Chef-owner at Annisa (13 Barrow St.; 212/741- 6699), a contemporary American restaurant in New York, where most of the wines are made by female vintners.
Which women-run wineries are worth visiting?
Some of the best are Crocker & Starr Wines and Selene Wines in Napa Valley; Penner-Ash
Cellars in Oregon; Heidi Schrock on Neusiedler Lake, Austria; and Paolo Scavino Estate in
Piedmont, Italy. I like to support women in a male-dominated field.
Do you have any favorite women-run restaurants?
The bare simplicity of Alice Waters's food [at Chez Panisse in Berkeley] has had a huge impact
on the culinary world. In San Francisco, try Jardinière—as lively as its chef-owner,
Traci Des Jardins. At Bayona in New Orleans, Susan Spicer stays true to her regional roots.
Do you have any tips for dining alone?
Bring a book. Or, if you feel social, find a place at the bar. But it shouldn't be a big
deal. Everyone has to eat.—JENNIFER V. COLE
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