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. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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... more ›

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.”... more ›

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? more ›

Got a tidbit for us? Send it to the feedbag. more ›

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 Next Iron Chef site (“We all know the whole Iron Chef universe is a fabrication, right? That the chairman is an actor? What? You didn’t know that?”). Judge Michael Ruhlman is happy with episode one; says the kitchen was so hot during filming that one of the chefs had to be hospitalized afterwards for dehydration. more ›

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? more ›

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… more ›

What's worth watching, food-wise, on TV this week? more ›

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? more ›

What’s worth seeing on food-related TV this week? Gothamist has got the breakdown: more ›

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 more interested in her enormous head (big head equals big ratings. Really!) and her cleavage--than the fact that she’s likeable, knows what she’s doing in an Italian kitchen--and makes food you’d actually want to eat." Rachel Ray: "She’s a friendly, familiar face who appears regularly on our screens to tell us that '[e]ven your dumb, lazy ass can cook this!'" Sandra Lee: "Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time." 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 ›

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. more ›

Let’s start with some birth announcements. 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. more ›

- Head to the Shake Shack now through October 15th for Shacktoberfest, featuring special wursts, beers, and concretes. [via Megnut] more ›

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! more ›

- Here is the worst news we have seen since she announced her last project. Please let this era end soon. more ›

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.") At Parea, small plates outnumber entrees on the menu, and so sharing is encouraged—if not essential. Several long communal tables dominate the cavernous space and heighten the convivial spirit. more ›