I don't get to picnic much, but I do enjoy planning them. My hypothetical menus are simple ones: some wine, some salads, and some easygoing sandwiches. Such as, for example, the Spicy Capocollo ($10.50) from Nolita's Bread. It plays a simple tune: slightly spicy salumi, scamorza, roasted red peppers, arugula, and a crusty white loaf. It tastes exactly like you expect, and I mean that in a good way. More

As we've been thinking about stories for Easter, we've had bunny on the brain—and not just the chocolate version. So for the past couple of weeks we've been reminiscing about recent rabbit meals we loved. Here are some of our favorites that you should consider for your next bunny-centric meal. More

Did New York need another ingredient-driven Italian restaurant, where the base elements are so good the food practically cooks itself? We didn't think so, until we had a killer meal at Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, the salumeria-trattoria spin-off of its slightly more formal sister restaurant Il Buco. The real question is: where do you start? More

[Photo: Kathy YL Chan] S'more meets chocolate cupcake ($3) in this creation at the bakery counter of Peels. It starts with a classic chocolate cupcake base, so moist and dense it's practically devil's food. It comes topped with a... More

Peter Hoffman didn't have to look far for ideas when he set out to revamp his Soho farm-to-table institution, Savoy. Drawing the style and name from his East Village restaurant Back Forty, Hoffman is opening Back Forty West for breakfast and lunch tomorrow (February 29). Both breakfast and lunch are available to go, with breakfast options including house made pastries and Terroir Coffee. More

This Apple Pie ($5) isn't available at Peels every day. You just have to get lucky, step up to the bakery counter, and cross your fingers. More

We're big fans of the eggplant parmesan at Rubirosa, so chef Al Di Meglio let us into the kitchen to show us how they make it—from start to finish. More

Even at 6:00pm on a recent evening, The Wren was packed nearly to capacity with under-30s on their second or third pint. It's already a drinking destination, to be sure. But would The Wren be a good place to grab a bite as well? We're already fans of the dressed-up bar food at Wilfie and Nell, the owners' previous bar-restaurant, so we had high hopes. What we found was a mix of solid bar food and a bit more, perhaps nothing worth traveling for, but more than good enough to line your belly after a few pints of ale—and gently priced, for the area. More

Tender rings of squid come nestled in a nicely flavored but slightly chewy baguette from Il Forno, coated generously in a rich, garlicky aioli. More

We didn't purposely move into our offices in the Chinatown/Little Italy neighborhood last year to be closer to Torrisi Italian Specialties, but it sure worked in our favor. Torrisi's little sib Parm opened next door last November by the same two classically trained Italian-American chefs Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, who are elevating comfort-foody dishes with sophisticated cooking techniques (does anyone in Little Italy use a CVap oven to make pork chop pizzaiola?). They've got a whole selection of nightly specials, from Italian Thanksgiving on Thursdays to Chinese on Sundays. Check 'em all out. More

Even to a bean-lover like myself, a white bean sandwich doesn't necessarily sound promising; you've got to dress up beans a lot before they're a strongly flavored filling. But that's just what The Smile does with their Rosemary White Bean Spread sandwich ($10.50). More

At the recently opened La Churreria in Nolita, the $6 combo buys five churros and a warming cup of thick, glossy hot chocolate. More

Motorino's Mathieu Palombino has a knack for genre-hopping, having left fine dining to open one of our favorite pizzerias in New York. So it didn't seem that unlikely when Palombino decided to open a diner on the Bowery. More