Now Taking Reservations for Sometime Next Year

Pies in new 'stratosphere of respect'

(NEWSER) - In recent years, a new culture has developed around pizza: “It’s scrutinized and fetishized, with a Palin-esque power to polarize,” writes Frank Bruni in the New York Times. That means debates over oven types, varieties of flour, the virtues of buffalo mozzarella. The new “stratosphere of respect” for the pies is reflected in countless classy new restaurants that have sprung up all over New York. More»

From 'grilled to perfection' to 'garden fresh'

(NEWSER) - Tired of menus that use the same old phrases over and over? So are the food critics at the Chicago Tribune. They nominated nine menu clichés for the compost pile:

• "Grilled to perfection": Subjective to the point of meaninglessness. And why always grilled, and not “boiled” or “baked”? Can only grilling reach perfection?
• "World famous": Almost always an empty boast.
• "Kobe burger": “Kobe” is becoming a general synonym for “high quality”; it doesn't apply unless the beef actually came from Japan.

Artisanal flavor sets cuisine apart from mom's 'homemade'

(NEWSER) - A word that isn’t yet in the dictionary has been cropping up on menus across America: “housemade” is the new trend. Don’t confuse it with “homemade,” which has lost its buzz and now suggests an unprofessional cook or a hokey menu-writer. “Housemade has more cachet,” one restaurateur tells Newsweek. More»

Esquire 's picks from all over the US

(NEWSER) - After surveying restaurants across the US, Esquire gave the country props for its chops, proclaiming "the emergence of American cooking as the most diverse and most innovative in the world." It highlighted 20 favorite new restaurants of the year:

1. L20 (Chicago): Overlook its Midwest locale; this place serves the best fish, with a lobster bisque as rich as its $165, 12-course offering.
2. Bar Blanc (New York): An incredibly chic space with incredibly comforting dishes, like sweetbreads on watercress with sherry-poached cherries.

Catalonian chemistry lab keeps Britain's Fat Duck in No. 2 slot

(NEWSER) - For the third year in a row El Bulli, the restaurant-cum-chemistry lab outside of Barcelona, has been named the world's best restaurant. Feran Adrià's "gastronomic temple" got the top gong from a group of 700 chefs and critics. For Bloomberg's food writer El Bulli is "highly technically accomplished," but fundamentally "theater." More»