As a
food critic, Mariani has written about food and wine for numerous publications including
Wine Spectator,
GQ,
Bloomberg,
Forbes, and
Esquire Magazine. During his time as Esquire Magazine's food & travel correspondent, he published an annual list of the nation's “20 Best New Restaurants” until 2014. Since 1996 he has published the on-line weekly
Mariani’s Virtual Gourmet Newsletter and is host of the weekly radio interview show “Almost Golden” on
WVOX 1460AM. He is the author of multiple food-based books. His first book,
The Dictionary of American Food & Drink, was called "groundbreaking" as it was the "first book to chronicle [American] cuisine". The food writer Nika Hazelton compared it to France's La Gastromique
. It was re-published in 2013 as
The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink He went on to write more books including
Eating Out: Fearless Dining in Ethnic Restaurants, America Eats Out ''which examined America's eateries such as Pizzerias and the advent of the
Submarine Sandwich,
and Mariani's Coast-to-Coast Dining Guide in which he "conscripted regional food critics to write chapters relative to their part of the country"''''.
Kirkus Reviews suggested it should become "a part of every businessman's or vacationer's travel pack"''. He co-authored annual editions of
Passport to New York Restaurants and was editor of
Italian Cuisine: Basic Cooking Techniques. How Italian Food Conquered the World was published in 2011. He also co-wrote
The Italian American Cookbook with his wife Galina == Awards ==