Today the Times’s Frank Bruni marvels at Manhattan’s new wave of high tone restaurant openings during a recession, and pins the trend not on entrepreneurial bravado but on the fact that it takes years to get a fancy eatery open, and most of these new places were envisioned in flusher economic times. It is true that in 2005, the top fifth of earners in Manhattan made 52 times what the lowest fifth make – $365,826 compared with $7,047 – comparable to the income disparity in Namibia. Yet thanks to tax cuts and stagflation, the income gap has only widened in the past three years. Dinner at Per Se is as unattainable as ever for New York’s lower orders, but even with Wall Street turbulence it’s unlikely the ranks of the well-heeled will thin to the point where a fashionable restaurant can’t manage. Of course, chefs like Ken Friedman (The Spotted Pig) are artists and don’t chain their muse to the vagaries of the economy: “I’m certainly not the kind who would look at the Dow. Does a writer write or not write a book based on the economic climate? Does a songwriter write songs that way?” more ›

Frank Bruni, the Times’s top restaurant critic, awards the new 2nd Avenue Deli one star today, which isn’t bad considering it is, despite all the history, still a deli. We popped in there for food and photos just before it reopened at its East 33rd Street location and found the sandwiches (pictured) as monumental as ever; a second visit turned up no sign of the free bowl of gribenes (chicken skin fried in chicken fat) that the owner Jeremy Lebewohl had promised free at every table. more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni three-stars Le Cirque, bumping the restaurant's rating up from the two stars he awarded it in 2006. Executive chef Christophe Bellanca’s menu “nimbly straddles the line between predictable decadence… and creative flair,” he says. He also says that you’ll pay—a lot—for what you get, and that Le Cirque isn’t quite as reliable as other three star restaurants. more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Lebanese Ilili, saying “Ilili is probably the atmospherically grandest excursion into Middle Eastern cooking that New York has ever seen.” While much of the menu is inconsistent, he loves the kebabs and kaftas. Says the service is “occasionally confused.” And get the essmalieh for dessert. more ›

There are a number of restaurants opening in 2008 that we've been eagerly awaiting and we thought we'd highlight some that particularly piqued our interest and have us drooling in anticipation. more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Grayz, gives the restaurant one star. He says of the restaurant that refuses to call itself a restaurant (it’s a ‘cocktail lounge that serves small dishes’): “These dishes demand fuller attention than the setting allows, and the prices—$39 for the short ribs—only make total sense if eating is the point of a visit.” In Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Belcourt, which he says is much better than... more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni three stars Fiamma and rates it a top pick. Says that the restaurant is not, by any means, classically Italian, but “when a restaurant turns out this many dishes that make you stop mid-chew, nudge a companion and nod your head vigorously—because you’re excited; because you need to start working off the calories any way you can—it needn’t worry about fitting into a tidy box.” Also in the Times,... more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Sam Mason’s Tailor. Loves the design of the place, and—along with everyone else—the pork belly, the arctic char and the drinks. Overall? “[Mason’s] infatuation with his own imagination doesn’t leave room enough for a self-appraisal of the results… a duck-and-eel terrine in a chocolate consommé tastes like cat food splashed with Yoo-hoo.” Hee. In Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Toloache. Calls the upscale Mexican restaurant a “welcome addition”... more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Harry Cipriani in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, awards the restaurant no stars. Finds “service so confused and food so undistinguished it wouldn’t pass muster at half the cost.” Says prices at the restaurant ridiculous. The restaurant was last reviewed in 1991, when Bryan Miller gave it two stars. The one positive? “The people-watching is nonpareil." Peter Meehan visits Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, for tacos. Likes Epocas... more ›

The New Oxford American Dictionary has selected "locavore" as its 2007 word of the year. According to the OUP blog, "The “locavore” movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locavores also shun supermarket offerings as an environmentally friendly measure, since shipping food over long distances often requires more fuel for transportation." Locavore beat out... more ›

Last night food blogger Andrea Strong played the role of her (really mean) self in the Restaurant Wars episode of Top Chef. She was there as an "undercover blogger," an accurate title given by Padma - as Strong got less screen-time than random walk-ins. more ›

April 28: Food and Wine Pairings: Remarkable Greece more ›

January 13: Seasonal Game Cooking Class more ›

- Looks like the upcoming Whole Foods is not gonna let their proposed wine store go down without a fight. Gothamist ran into some petition signature collectors on the street in the EV over the weekend. Their pitch was for support of an all organic wine store on the same site as the new pricey grocery depot – separate entrance of course. more ›

Bruni three-stars the recently renovated Picholine. Though he doesnt much like the physical changes-"still too quiet and sadistically bright"-the renovation "reinvigorated this restaurants soul," he says. In fact, he now likes it so much he celebrated his recent birthday there. more ›

