Usually, the Times Magazine's 'Domains' column makes us feel hopelessly inadequate compared to whoever's pad they're profiling. The typical subject has a platonically-ideal townhouse in which he writes prizewinning novels and sips coffee from a French press while his angelic toddler plays with attractive handcrafted toys. This week's subject was portly Nobu (et al) restaurateur Drew Nieporent, who lives in a split-level ranch in New Jersey and can't drive. There are a thousand (other) reasons we feel no envy.

Always in fridge: Kosher pickles. You know, pickles have no calories. Always hot sauce. Lately, Vietnamese fish sauce, different cheeses, sliced turkey — because that is the one thing you can eat without guilt. Clothing item he can't live without: My bathrobe. Depending upon what my weight is, I need something that's big enough to cover me, so I don't scare my wife and two kids in the morning. His weight: I've lost a lot of weight, which I often gain back. My joke is that I gain 50 pounds every time I open a new restaurant, and last year I opened two. So you do the math. Favorite dieting technique: Don't eat anything white, like rice, bread. I've heard Oprah Winfrey say that too. White things tend to be starchy.

Here are a couple of good reasons not to take dieting advice from Drew Nieporent: 1) Pickles have five calories. 2) Drew Nieporent is a fattie.

The Restaurant Mogul's Retreat [NYT]