Nominees for the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards, which are kind of like the Academy Awards for chefs, have just been announced. This year’s ceremony will take place on June 8 at Avery Fischer Hall; New York contenders include Gavin Keysen of Café Boulud, up for Rising Star Chef. For the nationwide awards, Gothamist interviewees Dan Barber and Michael Psilakis have been nominated for Outstanding Chef and Best New Restaurant, respectively. Gramercy Tavern, owned by......

Last night, Savoy chef and local foods champion Peter Hoffman gave a presentation at the Museum of Natural History on the role of water in sustainable farming, in conjunction with the ongoing Water: H2O = Life exhibit (now through May 25). We missed it too, but found some similar upcoming events. Call it the Mr. Wizard meets Escoffier edition- these food happenings deal with the intersections of ingredients, science, and art. Experimental Cuisine Collective While......

Did you miss Michael Pollan and Dan Barber discussing sustainable eating last week at the 92nd Street Y? You can catch a video clip on their blog. Fresh Direct is jumping on the sustainability train and fend off some of their criticism from environmentalists by running their delivery trucks on a biodiesel fuel blend. In addition, they have been donating their leftover kitchen cooking oil to the same biodiesel supplier and are introducing technology to......

In 1656, Peter Stuyvesant proposed the creation of a public market for the city. As New York has changed, several marketplaces have existed, each creating a community hub as well as access to fresh food. Establishing a permanent home for a new market with breads, handmade cheeses, locally grown produce, fish, and meat is the goal of Robert LaValva and Jill Slater, the founders of New Amsterdam Public. LaValva and Slater seek to revitalize a......

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......

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......

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......

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visited New York City yesterday. While the showiest part of their night may have been the presentation of a Global Environmental Citizen Award to the Prince from the Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment, we bet the most fun was had during the couple's visit the the Harlem Children's Zone. The Harlem Children's Zone, which includes the Promise Academy and other services and programs......

- Outsourcing is coming to a high-end restaurant near you, and no we are not talking about phone reservationists working abroad who do not understand that a 5:45 reservation is unacceptable to you. - Florence Fabricant has the official word in this weeks "Off the Menu" on Back Forty, the upcoming casual spot from Savoy owner Peter Hoffman, which we first told you about in the fall. Located in the old Radio Perfecto space with......

November 18: Gluttony Gotta love an event called "Gluttony," although we were sad to learn there wasn't any food involved. Atlantic food writer Corby Kummer pulls together chefs Mario Batali and Dan Barber (pictured), and James Beard Award winning writer Barbara Kafka to discuss whether the newest high-tech equipment glorifies or destroys the freshest low-tech ingredients. 1:00 PM in South Court Auditorium of The New York Public Library. Arrive early for best seat selection; doors......

Where can you taste dishes from Bobby Flay, Lidia Bastianich, Dan Barber, Tom Valenti, Joey Campanaro and Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto all under one roof? At New York Magazine's annual Taste of New York, a fundraiser for City Harvest. The cocktails (from some of the city's best: Pegu Club, Flatiron Lounge, and Little Branch) were flowing and the crowd was on a mission to taste everything these chefs could dish out. One of the......

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......

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......

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......

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......