From The Food Republic Mailbag: Mayoral Bagels, Saucy Salmon

I get asked a lot of questions as editor of Food Republic, and as the site's gotten bigger and bigger, my ability to provide answers to everyone has been disappearing faster than the last few bites of creamy penne à la vodka on a family-style plate. So without further ado, here's my new occasional mailbag column, aimed at filling you in on all the pertinent news, impertinent flotsam, random thoughts in my head, inside baseball and occasional bursts of food/drink–related truthiness. Here goes:

Hey RM. There's lots of talk about your new Mayor in NYC there, and his naming of the city's best bagel. What's your take?

Mayor Bill de Blasio and I lived on the same block in Park Slope, Brooklyn for many years — though we recently both moved (I hear his new place is nicer). So it didn't surprise me that when the inevitable question of NYC's best bagel came up, he namechecked The Bagel Hole, an almost literal hole in the wall that pumps out palm-sized (that is to say, appropriately small) bagels and has old-school rules like no toasting and no slicing bagels unless you're getting cream cheese or butter. In NYC, you earn the right to lay down arbitrary food laws like this, and The Bagel Hole's bagels are as perfect as I've found in at least three boroughs (can't speak for the Bronx or Staten Island). They're slightly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, usually served warm out of the oven and just the right size. So like me, Mayor de Blasio is biased, but he's also correct.

What about De Blasio's pizza incident. Should you eat pizza with a knife and fork or with your hands?

Here, the Mayor was wrong, wrong, wrong. When within the five boroughs, and in New Jersey and on Long Island, pizza should always be eaten by the slice, picked up, preferably folded and eaten by hand. Using a knife and fork is only acceptable if you're European or from California.

Hey RM, I'm a woman who likes Food Republic, but it says in the About Us section that it's a site for men. What gives?

Anyone's welcome in the glorious kingdom we call Food Republic. We strive for a male-focused voice because there are like a trillion blogs and websites aimed at women, and, well, guys like to cook too. I've had girlfriends who subscribed to GQ; they didn't have a problem reading a men's magazine. You find something sexist on Food Republic? Let me know at richard@foodrepublic.com. Though as I said earlier, I'm not really keeping up with my emails lately.

Hey RM, What'd you eat last night?

Well if you follow us on Instagram, as you should, you'd have seen a photo of two slabs of salmon, one slathered with a mustard sauce and one looking all pristine and salmon-colored, along with the question pro-Dijon or no Dijon? A spirited debate ensued, and more people seemed to agree with my wife, who was in the no Dijon camp. My general rule is, if the salmon is wild-caught and fresh as can be, do as little to it as possible, but if it's just average store-bought fish, you gotta give it some razzle-dazzle to make it tasty. I mix a half spoonful of Dijon, a glug of extra virgin olive oil, a half-clove of pressed garlic, a few squirts of fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper in a coffee cup, then brush the fish with a thin layer of the sauce, bake at 450 for 15 minutes, and I have a decent, easy dinner. Of course, it didn't go down so easy last night, because I happened to eat it while watching my hometown Brooklyn Nets absolutely flush a win against Toronto down the toilet. Despite what my boy Jason Kessler says, food and basketball just don't mix.

Questions? Hit me up at Hey Richard Martin and I'll get back to you soon.