Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg are the authors of eight bestselling books focusing on food and drink, many of which have been winners or finalists for James Beard and/or IACP Cookbook awards. They have been married since 1990, write a monthly wine column for The Washington Post, and blog at BecomingAChef.com. Their most recent book, The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs is an......

Food bloggers from around the world are offering delicious prizes as part of Menu for Hope 4. Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising event hosted by Chez Pim. Last year, Menu for Hope raised an incredible $62,925 to help the UN World Food Programme feed the hungry. Want more details? Well, here’s the FAQ. From December 10-21, you can buy raffle tickets to bid on any on the food-related prizes being offered. Tickets cost......

Ed Levine waxes poetic about the genius that is 'ino's truffled egg toast and provides the recipe so that you can have it for brunch even if you are too lazy to leave the house (provided, of course, that you hit the grocery store first). Watch it on video if you need some extra guidance. [Serious Eats; RealMealsTV] Is David Chang opening a Momofuku outpost in Vegas, or not? Does he think that NYC is......

For almost two decades, the 35 year-old chef Alex Ureña has been quietly working behind the scenes at some of New York’s most well regarded restaurants: His very first kitchen job was at The River Café during Charlie Palmer’s tenure. A few gigs later, Ureña was translating the contents of Ferran Adrià’s first cookbook for David Bouley, a chef he spent 7 years with and considers a mentor. Alex Ureña later served as executive chef......

October 22: Wine Dinner at Aix This five-course wine dinner will feature nine top wines from Alsace, Austria and Germany paired with regional dishes such as Alsatian Onion Tart with Thinly Sliced House-Smoked Brisket and Raclette Fondue and Riesling-Marinated Poulet Rouge with Glazed Baby Turnips and Carrots Crispy Sauteed Spaetzle, and Riesling Jus. Doesn't that sound like fall to you? $125, tax and tip excluded. For reservations, call 212.874.7400. 7pm, Aix, 2398 Broadway at 88th......

Not making their way to the greenmarket this week are domestic matsutake, one of the most prized mushrooms in the world. Matsutake have a slight pine flavor and give off a wild, funky cinnamon aroma when cooked. This fragrance is said to do things to people, like instantly transport them to Xanadu or make choruses of ladybugs hail from the sky in intense, Busby Berkeley style formations. Hand foraged and scarce, matsutake are in fact......

A confession. In general, we’re not big Food Network Fans. We do make an exception for Iron Chef (it always sucks us in), and we love it’s latest incarnation. Last week on the premiere of The Next Iron Chef (9pm on the Food Network, Chef Traci Des Jardins got the ax, brought down by her salmon roe dessert (ick). Read the Amateur Gourmet's unique and often hilarious take on things on his blog on the......

September 15 & 16: Party at the Red Hook Ballfields Celebrate the extension of the vendors' permit through the end of their season in October and add on extra festivities for Mexican and Central American Independence Day. Caesar Fuentes, the organizing force behind the vendors, promises that "the food vendors committee will host a livelier than usual weekend event - more soccer games, pinatas, music, and a 2 day art exhibit featuring photographs taken by......

Food writing has changed a lot in the last few years. Its focus has shifted to an almost philosophical arena where any recipe can be dissected for the broader, global meaning of its constituent ingredients. The source of every carrot or celery stalk we eat is inexorably combined with issues of nutrition and environmental sustainability. It’s the Omnivore’s Dilemma effect - people are suddenly grappling with the repercussions of a country that runs on......

Last week at the 92nd Street Y some people took time to hear the fantastic Mike Colameco host the legendary chef Jacques Pepin, critic Gael Greene (now of the Insatiable Critic blog), food maven Arthur Schwartz, and old-school restaurant mogul Michael Whiteman hash out whether NYC dining scene was better then ever. Pretty cut and dry, no? Schwartz and Greene mostly argued that it is not a better scene today, lamenting the arrival of the......

