We have eaten a lot of fried food in our day, but Yerba Buena Perry's watermelon fries ($7) are in a league of their own. More

The pastry chefs at Cha-An love using puff pastry; that one component plays an important part in a good number of their desserts. More

With his burly physique, shaved head, and cauliflower ears, Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria's head baker looks like the wrong kind of guy you'd want to meet down a back alley in Bordeaux. And you'd be right: as a youth in France, Kamel Saci was a professional judo champion. But in his basement bakery, a completely different side to his personality comes out. For Kamel, dough is not an opponent to be beaten into submission; it responds best to a minimum of handling, the gentler the better. The results show his techniques work. Il Buco's ovens produce some of the crustiest and most flavorsome artisan loaves in the city. More

To enter Reunion Surf Bar, you have to follow the signs down a dark staircase, through a black curtain, and past a sign reading "No Admittance". When you finally enter the bar itself you are greeted by an enormous sign: SURF HELL'S KITCHEN. They take the surf motif seriously at Reunion; in my time there the bartender referred to me alternately as "My Man," and "My Friend" (though somehow never as "Brah") and praised my order as "Excellent". The food I found there was a step above typical bar food, and it too adheres to the theme. More

Temptation lies near the cash register of Épicerie Boulud. Truffles, out in the open, piled high in sparkling glass bowls. How can you resist? 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

Currently on the menu is Torta Pinza ($8.50), a polenta tart that eats like a cake; it's dense and packed with equal proportions of chopped dried figs, tender pignoli nuts, diced apples and an unmistakeable dose of grappa. More

Çiğköftem is the name of both the establishment and the base for all three menu items. The product is a mixture of bulgur, tomato paste, and an unnamed 18 spices that sits in plastic-wrapped pre-formed balls waiting to be used. More

Former WD-50 pastry chef Alex Stupak took a big leap last year when he opened up Empellón, a high-end Mexican taqueria in the West Village. A year later, Stupak is back with Empellón Cocina, a taco-free, quieter, slightly higher-end sister restaurant in the East Village. I stopped by a few nights ago to check out the space and the drinks. 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