So who are we? And what is this “diplomat dining” anyway?

We are Murray Smith and Janet Byrne Smith.  We love to eat and we love to try new foods.

Murray works for the U.S. State Department, at the Office of Foreign Missions in New York City, where he oversees important transactions that help foreign diplomats make a comfortable temporary home in New York.  Because of his job, he knows diplomats from all over the world and interacts with them frequently.

For years, the two of us have, as a hobby, been finding out from the relevant diplomat which restaurant in New York City is considered to serve that nation’s most authentic food.  Then we’ve gone to try it out. 

All along, it occurred to us that this information might make a nice book, but the publishing industry hasn’t (yet) agreed.  This is where Janet’s background comes in handy:

I’ve worked in the interactive / internet industry for more years than you’d probably believe, most recently as Product Manager of two award-winning websites, Concierge.com and Epicurious.com.  Unfortunately, the publishing company that owns these sites, Condé Nast, is having significant financial difficulties. I was laid off on April Fools Day (really!) in 2009.

Looking for a job in a recession is a lot of work, but doesn’t really fulfill my creative spirit, so this seemed the perfect opportunity to start publishing our findings on diplomat-recommended restaurants – via a blog.  And here we are.

Tomorrow we start posting the good stuff:  Have you ever had Indonesian food?  Well, we’re going to tell you where.