Unless you've been under a rock (or perhaps out of the country for the last week or so), you've probably seen all the hooplah about this fall's upcoming culinary offerings. New York Mag was first on the scene with their fall preview issue, followed closely by the New York Times (offering "sooner" and "later" openings), and Andrea Strong. Here are some of the spots we're the most excited to try: more ›

- Ed Levine not only gives us his top ten fancypants burgers, but also his choices for fried chicken. We're hoping he goes for salad next; our cholesterol is going through the roof. more ›

- Boy, do we love happy hour. And we particularly like happy hour at Lure Fishbar. Why? Not only does it mean cheap drinks ($3 Corona, Kirin Light, and Brooklyn Lager, $4 wines by the glass and $5 cocktails), but it means cheap snacks, and not just mixed nuts. Lure serves up $1 Blue Point Oysters and Littleneck Clams, and offers 50% off the bar snacks menu, which features some incredibly tasty treats. Mon-Fri, 5-7pm, 142 Mercer, at Prince. [via Thrillist] more ›

- On the way home from a dual trip to Schnack and Fernando’s in Red Hook, Peter Hoffman and his blue greenmarketcycle popped up on the corner of Houston and Lafayette as our ride dispatched us onto the corner. As per usual, he was effusive about his eats – specifically jazzed up about the big clam bake Savoy has nightly through the end of July. Here is some discussion from Mouthfuls. more ›

It might have been gloomy and drizzling outside, but inside of BLT Fish, at the first annual Crab Festival to benefit City Harvest, the mood was festive and the crabs were plentiful. Three floors of crab dishes as far as the eye could see -- crab legs from the BLT Fish raw bar, a Peekytoe Crab Salad from Bouley, a Crab Summer Roll with Chilled Crab Soup from Riingo, or Aunt Rae's Blue Crab Soup from City Crab, and many more. more ›

Spring has definitely sprung. This weekend, we couldn't get enough of being outside -- we were yearning for a spot where we could have a few cocktails outdoors, high above the city. Ask and ye shall receive. Urban Daddy gives us a preview of 230 Fifth, billed as the city's largest rooftop bar. Sure, we're excited about the "14,000 square foot luxe terrace of palm trees, wooden benches, and, of course, 360-degree views (including a dead-on stunner of the Empire State building)," but we are much more interested in Zak Pelaccio's food, which will be served there (we learned this from Andrea Strong a few weeks back). His Malaysian street food will be served via dim-sum-style carts that will make their way around the rooftop. We can't wait. more ›

April 27: Taste of the Lower East Side more ›

If you haven't eaten lunch yet, drop your fork and head over to Madison Square Park because Shake Shack has opened early! The official opening date is slated for tomorrow, but as noted on Chowhound, someone is already eating their first double shack burger of the year. Mmmmmm. Gothamist just drooled all over our keyboard. And hell, even if you ate already, nothing screams dessert like a double shack burger. That or a nice thick shake. more ›

- The New York Daily News gives us something to chew on for V-day -- Hotties in the Kitchen. We call Dave Lieberman. more ›

- An Eater reader spotted a sign on the window of the space that was briefly Yumcha from Marc Murphy, the chef and owner of Landmarc, announcing his intention to open a new oyster bar after minimal renovation. Andrea Strong now reports that it will be named Watermarc. more ›

No, that's not what we mean -- get your minds out of the gutter. A dozen of New York's chefs are joining together for "Get in Bed," a benefit for Plan USA's tsunami relief efforts. On January 31, twelve chefs including Floyd Cardoz of Tabla, Food Network host and cookbook author Tyler Florence, and Zak Pelaccio of 5 Ninth, will each cook one dish, for a total of eight savory and four sweet dishes. The benefit is being held at BED, which features, you guessed it, actual beds in which you can dine. Cost is $2,000 per bed (holds up to eight people) or $250 per single ticket. Plan USA, established in 1937 to help children in impoverished countries, has already set up makeshift camps for homeless and orphaned children in Sri Lanka and are committed to rebuilding communities impacted by the tsunami. 100% of the money raised will go to their rebuilding efforts. [via Gayot and Andrea Strong] more ›

Today's Manhattan User's Guide lists their favorite food blogs, and Gothamist Food made the list! Hooray! They also give shout-outs to our own Vittles Vamp and Gothamist's source for all pizza-related info, Slice. Their list includes a wide variety of blogs and sites, including Chowhound (great for opinions and gossip), Andrea Strong (she always knows the inside scoop on who's cooking where), and A Full Belly (all the weekly NYC reviews collected in one convenient place), among others. Congratulations to all, and be sure to check out the rest of the list -- but just not when you're too hungry! more ›