Photograph of Mark Simmons, Top Chef contestant and sous-chef at Public, and WD-50 chef and owner Wylie Dufresne The festive factor was running high at last night's Taste of the Lower East Side, the 8th Annual fundraiser for the Grand Street Settlement. Forty neighborhood eateries pitched in to benefit Grand Street's programs that assist low-income Lower East Side residents, and they showcased some of their best dishes for the crowd of well over 1,000......

Today the Times’s chief food critic Frank Bruni revisits WD-50 (pictured) and elevates the Lower East Side avant-garde restaurant to three stars (a 2003 Times review by another critic had awarded it two). Chef Wylie Dufresne has made WD-50 a destination with his experimental, transgressive menu, and Bruni concedes that in the past “too many of his creations were gratuitously perverse… many visitors understandably feel that what they’ve experienced isn’t so much a meal as......

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......

Without much fanfare last July, Alex Stupak replaced Sam Mason as pastry chef at Wylie Dufresne's Clinton Street avant-garde institution WD~50. Prior to arriving in New York, Stupak, who will turn 27 later this month, had already accrued a blockbuster resume- most notably he was the pastry chef at Alinea in Chicago, named the #1 restaurant in the United States by Gourmet magazine in 2006. Last week, Stupak talked with Gothamist while plating one his......

Gothamist would like to congratulate Chef Jason Neroni of Porchetta on today’s New York Times review. The following conversation took place two weeks ago at the Smith Street restaurant. Jason Neroni has no socks. The thirty year-old chef of Porchetta, the New Italian/Creative American place on Smith Street in Brooklyn, is going commando with his clogs. Owner Marco Riviero is behind the bar squeezing blood oranges with a citrus press for one last round of......

- Ed Levine wonders aloud if there is such a thing as a "cheap 4 star" eating experience, and then tells us about his, at the Del Posto Enoteca. - The fight is on over the right to use the Guss' Pickles name. - The Clinton Hill Blog checks out the Smoke Joint, a new BBQ place in Fort Greene, and declares happily, "Smoke Joint does it right." - Savory New York has recently added......

Gothamist's Star Chefs report is brought to us by Regina Varolli, a Manhattan-based freelance writer. Though most of her private clients are in DC, she lives here because the food is better, in general. On day two of the International Chefs Congress, Pierre Hermé was announced as “The God of Pastry.” With many foreign chefs requiring English assistance, only Hermé had award-winning cookbook author Dori Greenspan as his translator, pictured below. With Hermé on stage......

Gothamist's Star Chefs report is brought to us by Regina Varolli, a Manhattan-based freelance writer. Though most of her private clients are in DC, she lives here because the food is better, in general. After 11 years on the web, StarChefs.com held its inaugural “International Chefs Congress” last week. Gathering chefs from around the globe, the event boasted an impressive line-up including pastry god Pierre Hermé, elBulli’s Albert Adrià, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, NYC chemist-chefs......

Savory New York, created by husband and wife team Christopher and Jennifer McBride takes the classic online restaurant guide one step further. In addition to basic facts and information about atmosphere, noise level, signature dishes, and links to other reviews, Savory New York brings us video profiles of restaurants. From the comfort of your own computer, you can watch Tom Colicchio (Craft), Daniel Boulud (Daniel), David Chang (Momofuku Noodle Bar), Jody Williams (Gusto), Wylie Dufresne......

Maybe Rupert Murdoch should think about selling his place to one of NYC's celebrity chefs. According to Forbes Magazine, some of them are making some long green. On their list of the top 10 most influential chefs in America, we counted six who are doing business in NYC, and most of them (except poor Wylie!) are making a least a few million. Mario Batali $4m/year (Babbo, Lupa, and a many others) Lidia Bastianich $1.3m/year......

