Dining

By Michelle del Rio

Need a respite from the buzz of the city? These downtown Manhattan rustic restaurants try to fool you into thinking you’ve just scaled a peak, picked a bushel of blueberries or splashed in a country lake.

By Nycnosh.com

My friend Jonathan owes his happiness to a light bulb. The dark gloom of February and March put him into such a funk that only the restorative power of a 20-minute session underneath a halogen light therapy lamp can fool his body into believing that the sun is actually shining. Jonathan’s made-to-order, $325 bulbs might be pricey, but they keep his seasonal affective disorder at bay, and as he says, they are still cheaper than a trip to Florida. For those for whom a bit of metaphorical sun will do the trick just as well, there is an even more convenient option: Ideya, a pan-Latin bistro on the edge of Soho, with its whitewashed brick walls and accents in shades of lime green and neon blue. Samba pulsates through speakers by the door and around the sleek, minimalist bar. A drinks menu, replete with tropical fruit concoctions, might as well come with its own umbrella. If there’s any place that might make you forget the season, Ideya is it.

By nycnosh.com

If East Japanese Restaurant had a chance to choose its West 55th Street digs all over again, we bet it would not take the restaurant directly next door to Yakitori Totto, one of the city’s finest Japanese grills.

By Jeanine Zelkas

Executive chef and prolific restaurateur Laurent Tourondel, who made his first grand splash in New York several years ago at the beloved upscale seafood restaurant Cello, has gone on, after Cello closed its doors, to create his BLT empire. The BLT (an acronym for “Bistro Laurent Tourondel”) family includes BLT Steak, BLT Fish, BLT Burger and BLT Prime. And I love them all just as I loved Cello. Tourondel is one of those talented chefs with a passion and talent for creating memorable dishes using the best raw ingredients while maintaining a laid back approach often with a sense of humor and playfulness resulting in mass appeal.

A widespread farming practice is adding arsenic to the food chain.

By Melinda Wenner

When Gwen Cox raised broiler chickens for Pilgrim’s Pride, she had to use poultry feed provided by the company. After a few incidents when she felt physically ill working with it — “I would start coughing and could hardly stop, or I’d get lightheaded or nauseous,” she remembers — she checked the feed labels and noticed that they listed roxarsone, an organic arsenic compound, as an ingredient. Concerned about her chickens as well as her own health, she asked Pilgrim’s Pride why she was being forced to use feed containing arsenic.

By Margarida Correia

A small winter squash was stirring a big debate one afternoon this month in a
Lower East Side community garden.

Where to Find Aphrodisiacs on the Plate this Valentine’s Day

By Khristina Narizhnaya

Food’s ability to titillate is as mysterious as love itself. Napoleon ate truffles – the fungus, not the chocolate – before his rendez-vous with Josephine and in the Far East, men spike their teas and soups with powdered rhinoceros horn to induce virility, said Francine Segan, a food historian and lecturer.

The goodies at Magnolia Bakery have the power to transform otherwise rational adults into rabid sugar fiends. Now, the sweets shop that ignited New York’s insatiable appetite for cupcakes is bringing its sugary treats – and perennially long lines – to a new location on Columbus Avenue. But no matter where you find yourself in Manhattan, you’re never far away from a cupcake fix. The Resident asked blogger Rachel Kramer Bussel, founder and one of the editors of Cupcakes Take the Cake (cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com), where to find the city’s best cupcakes. —Heather Corcoran

By Sylvie Bigar

Chicken may be our natural feathered comfort food but quail is leaner than duck and so much tastier than its bigger relations.

Michael Anthony, executive chef at Gramercy Tavern, began cooking quail at Daniel. “At the time, we had boned-out birds from D’Artagnan, and Daniel’s technique was tremendous,” he said. “We stuffed them with foie gras and peaches or figs. They are an excellent choice because they are not too gamy.” In fact, “the quails I came across later in my career were often too lean and lacked the kind of flavor profile I was looking for,” he added. “So I enlisted the help of Sylvia Pryzant at Four Story Hill Farm in Pennsylvania, and with a local farmer, we developed the breed of Coturnix quail we use now.”

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

The New Year means it’s time to consider new culinary horizons. Whether you’re seeking a cozy bistro, a hip gastropub or an outrageous Vegas-style restaurant, here are new powerhouses to complement your old standbys. —Heather Corcoran and Cotton Delo