The Peanut Butter Sauce Quest

My perfect sundae at Friendly's

Growing up in central Jersey, my friends and I had a few favorite activities in high school: driving around the Watchung Mountains, hanging out in the McD's parking lot, going to Great Adventure, and going to Friendly's. The summer after senior year—probably in subconscious prep for the imminent loss of each other to college—we went to Friendly's every single night for ice cream. The sundae I had then is the same I have now, except then my Reese's Pieces sundae had five scoops and now I only get two: 1 scoop of chocolate chip, 1 scoop of butter crunch with hot fudge and peanut butter sauce on top (the Reese's Pieces requisite marshmallow topping is sometimes added on special occasions).

Shake Shack Sheep

When people ask if I’ve ever been to Mardi Gras, my answer is that I would never visit New Orleans when it’s so crowded. The same rule applies in my life when it comes to Black Friday, free Shakespeare in the Park, and Danny Meyer’s global hit burger chain Shake Shack. Mr. Meyer started his empire 30 years ago with Union Square Café, and has experienced continued, subsequent success after opening restaurants like my favorite, Gramercy Tavern (whose original chef, Tom Colicchio, is now famous in his own right). Shake Shack was different from the rest—it was Mr. Meyer’s personal love project based on the modest burgers, fries and ice cream he experienced growing up in the Midwest.