“GENIUS” – Joel Stein, Time magazine

January 19th, 2012 by The House

 

PX Me. (How I Became a Published Author, Got Micro-Famous, and Married a Millionaire)

 

When Abbe Diaz published her journal, PX This – Diary of the “Maître d’ to the Stars” [née Diary of the Potted Plant] in 2004, she’d had no idea what she was in for. Sure, she expected the process would be difficult and she might never work in the fine dining restaurant industry ever again, but she never imagined the truth could be so controversial— in a book that’s essentially about HAVING DINNER.

Despite PX This being lauded by most of her colleagues (and some of the most illustrious names in the business) as “the bible of the [NYC] industry,” Diaz soon learned the politics of Food and/or “Culture” Media & PR is a game that’s dirtier than last night’s dishes. Finding herself under unjustified fire from various vastly popular and influential periodicals, news blogs, food press, online foodie communities, and other professional and aspiring writers, Diaz (a textbook Scorpio/Monkey) quickly realized [again] there were two things in her life she would never be willing to do: 1) Take unmerited bullshit, and 2) Kiss spiteful pretentious ass.

As you can probably imagine, that went over reeeally well. Mistruths, mudslinging, manipulation, misappropriation, corruption, censorship, and the tarnishing of her character— as well as the livelihoods of her friends and loved ones— are just some of the things she subsequently endured.

This is that story.

 

 

“This writing stuff is HARD.” – Salman Rushdie (to friends on Facebook®)

“If you think the writing is hard, wait ’til you try the selling part. Oh, wait…” – Abbe Diaz (in response to friend, Salman Rushdie, on Facebook®)

 

PX Me – The Sequel to PX This
(How I Became a Published Author, Got Micro-Famous,
and Married a Millionaire)

– COMING SOON IN THE SPRING OF 2012 –

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Abbe Diaz is a freelance commercial-artist, designer/dressmaker, and restaurant consultant. She has worked in the restaurant/bar industry for nearly 25 years, with numerous stints throughout the New York dining/party scene that include: Limelight, Palladium, Tunnel, Club USA, Coffee Shop, Spy, Cafe Tabac, The Strand (Miami Beach), Mercer Kitchen, Ilo, Lotus, and Theo. She served as the opening maître d’ for The Park, Smith, and 66.

She is proud to have had the opportunity to work under such nightlife arbiters as: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Brian McNally, Jonathan Morr, Peter Gatien, Eric Goode, and Sean Macpherson.
Diaz gained a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers College, Rutgers University – New Brunswick. She was further educated as a non-matriculate Design student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, in NYC, where she currently resides.

 

• “The New York service industry’s Norma Rae, Abbe Diaz… the Service Industry’s Nikke Finke…” – BlackBook

• “…pure unbridled crazy batshitness…” – gawker.com

 

 

For more information about PX This – Diary of the “Maître d’ to the Stars” visit http://pxthis.com/thebook

 

 

* * * * *

Have you heard?
Until the release of PX Me – The Sequel to PX This (Spring 2012), this website will henceforth be updated only intermittently (approximately once or twice a week).
Abbe Diaz’s new (daily) blog is now at: abbediaz.com

 

 

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