Edition: U.S. / Global

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Dining & Wine

Because Explorers Need New Horizons

By JEFF GORDINIER
Wylie Dufresne in the kitchen at WD-50 in Manhattan.
Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Wylie Dufresne in the kitchen at WD-50 in Manhattan.

The chef Wylie Dufresne is changing the entire menu at his groundbreaking restaurant WD-50.

Restaurant Review | Café China
Café China, in Midtown, serves Sichuan food.

Showing the Chile Who’s Boss

By PETE WELLS

Demure and quaint, Café China in Midtown serves uncompromising Sichuan food that can stand with Manhattan’s best.

Gustavo Arellano at Mitla Cafe, the oldest Mexican restaurant in California's Inland Empire.

How the Taco Gained in Translation

By JULIA MOSKIN

Gustavo Arellano, a journalist and Orange County native, is perhaps the greatest (and only) living scholar of Mexican-American fast food.

How to Cook Everything

With Skate a No-Show, Halibut Does a Star Turn

By MARK BITTMAN

Halibut is a worthy stand-in for skate, which has become scarce.

City Kitchen
Asparagus with mustard vinaigrette.

A Romantic Cook’s True Spring Love

By DAVID TANIS

There’s no denying the thrill when, after months of apples, potatoes and sturdy greens, suddenly asparagus appears in full force at the market.

Dining Briefs | Recently Opened

Kristalbelli

By JULIA MOSKIN

At an upscale Korean barbecue restaurant, uniformed waiters grill the food for you.

Dining Briefs | Checking In
At David’s Brisket House, pastrami rules.

David’s Brisket House

By BETSY ANDREWS

At this Bedford-Stuyvesant institution, Yemeni Muslim guys serve exemplary Jewish deli sandwiches to a predominantly African-American crowd.

Food Stuff

Legendary Wines, Sold in Sips

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Alain Ducasse’s Midtown bistro Benoit is making rare wines accessible by selling them in very small portions.

Diner’s Journal Blog

Treat Petite: A Different Sort of Soft-Serve

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Treat Petite has opened in the West Village, selling soft-serve frozen kefir.

A Taste of North Carolina, at Last

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Blue Smoke, the barbecue restaurants owned by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, have a new sauce to slather on their pork.

The Experimental Cocktail Club Lower East Side.

Mixed in Paris, Poured in New York

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

The Experimental Cocktail Club Lower East Side, part of a chain that began in France, offers American-style cocktails.

Dining Calendar

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Kentucky Derby celebrations, a ramp festival, a food book fair and more events this week.

Phillip Lee is opening Kimchi Grill in Brooklyn.

Off the Menu

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Phillip Lee of the Kimchi Taco truck opens Kimchi Grill in Prospect Heights; Mile End Sandwich, a spinoff of the Brooklyn restaurant, comes to Manhattan.

The Pour

Cheese and Red Wine, Together Again

By ERIC ASIMOV

It is simply untrue that red wine and cheese cannot complement and improve each other.

A Good Appetite

Pancakes That Are Not So Flat (Artistically)

By MELISSA CLARK

Honey, lemon zest and Greek yogurt give your batter a wake-up call.

Thomas Keller, of the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., is among the chefs opposed to the state's coming ban on foie gras.

California Chefs to Wield Their Spatulas in Fight Over Foie Gras Ban

By JESSE McKINLEY

Some of California’s best-known chefs, like Thomas Keller, began a full-course press on the state’s legislators on Monday, hoping to prevent the ban from taking effect.

In Transit Blog

United States Tops '50 Best Restaurants' List With 8 Spots

By DAN SALTZSTEIN

The annual list of the 50 best restaurants in the world is out and the United States has the most spots on the list.

A Coolhaus truck on the 17th floor of the Starrett-Lehigh Building in West Chelsea.

On the Highest Floors, Food Comes to the Workers

By GLENN COLLINS

At the Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea, trucks offering inventive dishes are put on a freight elevator and rolled out onto bays on the upper stories.

T Magazine
Ristretto | The Daily Grind

Ristretto | The Daily Grind

By OLIVER STRAND

The secret to brewing excellent, flavorful coffee at home? Grind your own beans.

T Magazine
Edible Selby | Net Gains

Edible Selby | Net Gains

By TODD SELBY and ABBY AGUIRRE

An urban fisherman lures foragers into San Francisco's waterways.

Eat

Japanese Soba and the Broth of Life

By MARK BITTMAN

The buckwheat noodle dish looks simple enough. And once you know the secret, it is.

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Dining in the Region
New Jersey Dining | Somerville
Grilled lamb chops with potatoes.

Classic Greek Flavors, With a Modern Twist

By KARLA COOK

Kyma offers Greek cuisine, some of it influenced by recipes from the owner’s family.

Long Island Dining | Seaford
Fried green tomatoes with herbed mascarpone.

Adventurous Choices for Nibblers and Grazers

By JOANNE STARKEY

The Phoenix, in Seaford, is among the latest in a trend of restaurants specializing in small plates.

Westchester Dining | Eastchester
An 850-degree wood-fired oven produces 12-inch Neapolitan-style pizzas.

What’s in a Name? A Crucial Ingredient

By ALICE GABRIEL

Since it is the name of a fresh, creamy cow’s milk cheese currently in vogue, Burrata seemed like a perfect name for a wood-fired pizzeria.

Connecticut Dining | Mexican Restaurants
ECHOES OF OAXACA Mango-yellow walls and other touches evoke the tropics at Monte Albán, a Mexican restaurant in Hartford with a one-room interior and a terrace out front.

Authentic Feasts, Tequila Included, for Any Fiesta

By CHRISTOPHER BROOKS

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, three restaurants serve authentic and innovative Mexican food in décors that contribute to a celebratory sense of fiesta all year long.

Wylie Dufresne, Culinary Wizard

May 1, 2012 6:13 PM ET

Rejecting Those Wine and Cheese Edicts

May 1, 2012

The Minimalist: Roasted Asparagus With Crunchy Parmesan Topping

May 1, 2012

More From Diner's Journal »

Slide Show
Café China

Inside the Sichuan restaurant in Midtown that’s meant to evoke Shanghai before World War II.

Slide Show
New Dishes From WD-50

Wylie Dufresne, one of the most influential culinary minds on the planet, unveils dishes from the reinvented menu at his WD-50.

Slide Show
Recipes for Asparagus

Twenty ways to use one of spring’s quintessential vegetables.

Slide Show
Recipes for Pancakes, Sweet and Savory

Cardamom, oatmeal, ricotta, zucchini, carrot and other worthy additions to the batter.

Multimedia Feature
Sounds of the Kitchen

For a new generation of American chefs, one of the most crucial ingredients in the kitchen is audible, not edible.

Interactive Map
New York Health Department Restaurant Ratings Map

Interactive map of health violations at restaurants in New York

Your Pizza Here
Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
The Pizza Issue

Videos, recipes, articles and more to help you achieve the perfect pizza or calzone at home. (And, if you must, tips on where to find a good restaurant pie.)

Dear FloFab . . .

Have a dining dilemma? Florence Fabricant answers questions on the finer points of entertaining at home and eating at restaurants.

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