So who is James Oseland? He is the Editor-In-Chief of Saveur, one of the most highly regarded food publications around. He’s also quite an authority on the cuisine of Southeast Asia. After years traveling through and living in different parts of Indonesia and India, he wrote Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. A native of San Francisco, we’re quite impressed with his mastery of foreign foods. James, whenever you want to come over and cook in our Infatuation version of Kitchen Stadium (a studio apartment) let us know.
If you look close enough, you also might recognize James from his time spent as a guest judge on Top Chef Masters, or as the primary author for Saveur’s new cookbook, The New Comfort Food: Home Cooking from Around the World. Having lived in NYC for decades now, James has some solid restaurant picks, and he’s the first to shoutout Joe Junior’s, an old school spot we definitely need to review.
For more info on James, check out his website and be sure to follow Saveur on Twitter and Facebook.
James’ “Perfect For” Picks
Birthdays
Gramercy Tavern (42 E 20th St.) – “(The restaurant half, not the bar half). Easy Answer. The ever-changing menu, those classy paintings staring you down, all that wood, not to mention the occasional sighting of Mike Anthony, the cutest chef in New York, it is the perfect place to celebrate turning 25 again.”
Classic NYC Establishment
La Grenouille (3 E 52nd St.) – “My opinions about many things in life are relentlessly iconoclastic – with the exception of fine dining. New York City’s La Grenouille hits all of my old-school, fine dining sweet spots, from the absolutely perfect frogs’ legs that sing of Escoffier to the ever-changing floral arrangements. If heaven were a restaurant, it would feel like this.”
Dining Solo
Joe’s Junior (167 3rd Ave.) – “I am surely about to decimate whatever street-cred I have in the world of food, but my (I guess no longer) secret favorite solo dining joint is the Joe’s Junior, around the corner from my Manhattan apartment. It hasn’t changed an ounce since I first knew it as a punk rock youth in 1980, and the cheese omelet (I always order the Velveeta version, with a side of dry wheat toast) satisfies me in a way that few other foods can.”
Oysters
EN Japanese Brasserie (435 Hudson St.) – “Sure. Grand Central’s Oyster Bar is ever wonderful, but lately I’ve been in love with the kumamoto oysters available (most of the time) at EN Japanese Brasserie on Hudson. They are insanely sweet and juicy.”
Vegetarians
Angelica Kitchen (300 E 12th St.) – “It’s kind of corny of me, but I gotta say, I’ve loved Angelica Kitchen, in Manhattan’s East Village, for the last two decades and I have a strong suspicion I’ll love it for another two decades. Especially terrific: the three bean chili. I can’t get enough of this stuff – it immediately brings me back to all the California, 1970s hippie-food classics I grew up eating.’”
Bonus: A Dosai to Die For
Saravanaa Bhavan (81 Lexington Ave.) – “Over the last decade, the places that serve dosais – those fabulous, South Indian lentil-based crepes – has practically exploded in New York City. My favorite? The varieties available at Saravanaa Bhavan, on Lexington. Of the 25 or so on offer, their basic masala dosai, filled with brilliantly spiced mashed potatoes, is one of the best things you can eat in all of Manhattan.”
James’ Twitter People
@Eater – Eater National
@davidlebovitz – David Lebovitz
@amandahesser – Amanda Hesser
@gailsimmons – Gail Simmons
@GaelGreene – Gael Greene
