hungover breakfast in Tokyo for instance (#eggmcmuffintime). But I also love to discover the regional spots that have yet to fully conquer the landscape. In Ohio this manifests itself in the form of Bob Evans. This past weekend I was in North Carolina and couldn’t miss the always delicious and still privately held regional chain Biscuitville. To me, Biscuitville is the Southern breakfast equivalent of the West coast burger mecca In-N-Out. The biscuit making began in 1966 as a way for founder Maurice Jennings (who owned a Pizza chain called — wait for it — Pizzaville) to do a breakfast business. In 1975 the first full time biscuit operation opened in Danville, Virginia and Biscuitville was born. The rest is history.

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What could be better than lunch at the Darien, Connecticut institution the Sugar Bowl? In my book, not much. The greasy spoon is known by locals and non-locals alike as the place to eat in the posh Connecticut suburb. Breakfast on the weekends is a crowded affair, but a late Friday afternoon lunch ensured space at the counter complete with a cheese burger, chocolate shake and a belly ache. Once you’re done, head over to the Darien Sport Shop for some sneakers and go for a run.

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The scene: Monday at midday on Tonnele Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey; it’s lunchtime and sustenance is essential to my survival. Where could this possibly be going you ask? The answer, my friends, is the old school diner White Mana. New Jersey is famous for its diners with their extravagant architecture and their all encompassing menus, but this particular place is special. Originally opened for the 1939 World’s Fair in Queens — or so the owners claim — White Mana has been serving up super flat hamburgers to generations of hungry customers. If you are out in North Jersey or just a hamburger lover it is worth the trip. I’m one to seek out old school spots like this and when my friend took me for the first time I was as happy as could be. Now when I head out to my ACL bag factory in Jersey (coming soon I promise), I always try to make a point to stop at White Mana.

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It all started in 1985 when — in an effort to save money — Coca-Cola stopped using real cane sugar and reformulated the iconic drink to be made with high-fructose corn syrup. The U.S. government subsidizes corn growers so much (some $40 billion since the mid 90s) that HFCS is cheaper than sugar, and when you are producing on the scale that Coke is material costs are crucial to the bottom line. What does this have to do with Mexican Coke you ask? Well, the bottlers south of the border never made the switch to HFCS, so people (like myself) feel that Mexican Coke has a better taste than American Coke. I think the Coca-Cola made with real sugar is less sweet tasting and has a smoother finish than HFCS Coke and thus is superior. There is also some Coors beer action going on (ever see Smokey & the Bandit? They’re thirsty in Atlanta and there’s beer in Texarkana) because Mexican Coke is harder to get.

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Bourdain’s No Reservations: Disappearing Manhattan was broadcast a while back, but it is still worth a watch if you haven’t seen it. Fuck, it’s worth a watch even if you have seen it ten times. Eisenberg’s, Manganaro Foods, Keens, Le Veau d’Or (which I leaned about when The Trad took me for lunch), this show is like my NYC gastro-playbook. Watch it, love it, live it.

Part 1/5: “Keens is meat and liquor, plain and simple.” -Anthony Bourdain

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