About Rick

I was born and raised in Minneapolis, where I grew up feasting on tater-tot hot dish, real sweet corn, Pearson’s Nut Goodies, and that celebration of all things fried on a stick, the Minnesota State Fair. My mom and stepdad owned a series of restaurants in town, including the pioneering New French Café in the warehouse district, which still has some of the best bread I’ve ever eaten (the secret was the oat flour). Across town, my dad owned a Jewish deli called Deli-ca-Chessens. Every member of the family had a sandwich named after them. Mine was a triple-decker chicken salad with bacon, lettuce and tomato (I know, not exactly kosher, but this is Minneapolis).

My wife Sonia, and my kids, Daniel, Emma and Maya, are willing to go anywhere and try (almost) anything in pursuit of the perfect bite. They are what make it all fun and worthwhile. 

When my family travels – then and now – it’s all about the food. The museums and historic sites are just places to kill time at between meals. When we visited Emma in London during her college semester abroad, she planned our whole visit around visiting Borough Market for the world’s best grilled cheese sandwich.  

I also love to cook. I used to get nine cooking magazines, but with so much online these days that’s dropped to six. I still buy cookbooks in hard cover, which I sit and read at night while my wife slogs away at her latest book group novel. She cares about Pi while I’m partial to pie.

If there’s one thing I love more than cooking, it’s eating out.

Please join me. Let’s eat DC.