- Bruni ponders the differences between the outdoor dining cultures of New York and Europe: "they eat outdoors because it’s pretty. We eat outdoors even though it’s not." He revisits the issue in the Diner's Journal as he was innundated with email in response. Although many agree with his take on the issue, some did not: "I’ve lived both in New York and in Europe, and I admit, the distinctions you’ve made in your article are very close to the actual truth. But, I would just mention that a New York cafe offers something to its ‘curbside’ diners that a European cafe seldom can: the craziness and, often, the absurdity of daily life, the best people-watching opportunity ever!"
- Grub Street's picture of this sandwich from Alidoro, a tribute to the late Luciano Pavarotti, literally made us drool on our keyboard -- an oversized sandwich stuffed with salami, smoked mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and sweet peppers.
- NYC Nosh takes a look at the recently opened Kingswood, declares that its "cooking is generally very good, and in one or two cases, exceptional," and raves that the peach salad ("mesclun greens, croutons, savory crisped prosciutto, silky roasted peaches, and a large dollop of tangy, creamy mascarpone") is one of the best they've had all year.
- A team of Ukranian women in the East Village have been hand-rolling potato dumplings called varenyky, for decades. The proceeds, which tally up to $80,000, benefit the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church
- We received the first whiff of truffle season in our inbox, courtesy of the PR team at Gilt. Their menu includes mouth-watering dishes like White Truffle Risotto, Poached Farm Egg with White Truffle, and Pasta Orechiette with Country Bacon and White Truffle, but also the eye-catching "Gossip" White Truffle Grilled Cheese, in honor of the CW11's Gossip Girl. Huh?
Got a tidbit for us? Send it to the feedbag.Photo by Youngna Park
