Fine Dining Lovers

1 week ago | finedininglovers.com | Jennifer Richmond

Ditch the default Mimosa this year—these creative, crowd-pleasing brunch cocktails will make Mom’s day feel extra special. When it comes to Mother’s Day, three things reliably show up: brunch, flowers, and cocktails. Sure, a thoughtful menu and a beautiful bouquet matter—but the drink in Mom’s glass deserves just as much attention. Ideally, it should pair well with the meal, taste fantastic, and strike the right balance between celebratory and smooth.

1 week ago | finedininglovers.com | Ethan Fixell

Skip the scented candles and supermarket swill—these six smart wine swaps will help you toast Mom with style, substance, and a whole lot more flavor. It's that time again—the annual scramble to find a gift that adequately expresses gratitude for the woman who pushed you into existence, stayed silent during your ugliest haircuts, and still answers your frantic calls about how to roast a chicken.

1 week ago | finedininglovers.com | Heather Platt

By rejecting imported ingredients and embracing nature’s rhythms, Junya Yamasaki creates a uniquely Californian expression of Japanese cuisine. Chef Junya Yamasaki doesn’t think his story is special. “It’s awfully boring,” he says. To him, his self-taught journey—from a childhood in the Japanese countryside to Tokyo, then Paris, and eventually to London, where he became chef of the acclaimed udon noodle bar Koya—was simply the result of needing a job.

2 weeks ago | finedininglovers.com | Paul Feinstein

Kyle Connaughton was brought up in California, beginning his culinary career as an apprentice in one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles. This was followed by stints in other top LA eateries from Spago Beverly Hills and The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton to Lucques, Hama Sushi, and A.O.C. He then spent several years in Japan working for legendary French chef Michel Bras before joining Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck in Bray, England, as Head Chef of Research and Development.

2 weeks ago | finedininglovers.com | Kiki Aranita

At a spring brunch hosted by S.Pellegrino, Tucci served up sharp wit, hosting wisdom, and nostalgia for his grandmother’s kitchen. On an unusually blustery early Sunday morning, social media influencers, chefs, and a handful of food editors and reporters descended upon King in Lower Manhattan. The chairs had been pushed aside. Branches laden with cherry blossoms competed with bursts of tulip bouquets for our attention—to feast our eyes upon.