• As the economy has gotten tighter, restaurants have gotten a whole lot friendlier and more solicitous, all in the hopes of getting and keeping your business.
• The show The Biggest Loser showcases the problem that most Americans don't know how to cook for themselves.
• The peanut butter salmonella scare has led people to wonder about the safety of nearly everything they put in their mouths.
• Frank Bruni reviews the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel and finds that it's heavy on atmosphere and light on dependably delicious dishes.
• After experiencing a couple bad years, Eric Asimov declares that the barolo is back to its former glory.
• For inexpensive Indian food in Manhattan, you can't go wrong at Dhaba.
• Andrew Carmellini is teaming up with Robert De Niro to take over the restaurant in the Greenwich Hotel.
• Mark Bittman takes a standard cracker recipe and tarts it up with cheese, butter and cream for a richer result.
• Most recipes for braised rabbit require lots of fat to keep the lean meat moist. Melissa Clark has figured out a way to keep the meat tender without making it heavy.

• You'd probably think that newer versions of Joy of Cooking would include healthier recipes ... but that's not the case. The average calorie count rose 63% between 1936 and 2006 -- read more.
• Mark Bittman's new spin on food, and getting people off the "meatarian" habit.
• Upper Canada Cheese's Comfort Cream -- perfect when aged and gooey.
• Chef David Lee talks about the Chinese New Year and shares a recipe for Ginger-Steamed Wild Black Bass with Stir-Fried Chinese Greens.

• 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 best cocktail city in the world right now is London, according to Audrey Saunders, the owner of New York's Pegu Club. The drinks are fantastic and innovative and the bartenders making them can be more of a draw than the chefs in the restaurant's kitchen. The hottest London bartender is Dick Bradsell, owner of Dick's Bar and MatchBar, as well as several other cocktail spots, none of which will put style over substance, preferring to up the ante in both departments.

Anyone who grew up on a farm that raised chickens has probably come across unlaid eggs inside a older hen when it was slaughtered. Chef Dan Barber, of Blue Hill, has recently started harvesting such eggs and adding them to his menu. Naming them "immature," as opposed to "embryonic" on the menus has helped sales, but the strong flavor isn't for everyone.

The curious cook tried to make his own homemade rice wines, trying to avoid the off "mousy" flavor that can sometimes arise.

Get in on a staff party for the employees of the Spotted Pig.

Frank Bruni eats at Kobe Club and gives it zero stars.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, makes mackerel.

Despite their inborn Southern love for the artisanal, aged country ham, the Lee Brothers have to admit that city ham, the shortcut that is brined, cured and smoked in as little as two weeks (as opposed to the 1-2 year aging of country ham), can be quite delicious. They tasted their way through the city to find all the top spots to get your ham.

In the basement of the Broadway Presbyterian Church, everyone can find a four star, multi-course meal. This isn't a restaurant, however. It's a soup kitchen. Michael Ennes, the chef, insists on using homemade stocks, avoids trans fats and tries to use organic and local products and produce whenever he can. The meals he serves include roasted turkey with a mango-ginger glaze and tropical fruit stuffing and Andalusian oxtail and lentil stew. "At one time, Mr. Ennes dreamed of being a starred chef" and although he has to rely on donated ingredients much of the time, he couldn't be happier with his work. Broadway Presbyterian is a place where everyone is served and everyone's opinion is valued. "They're still customers, whether they're paying $100 a plate or nothing."

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, introduces people to pancakes: Polenta Pancakes, Baked Pancakes, Light, Fluffy and Rich Pancakes, Recipe: Everyday Pancakes.

Can you identify the origin of a maple syrup by tasting it? The answer is yes. Not all maple syrups are the same and the differences between the varieties are surprising.

A few last minute suggestions for stocking stuffers.

Frank Bruni dines at The Russian Tea Room and gives it 1 star.