• Frank Bruni chronicles five meals he recently had in which he and a companion ate at least three courses for $100 or less. I'm in love with the description of a baked cauliflower dish as "promiscuously cheesy and hammy."
• Ordering wine from the bottom of the list.
• Lobster prices are lower than they've been in years (mostly due to the closure of Canadian processing plants) and so Melissa Clark prepares lobster a three ways to celebrate the discount prices.
• Persimmons are something of a mystery to many home cooks, so Harold McGee sets out to unravel their mysteries and make up two lovely steamed pudding out of them.
• The economy has led many folks to give up the restaurant habit and eat at home. Marian Burros talks with several people who have revamped the ways that they eat.
• Corton gets the Frank Bruni treatment and comes away with three stars.
• The Minimalist makes sorbet using nothing more than frozen fruit, a few ingredients and his food processor.

• Some restaurants will be headed by star chefs, others are opening elsewhere, but originated in NY, and really, there are just too many to count.
• The new vibe in restaurants is casual and cool
• Why does it take so long (and so much heartache) to get a restaurant to open?
• Critic Frank Bruni takes a dive into fish-heavy Soto
• Go! Go! Curry keeps it real with Japanese comfort food
• But it's not all just about restaurants. For the home kitchen, Mark Bittman does a paella and Harold McGee explains gelatin filtration

The issue of Alan Richman's dislike of New Orleans and its food is brought up, with a particular focus on his assertion that Creoles do not exist. It's not all that difficult to find an actual Creole living in NOLA and once you find them, they'll probably share some of the food that they're famous for whether Mr. Richman likes it or not, including: Calas, Artichoke and Oyster Casserole, and Beef Daube Glace

Harold McGee starts a new column, the Curious Cook. which will explores the science of food. The subject of this article is blue-green garlic, a color that results from sulfur compounds that are the result of pureeing onions and garlic together.

The 66-year old Essex Street Market, on the lower East Side of Manhattan, bridges the gap between "of the bodega and the universe of the gourmand," where you can't expect to know who is going to buys what or how they're going to pay for it. It's completely unpretentious and the food is great.

It's the start of latke season and it's hard to resist the lure of a hot, crisp, fried potato pancake.

Frank Bruni eats at Tocqueville and the Tasting Room and gives them two and one star, respectively.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, talks more about his hugely popular no-knead bread recipe.

Where to find tableware like the Achatz and Adria's.