The next evolutionary step for specialty cocktails seems to be one in which they blow up, or at least sip like they've been smoked over coals for a long time. The bartender Eben Freeman (right) serves a drink at Tailor called The Waylon, made with cherry- and alderwood smoked Coca Cola syrup (recipe here) and bourbon. Bar chef-tinkerer David Arnold, who might soon open a bar with Johnny Iuzzini, gingerly heats his flips with a Watlow Firerod that lights up like a glo-worm "well past 1700°F" and ignites drinks on contact. Elsewhere, Gourmet notes a new wave of smoky cocktails, from the single malt based called Pipe Smoke made by Joe Swifka at Elettaria, to the downright mezcal char found at spots like Mayahuel. Tailor offers classes in cocktails for $50 a pop, and Arnold serves his science fair cocktails at L'Ecole one night a month. And if you just like making things blow up, try this supremely low tech Mentos Rum and Diet Coke hack offered up by Wired. more ›

After-hours Sunday night at the Jacques Torres chocolate factory on Hudson Street was the release party for Jean Georges pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini’s first cookbook, the provocatively titled Dessert Fourplay. The book is literally named for Iuzzini’s preferred format of serving desserts composed of four separate parts or components, and not your chance of getting some when getting your brulee on; actual results may vary. Some examples of Iuzzini’s recipes can be found here, here, and here. more ›

Many people have a strong preference when forced to choose between sweet and savory -- french toast or eggs, cupcakes or french fries, chocolate or cheese? These days, however, the line is getting blurred, with more pastry chefs entering the savory fray, like Sam Mason's Tailor and Pichet Ong's P*ong, both with menus that bring sweetness into entrees and a savory edge to desserts. more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Irving Mill (pictured). Says, “It’s a self-conscious heir to Gramercy Tavern…if only it performed that way.” He does like some of the food, and the wine list. “At Irving Mill’s finest moments, with its finest dishes, it’s decidedly more than pleasant,” he says. But the cooking is inconsistent, the menu sounds more flavorful than it tastes, the desserts are only so-so, and the space too big, says Bruni. more ›

The entrée is so over, the top chefs tell us. Yesterday Times reporter Kim Severson sunk her teeth into the long decline of the entrée and the increasing dominance of side dishes and tapas at many fine restaurants. As former Gramercy Tavern chef Tom Colicchio tells her, “Eating an entrée is too many bites of one thing, and it’s boring.” Amid all the evidence of diminishing entrée options at restaurants nationwide (at Gemma, entrées are... more ›

Inspired by the miso butterscotch pork belly we had at Tailor, these ribs are meatier, heftier, and to our bellies more satisfying than Sam Mason's creation. Betcha expected a Thanksgiving recipe for us today. Well, our family traditionally goes to Peter Luger's every year on Thanksgiving, so we can't help you there. If you're willing to flout tradition, though, we can't think of a better way to express gratitude for our loved ones than... more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Sam Mason’s Tailor. Loves the design of the place, and—along with everyone else—the pork belly, the arctic char and the drinks. Overall? “[Mason’s] infatuation with his own imagination doesn’t leave room enough for a self-appraisal of the results… a duck-and-eel terrine in a chocolate consommé tastes like cat food splashed with Yoo-hoo.” Hee. In Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Toloache. Calls the upscale Mexican restaurant a “welcome addition”... more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Harry Cipriani in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, awards the restaurant no stars. Finds “service so confused and food so undistinguished it wouldn’t pass muster at half the cost.” Says prices at the restaurant ridiculous. The restaurant was last reviewed in 1991, when Bryan Miller gave it two stars. The one positive? “The people-watching is nonpareil." Peter Meehan visits Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, for tacos. Likes Epocas... more ›

If you’ve got a sweet tooth and a couple hundred bucks to blow, you’ll want to mark your calendar for Friday November 16th, when the Food Network throws New York’s “largest dessert party ever.” Called Sweet, the event will unleash a massive tsunami of temptations from some of NewYork’s top pastry chefs, confectioners, cheese makers, bakers and chocolatiers. To wash it all down there’ll be a wide selection of champagne and wine, including samples from Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco’s Italian wine company, Bracco Wines. (Dr. Melfi herself will be on hand to talk through your feelings about her wines.) more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Korean restaurant Moim in Park Slope, awards the restaurant one star. Says, “Many of its dishes, distinguished by a beautifully modulated and lingering heat, are compelling. Most are at least satisfying.” Prices are reasonable as well, he says, though service less than attentive. more ›

This five-course wine dinner will feature nine top wines from Alsace, Austria and Germany paired with regional dishes such as Alsatian Onion Tart with Thinly Sliced House-Smoked Brisket and Raclette Fondue and Riesling-Marinated Poulet Rouge with Glazed Baby Turnips and Carrots Crispy Sauteed Spaetzle, and Riesling Jus. Doesn't that sound like fall to you? $125, tax and tip excluded. For reservations, call 212.874.7400. 7pm, Aix, 2398 Broadway at 88th Street. more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Gemma in the Bowery Hotel for Italian, awards the restaurant one star. Calls it a “cheat sheet” of a restaurant that recalls Morandi, but with a less skilled chef. “It’s also Morandi in a smarter, sexier outfit, with more charismatic, fluid service. That’s it’s saving grace,” he says. more ›

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Market Table -- Mike Price, formerly of the Mermaid Inn has partnered with the Little Owl's Joey Campanaro and Gabriel Stulman, moved into the former Shopsins space and created a market/restaurant where, among other things, they'll be selling the kick-ass pork chops served at the Little Owl so you can attempt to re-create them at home. The market portion is in the soft-opening stage, and the restaurant is due to open the week of September 11. 54 Carmine at Bedford Street. (212) 255-2100. more ›

, which had at least the benefit of still being a well-crafted spy novel until the third act. more ›

">Bridget Jones' Diary, ostensibly inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, was truly sparked by Davies' seminal adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for the BBC, which launched Colin Firth as a sex symbol and gave him the opportunity to play Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones the film, a character inspired by Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy in P&P...wait, this is Charlie Kaufman territory.
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