Amanda

i haven't really. there are still so many food-related topics that i'm interested in.

it wasn't actually. at the time, i had never read the observer column and i didn't have hbo. i mean, i had heard of the show and had seen ads for it, but i definitely didn't know about the character mr. big. a while back, i had a breakfast meeting (at 57/57 -- lemon ricotta pancakes, very good) with editors from the magazine. they told me that they wanted to do something different with the food pages (they didn't have me in mind). i suggested a diary, because i thought the immediacy would appeal to readers, as would the continuum of a narrative. plus the recipes would naturally be this great mix of home cooking, restaurant food, dishes made by friends -- the variety that many food people crave. i mentioned that i was dating a guy who was not very into food, and that tension interested the editors. they said they wanted a column that would have a beginning, middle and end. it was natural -- we'd begin with our first date and end with our wedding. it was a bit of risk taking at the time because it wasn't clear that we were headed for marriage, although i had a good feeling. i wrote a sample. they liked it. we decided to call it food diary. the column debuted in april 2000 and ended with our wedding this past november. the comparison with sex and the city, i agree, is an obvious one, although i like to think the difference is that food diary was about a functional, fundamentally happy relationship. as for the name "mr. latte", it was a way to playfully emphasize both my food snobbery and his food cluelessness (is that a word?).

gordon, i'm not sure i understand your question. i've done some restaurant reviewing but i'm primarily a feature writer. write me back and explain more -- i'd be happy to answer if i can.

hi ruth. it seems to me that there is a natural distinction between the two styles of books. if i were to generalize, as a reader and user of cookbooks, i would say that i am drawn to those written from the life experiences of the author. i am a big fan of books by paula wolfert, marcella hazan and nancy jenkins. books on single subjects like ice cream or polenta always kind of depress me because you know that they had to be produced with marketing in mind. and also because i feel badly for the author who has had to spend a year eating ice cream or polenta every day. i consider myself both a cook and a writer because i learned to do both around the same time. when i first started out, i thought that i would like to write, but felt that i needed to learn more about cooking first. i worked in europe for three years and while i was there, i wrote tons of letters. i didn't realize it at the time, but those letters were building a great foundation for writing. hope that answers your questions. /a