Latest issue November 9 2026

The divorce evangelists

Food and Drink

Eating my way around NYC like AOC

I’m a New Yorker: Bronx-Jewish on one side, Queens-Italian on the other. It’s safe to say my life revolves around food, and I know the ins and outs of the outer boroughs (kind of). As such, I have a lot in common with New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who seemingly aspires to be a food influencer in between House votes. After all, we’re both of Ellis Island stock – one man’s rice and beans is just another man’s pasta fazool. Alas, we’re now also both city types, having outgrown our outer-borough roots. But while one of us has learned to appreciate the finer things, the other still eats like a torta.

Roger Kimball

Good wine comes from struggle

Oliver Cromwell would not have liked John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. Born in 1647, two years before Cromwell engineered Charles I’s final appearance at Whitehall, Rochester was a shooting star in the Stuart Restoration under Charles II. His father, Henry, was a Cavalier who had been instrumental in arranging Charles II’s escape to the continent after Cromwell’s regicide. For services rendered, Henry was created Earl of Rochester in 1652. Rochester inherited the title upon his father’s death in 1658. You cannot read about either Rochester without soon encountering the word “dashing.” Both were charismatic, hard-drinking, courageous adventurers, epitomes of the Cavalier spirit. Henry, who died at 45, has receded into the footnotes of English history.