"The delicacy of the berries really speaks to me."Photo: Nicole Wilder/Bravo Top Chef Masters Season 3 Episode 4 Biggest Loser Complete SeriesCoverage »Vulture TV Recaps Before we start, did anyone catch James on this week's Celebrity Apprentice? (If you didn't, Tom Scharpling's recap is right over here.) Anyway, weird, right? But slightly less weird when you realize that Bravo and NBC are ... more.

Photo: Maribel Ruiz de Erenchun Ferran Adrià kind of freaks out when, using ingredients he picked up on the fly in Chinatown, he cooks for Allen Salkin and guests and fails to totally blow their minds. And he looks kind of frazzled (adorably so) in two new videos from the Per Se event last week. For the heck of it, we’ve translated the Spanish interview for you. What brings you here... more.

The delicious and dangerous backyard of a food writer.Photo: iStockphoto Being a deep-thinking, rose-drinking writer by the beach is not as glamorous as it sounds. Actually, it totally is. But come on, everyone has problems. Food writer and renaissance man Allen Salkin has a small village of scary yet seductive mushrooms growing in his backyard, which may or may not contain the ghosts of Saul Ste... more.

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Seafood Experts. Brushstroke (Menu) 212-791-3771 Two for eight? No Best available: 6 p.m. Esca (Menu) 212-564-7272 Two for eight? No Bes... more.

The Franx are notoriously tight-lipped about openings, but details have been leaking.Photo: Dean Kaufman Members of the fooderati have been tweeting about Frankie's 570 Spuntino, which seems destined to occupy kinda-open status until it officially bows in time for Fashion Week, we hear. We've seen things on Twitter about a "secret door," which is presumably just the plywood currently covering the... more.

Bottoms up!Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev Authorities may be trying to dry up the city's supply of kid-friendly drinks, but that doesn't mean New York's teens have to go wanting. According to the Daily News, an SLA sting targeting 212 bodegas found that 58 percent of them were willing to sell booze to kids age 18 to 20. In the Bronx, that number shoots up to 79 percent, because apparently that boroug... more.

Maybe you saw Tom Colicchio plugging Diet Coke last night? We’d call him a sellout, but hey, we totally agreed with Gabrielle Hamilton when she told the magazine: “A well-timed ice-cold Coca-Cola is one of life’s greatest taste and sensory experiences.” The “keep it simple” message is right up Tom’s alley, but we’re thinking this is more about him be... more.

Puppy wuvs a carrot.Photo: iStockphoto Has Fido seemed a bit listless lately? Perhaps all he needs is the incredible vitality that comes from a sorta-raw, sorta-vegan diet! New York–based raw-tailer One Lucky Duck (home of the $24 milkshake) has just unveiled a new pets-only section, so now, when you order your usual buckwheat groats and nut-milk bags, you can drop some goodies for Muffy an... more.

Photo: DNA Info While Ice-T bemoans the “slushie hustle,” lawmakers are hard at work trying to snuff out another form of liquid sweetness — nutcracker. As DNA Info points out, the New York State Senate has voted 60–0 to pass a bill that would increase penalties for selling booze without a license. The bill, which you can read here, states that “several barbershops, b... more.

Photo: Courtesy Bocce's Bakery If you follow the world of organic and vegan pet food as breathlessly as we do, know that Bocce's Biscuit Bike, that doggie food cart we told you about a while back, is now rolling. The three-wheeled dog-treat vendor roams city parks Fridays through Sundays (it'll be at Central Park this weekend), dispensing biscuits in flavors like all-natural chicken cordon bleu t... more.

Maybe the DOH should change this to an A-minus. It's been a year since letter grades began popping up in restaurant windows, and by now the Department of Health has evaluated 90 percent of the city's 24,000 eateries, says The Wall Street Journal. In honor of the anniversary, the paper sat down and did a little math. What you've probably observed around town is true: Most restaurants received As &... more.

Need a place to take the pooch when he's hung-over after the doggie disco? Good news: San Rocco has just added a dog menu, which your canine companion can enjoy alfresco on the restaurant's patio, for free. There are rawhide bones, "bully sticks," a variety of Happy Hips chews, and treats from Greenies, in case he's watching his health.... more.

Keene waits for a drink at Silver Lining.Photo: Melissa Hom To say that Tom Keene has had a busy couple of weeks would be an understatement: As the editor-at-large at Bloomberg News, the co-host of the "Bloomberg Surveillance" morning radio show, and the anchor of Surveillance Midday on Bloomberg Television, the recent market turmoil has taken over his already hectic schedule. "It's been absolute... more.

Price tags, what price tags?Photo: Jed Egan We usually keep a close eye on the checkers at Whole Foods, lest they charge us for pricey Kumatos rather than our poor man's Jersey tomatoes, and according to a study by the Department of Consumer Affairs, this sort of thing happens quite a bit. According to the Times' City Room blog, the Department found that 52 percent of stores it inspected were vio... more.

Clark, just grilling up her regular breakfast.Photo: Melissa Hom Even if you don't recognize Melissa Clark, you've probably cooked a recipe of hers. "I'll make six or seven things a day and, you know, I have to taste them all," she tells us. That's because, in addition to working on numerous cookbooks, she is also the person behind the New York Times' long-running "Good Appetite" column, a contri... more.

• Your eating at your desk might be bothering your co-workers — particularly if you're lunching on sardine sandwiches, rude-o. • The popularity of "new Nordic" cuisine, with its hay and pine needles, is surprising to some but undeniable. • Time limits are increasingly being enforced at New York restaurants — subtly and not so subtly — and many diners are actu... more.

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Notable Italian. A Voce Columbus (Menu) 212-823-2523 Two for eight? Yes Babbo (Menu) 212-777-0303 Two for eight? No answer Ciano (Menu)... more.

He throws six dinner parties a year. And yes, we're available.Photo: Hadley Tomicki You've made his roast chicken, which set off your fire alarm; you've had one meal at Per Se, which someone else paid for; and you reflexively say his name when anyone asks, "Who's your favorite chef?" So why not mimic his dinner-party foods, too. According to The Wall Street Journal, here are a few of the at-home ... more.

There's word today about that "other venture" former Il Buco chef Ignacio Mattos is pursuing: According to Eater, he's teamed up with Taavo Somer of Freemans and Peels for a "secretive" restaurant, in the works at South 2nd and Wythe Streets in Williamsburg. A tipster tells the blog it's "supposed to be some kind of hippie place," so we guess that means you can think about retiring the lumberjack... more.

There's something about urban blight that puts us in the mood for uni.Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images New York has a long history of putting some of its greatest eateries in unusual and unappealing places — and we don't just mean Murray Hill or the basement of Grand Central. And now the man has declared both Roberta's, in a cinder-block garage in Bushwick, and M. Wells, closing soon, but... more.