May 3: Cheezapolooza III: Naked vs Cooked Nolita House hosts cheese gurus Waldemar & Nadia as they feature six of spring's best artisanal cheese both unadulterated and then all hot and melty. Nibbles include Piave Vecchio and Pancetta Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches; Mini Valdeon Blue Cheese Burgers on Brioche and Four Year Aged Gouda Mini Mac & Cheese. You'll get drink tickets for a glass of wine or beer selected to pair with the each......

We've been patiently waiting for spring to arrive to time our road trip to Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, about a 45 minute drive from Manhattan. The timing was perfect -- Chef Dan Barber loaded up our $42 prix fixe lunch with spring's bounty -- ramps, asparagus, dainty greenhouse microgreens, and fresh breakfast radishes. Pictured above are black bass perched atop a delicately sweet stew of beets, and spinach cannelloni, with......

April 14: Denise Landis at Broadway Panhandler Join Denise Landis, recipe tester for The New York Times, as she shares recipes and expertise from her newest cookbook, Dinner for Eight. Free tasting and book signing to follow the demonstration. Broadway Panhandler, 65 East 8th Street (between Broadway and University), 3 PM, free. April 16: A Menupoems Reading April is National Poetry Month and Alimentum is joining in the celebration with Menupoems. During the month, participating......

Adam Platt has started of 2007 with a bang -- New York magazine has released his "Where to Eat 2007" lists, a compendium of his picks for the year, divided into categories. "Haute Barnyard," a phrase that Platt coined a while back, is his term for restaurants focused on suppliers and the origins of the food, with countrified leanings. Cookshop, Peasant, Hearth, and Blue Hill qualify, among others. He takes us on two rambles, one......

Bruni reviews Blue Hill (in Greenwich Village, not at Stone Barns) bumps the restaurant up to three stars from the two it received from William Grimes in 2000. He cites "quality and immediacy" of ingredients and says eating there is a subtle experience, "like a hushed foreign film with subtitles." For Eater, three stars here gives Bruni the opportunity to "provide some relative benchmark for his two star hand job from last week [at......

July 29: Cheese and Wine at Telepan Fromagers Waldemar & Nadia team up with Telepan Restaurant for the third in a series of Saturday afternoon cheese and wine tastings. This time around they have paired summertime artisanal cheeses with wines from Telepan's list. You'll learn all about each pairing while you sip and taste. $65 per person, reservations are required. Call 212-580-4300 for reservations. 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., 72 West 69 Street, between Columbus......

Now that the spring has given way to summer, grass is getting long everywhere - much to the chagrin of teenagers whose parents want to know if they have mowed the lawn yet. What this means for the eaters here in NYC is that chickens born in early spring are just getting up to their market weight (3 ½ - 4 ½ pounds) while feasting on flavor-enhancing grass. People can talk at length about......

through June 18: 1996 at Rain Rain celebrates its 10th anniversary by rolling back prices and reviving dishes from their opening year. Reminisce over Duck Fajitas, Classic Green Curry Chicken and Fried Banana Splits, and Guest also receive an additional 10% off on their next visit. Enjoy the vintage prices Monday through Friday 6:00pm-11:00pm, Saturday 5:00pm-12:00am and Sunday 5:00pm-10:00pm. 100 West 82nd Street. To make reservations please call 212-501-0776. June 8: A Taste of the......

Sunday and Monday nights were the James Beard Awards annual gala events, and the results are now in. Sunday night focused on the journalists, highlighting books, broadcast media, and even websites (a new category), while Monday was all about the chefs and restaurants. The excitement was palpable in the food world, so much so that Ed Levine decided to liveblog Monday's Awards dinner, an extravagant black tie affair, for those of us not "in" enough......

March 31: A Short Introduction to Wine Join the folks at Tasting World as they give you a down and dirty wine primer in just an hour. By the end, they claim that "you will exit the class knowing how to taste, evaluate and communicate about wine." This is all fine and good, but what really caught our eye was that they are looking for wine pourers for future events -- which means you get......

