The 49-year-old chef Cesare Casella is known for his food, sure, but he’s also known for the almost comical rosemary boutonnière he seemingly wears 24-7. He is so enamored of the herb that it sprouts in the window boxes outside his 35-seat restaurant and specialty grocery Salumeria Rosi and overflows from the diamond-shaped sapling planters in the sidewalk below. The tiny restaurant portion of the space specializes in small, rustic Italian plates. Its menu of sliced-to-order meats and cheeses is all very affordable: almost everything, like Casella’s signature salad of soft scrambled egg, pancetta and market greens costs $7 or less. We asked the chef a few questions about the restaurant (which opened last year), the banned Parma ham culatello (“the heart of prosciutto”), and how in his own heart Casella identifies with the buttero, or Italian cowboys of Italy. more ›

Times have certainly changed since the gritty and unsentimental 1971 film The Panic in Needle Park chronicled the downward spiral of Bobby and Helen, two crazy-in-love smack addicts. "Needle Park" is the film’s nom de parc for Sherman Square, which just isn’t the heroin hub it used to be. Though Sherman Square and the adjacent Verdi Square were once filled with anxious dealers, now it’s mostly fluffy dogs in neoprene cardigans. Furthermore, young Al Pacino (who starred as Bobby) is now one of the greatest actors in all of film history. more ›

The Grand Tasting at Pier 54 yesterday was a cross between a tasting event, a product placement festival and a supermarket (Shop Rite was a sponsor), but the center of attention was the culinary magic being worked by some of the city's most talented chefs. more ›

Chef Cesare Casella announced that his West Village restaurant Maremma will be closing after tomorrow night's service. Casella said that Maremma, which specializes in chianina (Tuscan beef), will reopen in other location; in the meantime, he is opening Salumeria Rosi, an Italian specialty foods grocery-and-wine bar, on the Upper West Side this fall. As for Maremma's West 10th Street space, Eater speculates it could be an offering from the dell'Anima team (we asked dell'Anima owner Joseph Campanale about it, but he offered no comment). more ›

- Florentine specialty gundi gets the Sunday treatment in the Daily News from Irene Sax. April Bloomfield speaks about the “fluffy little bites of love”, Iacopo Falai calls them a “woman's dish”, and Mark Ladner’s recipe from Del Posto is included. Hit DiPalo’s to find the sheep’s milk that is essential for a winning dish at home. more ›

This week, we hit the mailbox….not ours but others for seriously good entertainment. more ›

Join Tuscan native Chef Cesare Casella and his team at Maremma as they make special dishes featuring the traditional Tuscan beef -- Chianina (pronounced kee-a-nee-na). Chef Casella raises his herd of Chianina at Thanksgiving Farm in the Catskills regions of upstate New York. 228 West 10th Street, 212.645.0200. more ›

Tickets into the (Bill) Buford/(Mario) Batali panel moderated by (Anthony) Bourdain at the New York Public Library on 42nd were scarce, and the room reflected it as it was packed to the walls last night. Luckily it seemed like many of the walk-ins waiting ouside were able to slide into the room just before introductions. more ›