Even though winter’s barely a week old, many folks in the city have come down with a doozy of a cold, perhaps due to the sharp temperature drop that marked the end of an otherwise moderate fall. Our nasty respiratory bug is finally on its way out, largely because we’ve been treating it with a variety of potent soups available in Queens. Whether you're sick as a dog or just in need of a warm......

There’s activity over at the old Jade Mountain space on East 12th, the restaurant with the iconic neon CHOW MEIN sign. Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York (via Eater) reports that an on-scene workman offered up this tidbit: “It’s going to be a restaurant.” Jade Mountain closed earlier this year after much-missed owner Reginald Chan was struck by a vehicle while delivering food. Here’s a photo of the restaurant’s landmark sign taken by reader Jay Jaffe: Red,......

Kunjip might be a misleading name for a small low-ceiling Korean restaurant that translates into “big house” in English. Big or small, Kunjip, a 32nd street K-town fixture, is nearly always packed—and mostly with Koreans. Service is brusque—non-existent really--starting from the moment you are shoved menus (one with pictures, another written) about the variety of stews, rice dishes, grilled meats, noodles, and myriad soups—while you’re still waiting in line for a table. Before even......

We mentioned Palo Santo when it first opened last summer, before the restaurant obtained its liquor license or even began serving dinner. Now that it has had a chance to hit its stride, we figured it was time to take another look. To be honest, we've been to Palo Santo several times over the past year. We even took our mother there for her birthday. It's a gorgeous setting, with all the beauty of......

Gothamist has a thing for cook-offs. There’s something about the sincerity of it all—just a bunch of honest folk sharing their love for chili, casseroles or, in the case of Sunday’s event, winter squash. This weekend’s Great Squash Cook-Off drew twenty amateur cooks to Park Slope’s V-Spot restaurant to compete before a panel of local food authorities (among them KalaLea of organic café and wine bar Smooch, Vikas Khanna of Tamarind and Isa Chandra......

Brooklyn newcomer Brooklyn Label serves breakfast, lunch, and brunch in the spaciously remodeled ground floor of the historic Astral Apartments building in Greenpoint. Maintaining original ceilings and floors (where possible), bright sunlight pours in in windows on the South and West sides illuminating bright orange walls and a steadily crowded room. Open six days a week (except Mondays), Brooklyn Label's hearty menu offers generously sized servings of creative variations on all-American favorites with breakfast......

- Baby, it's cold outside, and what better way to warm up than with a steaming bowl of soup. MUG rounds up readers' favorite chicken soups, or if you prefer cooking your own, the Daily News lets us in on soup recipes from Dirty Bird, Tabla, and Fairway - Have you seen this bulgogi sandwich cart? If so, let Midtown Lunch know. - Okay all you lovebirds out there, Valentine's Day is right around the......

When Fish Tail Restaurant replaced the now defunct Tab Tos in October, the East Village mourned the loss of a tiny-if-not-charming ten seat sushi joint with notoriously brusk service, but reputably fresh fish--some of the best in the city. Fish Tail, changing little about Tab Tos' sparse decor (and even now failing to replace the old health inspection sign) does little to salvage the locale as a sushi hotspot. The new menu serves basic......

Today is the first day of what could possibly be many days of Thanksgiving leftovers. This is the honeymoon period in the relationship, so enjoy it -- after three more days, you'll be so sick of turkey in any form that you won't want to eat it again until next Thanksgiving. But what to do with all the leftover turkey to stretch out the honeymoon? Sure, there's the standard turkey sandwich, either served cold or......

As the weather gets cooler, we find ourselves inexplicably drawn to daydreams of cooking up large batches of soups, stews, and chilis and baking warm loaves of bread (baguettes, cornbread, banana bread -- whatever, really). It's that time of year when nesting begins in earnest for many of us. This weekend, we made a dinner that we felt perfectly captured the transition from summer to fall: a butternut squash and sage risotto topped with seared......

The government is asking Americans not to eat spinach as it continues to investigate the E.coli outbreak related to the leafy green. Spinach - and other vegetable - supplier Natural Selection has been cleared of contamination, but the FDA hasn't lifted the recalls on Natural Selection brands. But some restaurants and grocery stores are still featuring spinach, as the Post reports seeing "spinach soups, spinach pizzas and even bunches of fresh spinach." Now, spinach soups......

Cheap, portable, and tasty foods are every New Yorker's gastronomic best friend. Add Elizabeth Ting's ingenious bing to the roster, originally sold at Unique Pastry in Queens and now at her new outpost Roll and Doughon W. 3rd & 6th, and you have a winning dinner for the road. The doughy pockets are stuffed with savory or sweet fillings, grilled flat, and studded with a coat of sesame seeds. Meat-and-veggie options like spicy pork,......

Asparagus -- where to start? It does not resemble any other food we eat, leaves a stink in our toilet bowls like none other, and often confuses buyers with its fat or thin conundrum. Yet despite all the easy attachable locker room humor that’s readily available, it has been beloved all world over for a very long time now. Some quick information: Looks – we eat the shoot of the plant, and its phallic......

Jesse Chan-Norris sees that the Broadway and 8th Street location of 'wichcraft has opened up - and the soups of the day are Chicken and Cauliflower. This bring the total to six locations in NYC, and this one is will truly be tested come the fall semester of NYU. It's a pricey visit for lunch, but not if you're loading up on a lot of stuff at the salad bar. (And having a nice......

