Zagat's updated Best of Brooklyn 2008 guide was released yesterday, filled to the brim with all that the city's largest borough has to offer, including 216 restaurants, 141 nightspots, 355 shops, 25 tourist attractions and more. Like all Zagat guides, this one is a complilation of surveys from the public and each entry is rated on a scale of 1-30. The guide is broken up into five sections: Dining, Nightlife, Shopping, Gourmet Shopping & Entertaining,......

There must be something in the air -- temperatures dropping or the crisp winds of fall, perhaps -- but whatever it is, it has caused two of our favorite local artisanal picklers to launch tasty new products. First, Jon Orren at Wheelhouse has created the Ploughman's Pickle, his take on the Branston Pickle Relish that graces the traditional English Ploughman's lunch. His version contains the wort from Sixpoint Craft Ales' Brownstone Ale (wort is the......

Get thee to Flushing -- according to the Times, it's much more than the city's "other Chinatown." Michael Ruhlman discusses this week's episode of the Next Iron Chef and the loss of Chef Davies: "But sad I was to see her go—what a camera friendly smile, and what a buoyant presence generally. I much prefer her to the head sweater, the meat man, or the bald guy with the Neanderthal brow! But for those who......

We were recently asked about recommendations for good first date spots: "she's allergic to shellfish, I hate TexMex - any thoughts?" We have plenty of thoughts. The first is that a first date, depending on how well you know the person, should be limited to drinks or coffee. This way, if things become clear that you don't want to stick around, you can leave politely without having to suffer through appetizers, an entree, and possibly......

We've already told you where to find your gefilte fish, so let's talk about some of the other Seder staples: - The gang at Wheelhouse Pickles (read all about our trip to their pickle plant) has created More Roar Horseradish just in time for your Passover Seder, Easter dinner, or even just in time for lunch. Made from fresh grated horseradish, tarragon-infused white wine vinegar, honey and salt, it is made in small batches then......

Gothamist has lavished many a paycheck on Pain d’Avignon and precious knobs of duck rillettes at Blue Apron’s south Park Slope location. So we were frantic when we noticed the butcher paper-lined windows signaling the specialty store’s demise. Answers, it turned out, were just a door knock away. Former Blue Apron employee Laura Nuter will reopen the space (this week, she hopes) as Grab, a similarly fabulous specialty foods store. Nuter worked as a fromagier......

We had the pleasure of attending a food-blogger get together of sorts this past weekend, hosted by Chris of Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen, Ann of A Chicken in Every Granny Cart and Jon of Wheelhouse Pickles. Sure, there was great conversation and booze and whatnot, but the highlight of the evening were the pickled delights from Wheelhouse. We tasted the Big Bang Okra, Top Shelf Beets, Horseradish Spiked Wax Beans, and one pickle variety that......