Michael Gibney began working in restaurants at the age of sixteen and assumed his first sous chef position at twenty-two. He ascended to executive sous chef at Tavern on the Green, where he managed an eighty-person staff. In addition to his experience in the food service industry, Gibney also holds a BFA in painting from Pratt Institute and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University. He is the author of Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line.At the Guardian, Gibney tagged the top ten restaurants and bars in modern literature, including:
O'Connell's in White Teeth by Zadie SmithRead about the other entries on the list.
The Menu: "O'Connell's is an Irish pool house run by Arabs with no pool tables … there are reasons why the pustule-covered Mickey will cook you chips, egg and beans, or egg, chips and beans, or beans, chips, eggs and mushrooms but not, under any circumstances, chips, beans, eggs and bacon."
The Appeal: "A place to discuss everything from the meaning of Revelation to the prices of plumbers. And women. Hypothetical women."
White Teeth is on Mary Beard's six best books list, John Mullan's list of the ten most notable New Years in literature, Melissa Albert's list of five notable--and ambitious--debut novels and Nigel Williams's list of ten of the best books about suburbia.
Also see: Esther Inglis-Arkell's ten best bars in science fiction.
--Marshal Zeringue