There are few things in life at Mexican restaurants better than fresh guacamole prepared at your tableside, so when Gothamist spied a bowlful of avocados ready for smashin', we headed into Park Slope's inviting La Taqueria, a long, narrow joint smattered with paintings by local artist Jeramy Turner. Margaritas are a must-have, though nearly a dozen bottled beers appear on the menu including Tecate and Pacifico along with fresh fruit juices and the house......

In "Sex and the City," the ladies fall for the pretzel guy in the greenmarket. In "Party Girl," Parker Posey swoons over the falafel guy on the street. Well, in the real-life New York, if you ask Gothamist, the cutest street vendor may be the panini guy at Le Kiosk. He’s a Frenchman with Spanish roots, and his smile can melt mozzarella. We don’t know his name because we were too busy flirting shamelessly to......

A neighborhood bakery--the kind where you can sit on a lazy Sunday morning sipping coffee, noshing on a muffin, and reading the NY Times, is the sweet indulgence of any New Yorker. So, even though they aren't serving up a Buche de Noel this week, Ciao for Now offers sugary treats perfect for every day, especially the holidays [or the Friday before Christmas when, even though the transit strike is over, you'd rather go......

A recent Mexican-food-filled trip to Texas left Gothamist craving delicious chips and guacamole upon our return to New York. When we heard about the homemade guacamole at Café El Portal on Elizabeth Street, we couldn’t refrain from making a visit to taste it ourselves. In a teal-painted room with just a handful of tables and low ceilings, the restaurant's casual atmosphere was warming as we sat down for lunch last week. We ordered a basket......

Fish is one of those spots that we've walked past a million times over the five years it has been open, but somehow have never made it in. We've even made a mental note -- oooh, local seafood joint... looks good...should stop by soon -- but somehow didn't make it. Until last week, when we finally pulled ourselves together to go in and see what Fish was all about. A few things to know about......

Sandwiched between myriad Starbucks in Astor Place, you might have noticed the glaringly orange MUD Truck parked by former home of the Alamo Cube. The 4 year old brain-child (or vehicle) of Nina Berott and Greg Northrop, the coffee and snack truck mainly services commuters on-the-go. But, for a full breakfast, lunch, or dinner menu, one can also stop in at the Mudspot (on E. 9th between 1st & 2nd), munch on granola, and revel......

Two food events of note over the next few days. Don't let a little snow keep you away! March 1: The Edible Airwaves -- How to Cook for Television, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m at the Museum of Television and Radio. This panel features Food Network personalities Mario Batali, Alton Brown, and Giada De Laurentiis (pictured at right), and is moderated by Jeffrey Steingarten. Tickets are $15 each for non-members, $12 for members, and $7 for......

When is a sandwich more than just a sandwich? When it achieves the Platonic ideal of sandwichness, the goal at Eli Zabar's E.A.T., located on the Upper East Side. Around since 1973, E.A.T. has doubled its restaurant size and grown as a catering business as well. In this time, it has become a mainstay for everyone from "ladies who lunch" to UES weekend brunchers. Gothamist had been hearing great things about this place for a......

The punched out metal letters on Tim Phillips’s sign for Landscape Café will be lit up with backlights and set against a pouring of crushed glass. The new café, the product of an architectural background and yearning for a good latte, demonstrates keen attention to detail and clean design on the corner across from greasy late-night pancake haven, Kellogg’s Diner, and down the street from the Barcade and another Gothamist favorite, the Hope & Union......

Daily Soup Cookbook by Leslie Kaul, Bob Spiegel, Peter Siegel, Carla Ruben, and Robin Vitetta-Miller Gothamist has always liked split pea soup. We aren't sure if we've ever been to Andersen's, the official temple of split pea soup located on the way to Hearst Castle, but we've heard about it so many times it feels like we have. This split pea recipe, from New York's Daily Soup chain, is rich and satisfying. It makes enough......

"Cheap" doesn’t always come to mind when you're wading through $400 sweaters in Soho, but if you're looking to find bang for your buck, stop in at Mooncake Foods, the anomalous Pan-Asian bistro-diner on Watts Street, for eats that won't swallow up your wallet. Gothamist stopped by on a frigid night earlier this week; the big bay windows with fiery red trim were frosted from top to bottom, but inside was warm and cozy. Nightly......

The city is finally hit with almost freakishly cold weather, and because our winter had been so mild up to this point, it's been catching up off guard. With stories about people freezing to death, Gothamist would like to remind everyone what your building's temperatures should be: - When the temperature drops below 55 degrees between 6AM-10PM, inside temperature should be at least 68 degrees. - When the temperature drops below 40 degrees between 10PM-6AM,......

Columbine's Curry Squash Soup...

Kenny Kramer, Entrepreneur / Wacky Next-Door Neighbor...

Much to our pleasure, Daily Candy reports the opening of Rice to Riches, the Mulberry Street rice pudding joint. There are flavors like Strawberry Floozy, Stubborn Banana with hint of Coconut, Chocolate Carnivore with a trace of Dark Raisins, and Obscene Orange with a tinge of Carrot. I'm a rice pudding purist myself, but I'd be up for Stubborn Banana with a hint of Coconut. My people have been using rice for many years: Witness......