In the magazine this week, Adam Platt bestows two approving stars on Olana and Mia Dona, while Gael Greene is mostly pleased with Wildwood Barbeque. The Robs provide insight on the world of Chinese food with the founder of the Grand Sichuan chain, and Amanda Freitag of the Harrison gives the Robs her recipe for lovage with gravlax. In "Openings," our food editors announce the arrival of three restaurants with backstories: Hundred Acres, the successor to the recently closed Provence; Scarpetta, Scott Conant’s new casual Italian in the meatpacking; and Curry-Ya, the latest Japanese import to the East Village. Plus, hotelier André Balazs launches his own wine. It's just another busy week in New York.

In the magazine this week, the Underground Gourmet bestows three stars on the New French and Gael Greene has early intel on Benoit. As the weather warms, so do the grills at outdoor restaurants — Rob and Robin compiled a list of favorites. Gramercy Tavern chef Michael Anthony shares his recipe for green-garlic sauce in this week's "In Season," and chef Wylie Dufresne creates a new hot dog for PDT. In "Openings" this week, Rob and Robin bring news of BarFry's replacement, Cabrito, and welcome Abigail Café and Wine Bar to Prospect Heights. Finally, can a farmed bluefin tuna save the planet? Only the Robs know for sure.

In this week's issue, Adam Platt travels to Japan to see if he can eat the world's most dangerous meal. He also reviews Commerce, so he must have lived. Rob and Robin tell the story of a biryani so good that it inspired a tiny new restaurant, Sangam, on Bleecker Street. Not far away are Royal Cafe + Pastry, a new café, and Le Petite Belge, a Belgian waffles kiosk, news of which comes courtesy of the Robs. To round things out, Patti Jackson of Centovini shares her recipe for miner's-lettuce salad with pheasant eggs, and Gael Greene reviews the new Italian steakhouse Padre Figlio.

Small pleasures abound in New York, and this week's issue of the magazine highlights some of them. Sure, there are the major openings and reviews to consider: Rob and Robin issue birth announcements for haute Turkish East Sider Savarona and barbecue behemoth Wildwood, and Platt lays his weighty judgment upon the hapless Persephone and Elettaria. But what stands out this week are little joys: sucking crayfish as they're prepared by Joaquin Baca; a refreshing pink Basque wine recommended by the Robs; some fine butters, tested and presented by Gillian Duffy; and a small but promising-sounding Vietnamese restaurant, Tet, reviewed by Gael Greene. Meanwhile, the Zagats may be about to sell their empire. All this and more, in this week's issue.

The theme of this week’s issue, at least that of its food content, was immediately obvious to us: ingenuity. In a city so stocked and teeming with restaurants, how can chefs find niches to fill? A noodle bar is reconfigured as a poor man’s Masa and earns four stars from Adam Platt; a wine bar forbidden from hard liquor uses wine, port, and sherry to create cocktails; and a restaurant catering to wealthy clients produces foie gras–flavored dog biscuits. Rob and Robin, in their tireless rounds, suss out such acts of creativity but also stop to appreciate the simple things, like the chocolate cookies at Payard Patisserie, say, or a promising Japanese restaurant opening on 8th Street, or the grilled-cheese-sandwich program at the bar at Smith’s. Add to this an inexpensive Argentine grill encountered by Gael Greene, and it’s another week in the life of New York, and New York.

Rob and Robin dominate the food section in the magazine this week, first with their Underground Gourmet review of Artichoke, an East Village pizzeria fit to be compared to the late, lamented DeMarco's. Missing the pretzels of your youth? Rob and Robin researched the city’s bread baskets and bar menus and compiled a guide to the salty treats. This week’s "Openings" include the Jason Denton’s highly anticipated Bar Milano, and the "In Season" recipe taps maple syrup’s role in Don Lee’s delicious bacon-infused bourbon at PDT. Gael Greene eats at Madaleine Mae this week, but if you want to eat in, Rob and Robin have compiled a high-end grocery list for you. And if all this makes you need a drink, Emma Rosenblum visited Weather Up on a recent Saturday night to survey the crowd.

New York's food world goes high-end this week, but with mixed results. Eighty One and Commerce are sampled by Adam Platt and Gael Greene, respectively, but neither is knocked out by their highly wrought creations. Rob and Robin report that Robert De Niro's Ago will open this week, aimed at the same power players who frequent the Hollywood, Vegas, and South Beach versions of the celebrity hangout. Even mighty Starbucks has found itself behind the curve and needs advice, which the Robs solicited from The Atlantic's Corby Cummer, Danny Meyer, and Jonathan Rubinstein from Joe: The Art of Coffee. If you cook at home, Chef Anita Lo of Annisa shares her fruit-soup recipe featuring the ugly but delicious crosnes.

This week's issue goes far and wide, from the past to the future, from Connecticut to remotest Africa. Rob and Robin have worked up a foodie spring break: four can't-miss restaurants that will compel you to rent a car and head out of town. No such effort is required to sample the cooking of Africa, via the kitchen at Merkato 55, which Adam Platt enjoys to the tune of two stars. On more familiar European ground, Gael Greene stops in at Mia Dona and finds much (though not everything) to her liking. There's a warm review of Arthur “the food maven” Schwartz's new cookbook, a definitive source on the story of Jewish foodways in New York. In "Openings" this week, Rob and Robin do us no favors by introducing an NYU-area cookie store catering to night owls. The Robs also mark the opening of Pomme de Terre, a bistro welcomed by residents of Ditmas Park.

These are high times we’re living in. Every stratum of society has something going for it. On the tippy top, the wine-swilling swells who frequent Adour can enjoy what, in Adam Platt’s view, is three-star cuisine. And their fellow plutocrats will enjoy South Gate’s posh but lively room and Gael Greene–approved food (well, except for the clams). But for the rest of us, Rob and Robin have a panoply of awarding options: There are the spring-inspired rhubarb hamantaschen made by Emily Isaac at Trois Pommes Patisserie; an interview the Robs did with Momofuku man Joaquin Baca, who now is doing the menu for world-class dive bar the Rusty Knot; and, adding to this embarrassment of riches, takeout sweets from Pichet Ong’s Batch, and a very appealing-sounding little Tuscan restaurant on Bleecker Street. On top of everything else, crackling is the latest snack trend. Good times, friends. Good times.

It’s that time of year again: Restaurateurs and chefs have been sitting by, waiting to see who would receive Best of New York honors. There are a lot of them this year, from Best Ramen (Ramen Setagaya) to Best Goat (the recently maligned Fiamma). We won’t spoil the fun for you by going through the whole list, so just settle back and take them in. We guarantee it will be a lot more entertaining than the Oscars were.

Best of New York: Food [NYM]