Email Author Robert Sietsema

Awards

• 2011 - Association of Food Journalists Awards, published June 23, 2010

  "An Open Letter to Josh Ozersky"

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published June 23, 2010

  "An Open Letter to Josh Ozersky"

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published December 1, 2010

  "May We Interest You in Some Egg Fetus?"

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published December 8, 2010

  "Siam I Am"

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2000 Stories by Robert Sietsema

• Temple of Doom

  published December 26, 2000

  A new circle of hell has been prepared, and Tao is its name. A bright red marquee blazes outside, and the interior—whittled from a former... More >>

• The Specials

  published December 12, 2000

  If it's Tuesday, grab saag sarso da with maki di roti. Penned in a Punjabi-English patois, the phrase describes a mellow dish of mustard greens... More >>

• Brrrrrrrr!

  published November 28, 2000

  Brooklyn has over a dozen eateries that reflect immigration from Naples and the surrounding region of Campania a century ago. Their scarlet... More >>

• Graze Like the Spaniards Do

  published November 14, 2000

  While the Parisian bistro has been repeatedly and reliably cloned, an equally charismatic European eatery has successfully resisted New York... More >>

• Inside the Volcano

  published October 31, 2000

  There's not much to be said about the decor at E & R. The boxy walls are smeared an industrial green that is interrupted by crazy red stencils of... More >>

• When Worlds Collide

  published October 17, 2000

  With the East Village rolling rapidly south and Chinatown plowing north, it was only a matter of time before they collided. The point of impact is... More >>

• Medieval Tribeca

  published October 3, 2000

  A couple of weeks in Umbria this summer left me desperate for the flavors of Central Italy—for pungent pork products like pancetta and... More >>

• Crocked

  published September 12, 2000

  Cafe Glechik goes out of its way to distinguish itself from the other Russian joints in Brighton Beach. There's no Casio, no attempt to lure you... More >>

• Ketchup Versus Ketjap

  published August 29, 2000

  Named after a ninth-century pyramid encircled by seven stone terraces featuring bas reliefs of Buddha's life, Borobudur is a new restaurant on the... More >>

• Organ Recital

  published August 15, 2000

  Perched on the lip of the BQE's subterranean maw and gloomed by the elevated Flushing line, Ihawan immodestly bills itself as the "Home of the... More >>

• Chicken Rehab

  published August 1, 2000

  Chinese American chef Anita Lo became a Downtown luminary four years ago at Mirezi, a stunning, short-lived Village restaurant featuring East-West... More >>

• Kasbah Rocks

  published July 18, 2000

  If you only ordered zaalouk ($3.50), you'd be disappointed. Despite a promising undertaste of cumin, this soggy eggplant-and-tomato puree seems... More >>

• Suicide Watch

  published July 4, 2000

  With sharp exclamations of delight, a table of Japanese diners dip their long tongs in a bubbling "pre-appetizer" of cheese fondue. Perhaps they... More >>

• Feelings: Woe, Woe, Woe

  published June 27, 2000

  Midway through a second meal at Quintessence, one of my regulars bitched, "You know, this is one of the worst things I've ever tasted." She was... More >>

• Cheating Death

  published June 20, 2000

  I'm fond of consoling bereaved friends upon the death of a favorite restaurant by pontificating, "Somewhere, an even better place has opened up."... More >>

• Pole Attacks

  published June 6, 2000

  Greenpoint's northeastern frontier sustains a half-dozen Polish restaurants so far from the subway that they're known only to residents of this... More >>

• Fish and Chips

  published May 30, 2000

  Order a whole fish on a weekday afternoon and Mostafa Khalil—walled behind boxes of pastries—leaves his cash-register pulpit and strides... More >>

• Chile Pilgrim

  published May 23, 2000

  Oaxacan is the Holy Grail of Mexican food. Based on seven legendary moles in shades of red, green, yellow, and black, the cuisine deftly wields... More >>

• No Paella

  published May 9, 2000

  The hunk of suckling pig arrives with the skin glistening and extravagantly inflated like an Indian poori. Burnished the color of Don Quixote's... More >>

• Very Berberé

  published April 25, 2000

  Two days later my fingers still smelled. The culprit was tsebhe beghie ($18), deliciously bathing lamb cubes in the Ethiopian spice mixture... More >>

• Little Sheba

  published April 11, 2000

  Though the smeary pink interior of 145 Luncheonette is accented with fake brick like a '60s diner, a squint through the window reveals an Arabic... More >>

• Sail Away

  published March 28, 2000

  Until recently, Gotham's Thai food lovers had a difficult choice: hang their heads in shame or move to Los Angeles. Then Sripraphai appeared, and... More >>

• Palermo Spleen

  published March 14, 2000

  "Focacceria" sounds like a trendy Tuscan bakery, but in parts of Brooklyn it denotes an old-fashioned Sicilian eatery specializing in snacks that... More >>

• Lower East Side Newcomer Earns Its B

  published February 29, 2000

  Guernica has some witty notions. Instead of occupying indentations in a round metal tray, escargots ($9) arrive in a basket whittled from a crusty... More >>

• God’s Fry-O-Lator

  published February 15, 2000

  If you've ever wondered what it feels like to be a sardine, drop by the corner of Madison Avenue and 125th Street on a sunny winter afternoon.... More >>