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 What is Salmaland? It’s where I try to answer the eternal question: Where should I eat in New York City? As a food and travel writer based in NYC, I get this question a lot. My restaurant recommendations here, to your left, are meant to help you out just as much as they’re intended to jog my own memory when I’m deciding where to eat. I check out new and classic restaurants all the time, and I keep these shortlists updated as often as possible. The lists (organized by neighborhood) are short for a reason: the more choices, the more confusion… On this site I talk about other food, travel, and assorted projects I’m working on too; see also my “clips” link above. Drop me a note here with any comments or feedback, and thanks for stopping by.
I’ll be in Little Rock, Arkansas, April 19-21 to do a presentation on my book Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut at the terrific Arkans as Literary Festival. If you’re anywhere in the area, come by. I’ll be speaking at the Main Library on April 20 at 11:30a.m., and will cover everything from life in Beirut in the 21st century, to why Lebanese food is the best in the world (in my biased opinion!), to what it means to “go home again.” Besides the author parties and my own exploratory walks around Little Rock over the weekend, I’m looking forward to the sessions by authors like the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Richard Ford, acclaimed novelist Karen Russell, picture-story author Ben Katchor, journalist Oliver Burkeman, and many more. Little Rock or bust!
If you’ll be in New York on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, please join me at 12pm at the James Beard House, 167 W. 12th Street. I’ll be talking about the food scenes in Jasmine and Fire, and signing books. See this interview with me on the Beard House’s “Delights and Prejudices” blog for more info, or visit jasmineandfire.com. Hope to see you there!
 Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut, is my memoir of the year I spent in Beirut trying to come home again. The book came out in June 2012 from Broadway Books/Random House. Please look for it at your favorite bookstore, or order via Amazon, Kindle, BN.com, Nook, IndieBound.org, and iBookstore. I’m thrilled about the reviews, and about the book-signings, events, and radio/TV interviews I’ve had the chance to do around the U.S., Canada, and Lebanon. For more info about Jasmine and Fire, plus lots of links to reviews and interviews, as well as loads of pics, please visit JasmineandFire.com. Big thanks for your support!
 Click the BEIRUT EATS link at the top of this page to read about where I went and what I ate around Beirut and in villages all over Lebanon, while I spent a year there working on my book. I wish I could pass the smoky babaghanoush, the crunchy fried fish drizzled with lemon, the minty fattoush salad, and the chargrilled, garlicky chicken kababs directly through the computer screen straight to you. Alas, not yet; in a couple of years maybe. In the meantime, sah’tain! (“Bon Appetit,” in Lebanese Arabic.)
 For restaurant tips and miscellaneous musings, follow me at… @salmaland
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What is Salmaland? It’s where I try to answer the eternal question: Where should I eat in New York City? As a food and travel writer based in NYC, I get this question a lot. My restaurant recommendations here, to your left, are meant to help you out just as much as they’re intended to jog my own memory when I’m deciding where to eat. I check out new and classic restaurants all the time, and I keep these shortlists updated as often as possible. The lists (organized by neighborhood) are short for a reason: the more choices, the more confusion… On this site I talk about other food, travel, and assorted projects I’m working on too; see also my “clips” link above. Drop me a note here with any comments or feedback, and thanks for stopping by.