It’s been really fascinating seeing how my neighborhood restaurant Do or Dine has developed in the year it’s been open. It immediately got a huge burst of PR from online protests about its foie gras donut made in partnership with nearby doughnut bakery dough. Shortly after it opened I got to photograph the place for Time Out New York but didn’t get the chance to eat much because it was in the middle of a Saturday dinner rush and I was photographing the food as it left the kitchen bound for the tables of hungry diners. A little while later I suggested it as a second date with my now girlfriend. After chowing down on Do or Dine’s whimsically re-imagined dishes like the pictured ‘nippon nachos’ and ‘a fish and chips’ I planted a kiss on her for the first time and the rest is history. Now the latest news is that Do or Dine’s chef and co-owner Justin Warner just won Next Food Network Star and will have his own show debuting in the fall. Pretty crazy how far this little place has come in so little time.