Confessions of a Hired Palate When most office workers will call it a day as the sun sets, our tireless


concierge turns on his moonlight to become a restaurant critic-at-night Ken Alan


If you decide to read this article - assuming you make it through to the end - and then keep going until you get to that mini biography (called the byline), you’ll see that mine states the following: Ken Alan is a corporate concierge for CBRE. He is the restaurant features editor for Main Line Today, and…


Yes, I happen to have an unusual work situation. I’m a fulltime concierge with a side hustle that takes me to a multitude of restaurants in a year where I consume copious amounts of food and beverages and then write about each experience while getting paid for it.


In fact, it’s as if I’m always working in or writing about restaurants almost 24/7. When I’m not checking them out during the daytime for my corporate clientele to try, than I’m probably out after-hours seeking to learn about all of the cool places for my readers to enjoy, as well.


So, yeah, I sort of eat things and drink stuff for a living.


For the last six years, I’ve been humbly-fortunate to be the epicure reviewer for Main Line Today - a highly-respected and well-distributed lifestyle publication that’s geared toward Philadelphia’s Main Line, a.k.a. its affluent and storied western suburbs.


One of the few remaining in-print magazines around these parts, with a strong circulation and readership to boot, MLT can be found on sub- scriber’s coffee tables across the land, and in professional-looking waiting rooms throughout the region. Pick an MD’s office, a chiropractor’s, a dentist’s, or any high-end car dealership situated between Philly’s City Line and the western edge of Chester County, and you’re sure to find a copy of the magazine.


7­ 2 January­z February­2020


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