Amor Towles Quotes

BLT Prime at Trump National Doral is essential after a long day on the golf course. The popover bread alone is enough to keep me coming back!

I've been thanked a lot in Wendy's, Applebee's, and Marriot hotels, I've never been thanked in Le Cirque, for some reason. I try to spend as little time as possible in Le Cirque; that's not because the food isn't good... I'm not the kind of guy who likes to find his food under his parsley.

In spite of food fads, fitness programs, and health concerns, we must never lose sight of a beautifully conceived meal.

You walk into a restaurant when chefs are not there and it's different. The magic isn't there. Why pay top pounds when the chef is not in the house? I feel cheated. I don't mind paying big money for food but if I go to Paul Bocuse's restaurant I want Paul in the house.

I've never said I was a chef - I think I make great food. I will never open a restaurant to do, like, tasting courses.

Great wine is always enhanced by great food.

The disparity between a restaurant's price and food quality rises in direct proportion to the size of the pepper mill.

I learned the first night that IHOP's not the place to order fish.

If people ask me, 'What do you think could improve in Toronto dining,' I'd say there's nothing to improve on.

Chalkboards being used inside the restaurant seem to be a good sign that the proprietors are proud of their food, and that's kind of nice, actually - it's a nice personal touch.

Essentially what's going to determine how you succeed in New York is how people feel about the space, how delicious the food is, how they perceive the value and, most important of all, how they feel treated. My understanding is Stephen Starr is exceptionally good at all of this and his ability to create a transporting experience.

I love really good food and I don't ever want to spend too much for it, but I like hanging out and having really good, tasty, interesting food.

Alinea is not the type of restaurant where you go if you're in a hurry. Really, it's about enjoying that three-hour block of time and reflecting on the food, having great conversation with your dining companion.

A lot of country pubs will receive Michelin stars.

A lot of restaurants serve good food, but they don't have very good service.

I love the intensity of the fine-dining kitchen, but loathe the fine-dining experience.

I have eaten very well in Los Angeles. Marvelously!

Although a great restaurant experience must include great food, a bad restaurant experience can be achieved through bad service alone. Ideally, service is invisible. You notice it only when something goes wrong.

No tablecloths, silver cutlery, fine porcelain, sommeliers, or deep wine lists - that's fine. But no service or hospitality? That's going too far.

Restaurants in Chicago are seldom disappointing.

My biggest pet peeve is when you go to a fine restaurant, and it's like a mausoleum inside. Good food should be joyful. There should be laughter and chatter, not people sitting there like they're in a funeral-parlor waiting room.

I had one of the best nights of my life in a restaurant called Barclay Prime. It was a steak house that mixed modern with tradition.

I consider a perfect hot dog on the street to be as valid a food experience as dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

Chefs get sucked into the trap of 'fine dining' because some guides make it central to their ratings system and because some customers have been trained to focus their expectations on the trappings and not on the food. It's all a gigantic waste of energy.

I love the look of delight on my guests' faces when I serve them a bowl of olive-oil aioli alongside roasted potatoes or a grand Nicoise salad.