My First Food Article For Food & Wine! Plus The Usual Boozy Stuff

The Uni Chateaubriand, pre-cooking obviously, at Yakiniku Great. (Photo by me)

Hang out with me for any length of time and you’ll get an earful of my opining about food at least as much, if not more, than drink. From blathering about restaurants I’ve gone to with the fam to discussions about what to have for dinner that usually start around breakfast time, food is the dominant topic of discussion around Chez Sachs. Until now, however, my writing about food has been almost nonexistent. Not necessarily by choice, mind you — I’m known for writing about booze, so when editors are in need of food content, my smiling face doesn’t automatically spring to mind, even though I eat food every single day. Multiple times, no less!

So when the call came in from my esteemed editor at Food & Wine, asking if I’d like to tackle an assignment involving a Japanese yakiniku restaurant opening in NYC’s Union Square area, I said yes before she had time to reconsider. Never mind that I wasn’t really familiar with yakiniku-style dining, nor am I a huge fan of Wagyu beef, which, when it’s not prepared perfectly, can be the texture of a marshmallow. A plus for some, I suppose, but not for me.

But Yakiniku Great is not your typical yakiniku restaurant by any stretch of the imagination, nor is their Wagyu the marshmallowey beef fluff to which we’re accustomed. What about it stands out? You’ll just have to read the article to find out! Is this the beginning of a regular gig? Fingers crossed, though if I wind up going out to eat for work as often as I drink for work, I’ll have to get more pants with elastic waistbands for sure. Stay tuned…. Oh, and the link to the article is -> HERE <-.

I’ve been keeping up with the boozy stuff too, natch. For starters, I wrote my first Whisk(e)y Of The Week column for Forbes in I’m embarrassed to say how long. But I picked a humdinger to break the schneid, namely the first rye whiskey from Booker’s (normally) Bourbon in ten years, and only its second ever. Finished in apple brandy casks with cinnamon sticks thrown in for good measure. Does it taste like autumn in a glass? Click the link and find out! It’s right -> HERE <-.

Still on the liquor beat for Food & Wine, I checked out a new expression from Louis XIII Cognac that tries to replicate as closely as possible the experience of tasting it in the aging cellar — and it only costs $28,000! Never mind that you could fly to France and probably bribe your way into the cellar for that kind of change. Does it succeed? Read the article to find out the whole story! Link is -> HERE <-.

Also for F & W, a pair of whiskey writeups, both coming from Jim Beam, which of course is now part of Suntory Global Spirits, though I’ll probably never get used to that fact. Basil Hayden just released its first cognac cask-finished expression, at the usual 80 proof, of course, while Knob Creek debuted its first cask-strength 12 Year Old bourbon since 2020. I talked (via email) with 8th-generation master distiller Freddie Noe about ‘em both, and you can get the scoop -> HERE <- (for Knob Creek) and -> HERE <- (for Basil Hayden).