Whether you call them variety meats, off cuts, or simply offal, hearts, tripe, tendons and the like aren’t the first things that spring to mind as fit for a gourmet feast. But thanks to the offal wizardry of Chef Chris Cosentino, just such a dinner was served Tuesday at the Astor Center. Cosentino, the executive chef of Incanto, graced New York with his annual “Head to Tail Dinner,” which he usually holds at his San......

Here is an absolutely luscious, rich winter dish. We started off working with an Alice Waters recipe, but then we were inspired by Michael Ruhlman's love of veal stock to meat things up a bit to great effect. We think he is wrong in declaring veal stock to be "a selfless stock" - it does have a flavor of its own, and only seems neutral if it's part of the baseline flavor profile of your......

What do you get when you mix hot chefs like Seamus Mullen, Joey Campanero, and Josh DeChellis with top mixologists like David Wondrich, Dale DeGroff, Audrey Saunders, Julie Reiner, Jim Meehan and Eben Freeman (and many more, pictured above), a brand new space in the East Village and swirl in a dash of festive atmosphere? The opening party for the Astor Culinary Center. The new Astor Center is offering classes for food and wine......

You might have had a copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style on your desk in high school or college. It was your go-to reference book whenever you forgot (yet again) where you should stick that damned apostrophe. Michael Ruhlman, food writer, trained chef, and most recently, judge on the Food Network's Next Iron Chef, has created his go-to reference guide for the kitchen, The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for......

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? Next Sunday is the finale of The Next Iron Chef (9pm on the Food Network). Michael Ruhlman has a comment from Chef Chris Cosentino on his blog about the airplane episode—he was clearly getting crowded by cameras, but for him the crowding was to the degree that he couldn’t work, and he wanted to clarify that fact “now that 1/2 the country thinks i am an asshole.”......

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? We’re pretty hooked on The Next Iron Chef (Sundays at 9pm on the Food Network. Bourdain likes it too: “I’ve scoured both episodes with increasing frustration, trying to find something bad to say.” He also says “After the humiliating public clusterfuck of Next Food Network Star, it’s nice to see [the Food Network] doing something right.” We agree. Of episode two, in which Chef Davie was eliminated......

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......

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......

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? Tonight on No Reservations (10pm on the Travel Channel), Bourdain goes to Shanghai (repeat episode). This week on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (Wednesday at 9pm on Fox, Ramsay makes over the Mixing Bowl Eatery in Bellmore, NY. On Top Chef, part 2 of the two-part season finale airs Wednesday at 10pm (Bravo). Rocco’s back as a guest judge, along with Todd English and Michelle Bernstein. The Village......

What’s worth watching, food-wise, on TV this week? Be warned: it’s the dog days of summer, so there’s not much new on the air… Tonight on No Reservations (10pm on the Travel Channel), Bourdain goes to Cleveland, Ohio, where Michael Ruhlman shows him around town. Serious Eats recaps last week’s ep (visit to French Polynesia), shares the recipe for poisson cru. Top Chef is a repeat this week. It’s the “All-Star” episode where top competitors......

What's worth watching, food-wise, on TV this week? Fox has Episode 8 of Hell's Kitchen on Monday at 9pm. Brad surprisingly got the boot last week; now five contestants remain. Read the latest episode roundup on EW’s TV Watch. This week on Top Chef: Rocco DiSpirito is appearing as a judge! And—allegedly—looking a little more plastic than he used to. Also, check out the proposed rules for next season in the Village Voice: we’re right......

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? ">Martha Stewart has all new episodes this week (10am Monday-Friday, NBC). Monday her guests are Mario Batali, Michael Schulson and Scott Conant; on Wednesday it’s Rick Bayless, Sue Torres and Tom Douglas. Fox has Episode 7 of Hell's Kitchen on Monday at 9pm. Melissa’s gone, and six contestants remain. Read the latest episode roundup in the LA Times here. Gordon Ramsay has also adapted his BBC show......