The other night, Gothamist had the most decadent dream: in one night, we ate at Hearth, WD-50, Asiate, Public, Cru, Sumile and Per Se. We sipped wines from all over the world, and nibbled on delectable desserts from Spice Market. When we woke up the next morning, we realized that it wasn't a dream after all -- it was the StarChefs.com annual Rising Stars Revue, and Gothamist was there. This relatively small and intimate tasting......

A 28 year-old actress-playwright, Nicole duFresne, died from gunshot wounds during a robbery on Clinton Street near Delancey early Thursday morning. The Brooklyn resident had left Max Fish with her fiance, Jeffrey Sparks, and two friends at 3:15AM when they were approached by two teenagers, demanding their money. Sparks pushed past one of them, who hit him in the face with a gun. Then, according to the police, it seems that the would-be robbers demanded......

This past week Gothamist learned two very important things that we will carry with us into the New Year: we love sherry and we hate sherry hangovers. Last week Gothamist was invited to a Sherry Tasting hosted by Steve Olson, a.k.a. "the Wine Geek" at WD-50. Gothamist was in heaven dining on deliciously interesting tapas by Chef Wylie Dufresne, sipping on exotic sherry cocktails and tasting the huge selection of sherries . . .......

Veritas Tender Braised Veal...

WD-50's Red and Golden Beets...

Upon entering Time Out New York's Eating & Drinking event at Splashlight Studios the other night, Gothamist felt a little like we had wandered into a fashion event rather than a food event -- stark white walls, dj_cat's 80's music blaring, and tall, thin, beautiful people who certainly looked like they didn't spend all that much time eating. But after we got over feeling a little like Team Party Crash and getting over the fact......

Eating In: 71 Clinton Fresh Food's Warm Stuffed Figs...

This fundraiser, which benefits Lincoln Center, will be held on Tuesday, June 13th and will feature tastings from some of the city's finest chefs, including David Bouley, Wylie Dufresne, and Tom Valenti. Tickets are $250. For more information, call 212.875.5460 or visit the Lincoln Center website.......

Apparently annoyed with scores of witless people mispronouncing New York notables' names, New York magazine publishes a pronunciation guide to a few of the essential names you'll need to drop in your water cooler conversation. Names include Wylie Dufresne(right) of wd-50, PR gal/bad driver Lizzie Grubman and Choire Sicha (who will always be "kwire-eee" to us). Here are a few others Gothamist only recently figured out: Sridhar (Pappu) - "shh-reader" but faster Lorne (Michaels) -......

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......

It's true: There is a Nancy Pearl librarian doll with shushing action. The New York Times on Pearl, "celebrity librarian," (what is next, "celebrity alderman"?) who will be at the Mid-Manhattan branch of the New York Public Library tonight at 6PM (the saucily titled "Book Lust: An Evening with Nancy Pearl"). Perhaps her position as celebrity librarian is justified, as she oversaw Seattle's "If All Of Seattle Read the Same Book" program. We just......

Like being only cool fashion-forward kid who wears jeans a certain way and then suddenly see it copped not only by your neighbors, but by the Gap to bring to the kids in Peoria, the Daily News looks at chefs who have felt the burn when dishes that they have created are copied with nary a glance backward, but more of a middle finger backward, it seems. One dish to be mercilessly imitated: Daniel Boulud's......

The Post rustles up a food critic and sends Steve Cuozzo the Lower East Side and WD-50 and loves Wylie Dufresne's food. In fact, he writes, "Its brand of modern-American cooking is witty but not wacky." Later on, he says that pastry chef Sam Mason's desserts are "kooky without being kinky." Gothamist would like further details if in fact Dufresne is witty but not wacky and if Sam Mason is kooky without being kinky......

These dudes look like they're in a rock band or just went to check one out downtown. But actually they are the chefs at WD-50, headed by Wylie Dufresne, formerly of 71 Clinton Fresh Food and who helped spark the Lower East Side restaurant boom. The Times gives foodies a glimpse into the new operation. Don't know if Wylie Dufresne is trying to be all ironic, but WD-50 is a lot like WD-40. Not to......