All the foodies are in a tizzy today as the coveted James Beard Award nominees were announced last night. The actual awards ceremony and reception will be held on May 8, at an event celebrating "the culinary legacy of New Orleans." Reservations for the May 8th event can be made by calling 212-367-9490 or toll free at 1-866-362-6442. Admission is $375 ($325 for James Beard Foundation members/$120 for students - find your old ID cards......

September 25-29: Latin Beer Tasting Dos Equis, Sol, Corona and Negra Modelo, are paired up with tasty (and Kosher!) Latin dishes in a prix-fixe menu from September 25-29; cost is $49 per person. For details, visit their website. Park East Grill, 1562 Second Ave., 212-717-8400. September 27: Eat Out '05 Time Out New York continues to celebrate its tenth birthday with Eat Out ’05, a tasting event benefitting the Food Bank For New York City.......

June 23: PJ Wine Spanish Wine Festival Who doesn't love Spanish food and wine? Well, maybe someone, but we're certainly crazy about the stuff. Join Gothamist at this benefit for City Harvest and taste over 150 of the top Spanish selections from every major wine region of Spain, including the classics, like Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat and Sherry and emerging regions like Toro, Bierzo, Jumilla and more. Tickets are $75.00 per person and are......

April 23rd: Taste of Chinatown This neighborhood food festival showcases restaurants, bakeries, tea houses, and specialty shops throughout Chinatown. Wander through more than 50 tasting stations south of Canal on Mott, Bayard, Mulberry, Baxter, Pell, Doyers, and Mosco from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. Admission is free and tasting stations will only cost you $1.00 each. That's right -- $1.00. Hard to beat. For a map and more information, visit the Asian Women in Business site,......

- Would you eat naked once a month? - Hunter S. Thompson dies - A bid for the West Side Stadium from a power company - Some New Yorkers attempt to jam cellphones - Try making Blue Hill Stone Barns' Citrus Skate, thanks to Gothamist's Eating In by Joe DeSalazar - The Megaphone Man of Union Square - NYC, as seen through the noirish lens of TV - Jake Fogelnast and Paul Scheer take over......

Blue Hill Stone Barns Citrus Skate...

Everyone's excited about Blue Hill at Stone Barns. It was highlighted in today's Manhattan User's Guide and reviewed in New York Magazine. From the Blue Hill at Stone Barns website: Blue Hill at Stone Barns marks the second incarnation of family proprietors Dan, David and Laureen Barber. The original Blue Hill restaurant, located in Greenwich Village, New York City, opened in 2000 and was named after the former Berkshire home of David and Dan's grandmother.......

If you work in the Financial District, Gothamist suggests you check out the Downtown Alliance's Dine Around Downtown event, where you can try samples of food from restaurants like Capsuto Freres, Ciao Bella, Bouley and Danube, and Les Halles Downtown, for $3 to $5. The event will be held at Chase Manhattan Plaza (between Liberty & Pine and Nassau & William Streets), from 11AM-3PM. Here's a PDF of participants. [If it's raining, the event will......

Manhattan User's Guide asked eight New York bloggers what their 10 favorites things are in the city, and the lists give nice notice to what makes the city their beloved home: • The Morning News' Andrew Womack picks St. Helen Cafe in Williamsburg, "Recommended if you like: elk in your artwork. And I do." • Remy Stern of New Yorkish likes "All the fantastic coffee outlets not affiliated with multi-national corporations bent on world dominance"......

When reading Amanda Hesser's article about the intrigue at the Greenmarket, it confirmed everything Gothamist loves about New York: Power struggles happen even where there are nice Amish farmers selling pretzels and cheese or granola-y types selling wheatgrass and Fuji apples. As much as we love the greenmarkets all over the city, reading about the infighting was a little disheartening though expected. As was the news that New York's greenmarkets look like a shabby (though......