About Me

I’ve been a columnist at the Los Angeles Times Book Review, a contributor and staffer at The New Yorker, a James Beard Award-nominated food writer, a fellow at the Columbia Journalism School, a barely perceptible head in the background of Food Network shows, the co-writer of a Kris Kristofferson documentary for Bravo, and a frequent contrib—on architecture and design, food and wine, books and music—to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Oxford American, and Vogue, among other publications. Most recently, I’ve been deputy editor of Men’s Vogue (RIP), a contributing editor at Gourmet (RIP), and an adjunct professor at Columbia University.

I've also worked from time to time as a touring and recording musician, mostly with the bands Champale and Maplewood. Highlights include collaborating with America—as in “Horse with No Name”—on their "Here and Now" album (Sony, 2007) and contributing several songs to the soundtrack of Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead." Lowlights are too numerous to list here.