What’s worth seeing on food-related TV this week? Gothamist has got the breakdown: Fox has Episode 4 of Hell’s Kitchen on Monday at 9pm. We love watching Ramsay curse people out. And Entertainment Weekly’s got a blow-by-blow blog, if you want to rehash the gory details. Martha Stewart’s got Matt Lewis from Baked bakery making an almond meringue tart on Monday, and other non-food-related celebrities the rest of the week. On Top Chef, Episode 3......

Anthony Bourdain, who has taken to guest-blogging for Michael Ruhlman, has already offered his opinions on Top Chef contestants. Now, he's on to bigger and better targets -- the personalities on the Food Network. He admits to watching it, "I find myself riveted by its awfulness, like watching a multi-car accident in slow motion," and has plenty to say about those who grace its airwaves. Emeril: "I STILL find him unwatchable." Giada: "Food Net seems......

- 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. - Apparently Paper Magazine is moving/has moved to K-Town, and have decided to celebrated with a nice round-up......

There are reports all over the internet that a staffer at Food and Wine inadvertently revealed the winner of this season's Top Chef finale, due to air tomorrow night at 10. Well, it seems now that they've actually got winner profiles posted for both Marcel and Ilan. Let the speculation begin. And did you see Anthony Bourdain's analysis of the Top Chefs contesants at Michael Ruhlman's blog? Here are some things he says about Marcel......

Let’s start with some birth announcements. - Savoy is set to get its first offspring early next winter (think March/April). We can’t share too much on the location since the deal is still not done, but expect it to be east of the current location. Look for the menu to be in the vein of the approachable, sandwich/salad/mezze lunch program that followed the Savoy's renovation a couple of years ago. Entrée plates will be more......

We were fascinated by today's Salon article, "Bad Taste," in which prominent food writers chronicle their absolute worst meals ever. Jane and Michael Stern, Regina Schrambling, Steven Rinella, Julie Powell, Michael Ruhlman and Robert Sietsema all chime in with stories of "washcloth steak," "embryonic duckling boiled alive in its shell, one week before birth," (apparently a Filipino delicacy), and "mealy" skate with "low-tide nasty" lobster foam, prepared by Rocco DiSpirito. After reading, we tried to......

- Head to the Shake Shack now through October 15th for Shacktoberfest, featuring special wursts, beers, and concretes. [via Megnut] - Michael Ruhlman, food writer and author of “The Reach Of A Chef,” pictured, was so inspired after guest-blogging on Megnut that he went and started his own food blog. [via Off the Broiler] - Midtown Lunch shares the secret of the "hidden crepe lady," who serves up sweet and savory crepes in a cybercafe,......

It’s Fall Preview week at the Times. Flo Fab’s got the upcoming restaurant openings, both for this month and the rest of the year. Adjust your diets accordingly! Bruni covers last year’s hits and misses. The hits: A Voce, Buddakan, Cookshop, Fatty Crab and Telepan. The misses: Charlie Trotter’s Restaurant (which never opened), Craftsteak, Sascha, The E.U., and Ninja. Michael Ruhlman talks to Gordon Ramsay, whose new place Gordon Ramsay at the London is set......

- Here is the worst news we have seen since she announced her last project. Please let this era end soon. - Chalk up another myth unraveled for all by the communicative power of the internet, this time it’s browning of avocados (via Slashfood). - While we like the food a ton at 5 Ninth and as much as we like it, we always found the choice of Pabst on tap there to be an......

A high-end restaurant row is rapidly emerging on West 20th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South. Three-star restaurants Gramercy Tavern and Veritas, nearly opposite one another, are now joined by the outstanding Greek newcomer Parea, just a few doors down. Parea, which means “group of friends,” is the creation of Michael Symon, the chef of Lola restaurant in Cleveland. (Many may know Symon from his profile in Michael Ruhlman’s "The Soul of a Chef.")......