In case you haven't noticed, 'tis the season for giving and all that jazz. You've got a friend/relative/other loved one who can't get enough of the epicurean lifestyle, and you're looking for the perfect gift. Never fear -- 'tis also the season of gift guides, which will steer you to gifts that will guarantee a smile. First, our own five gifts for the foodie under $50, all available online, including a beautiful olive wood mortar......

Ed Levine waxes poetic about the genius that is 'ino's truffled egg toast and provides the recipe so that you can have it for brunch even if you are too lazy to leave the house (provided, of course, that you hit the grocery store first). Watch it on video if you need some extra guidance. [Serious Eats; RealMealsTV] Is David Chang opening a Momofuku outpost in Vegas, or not? Does he think that NYC is......

Restaurants vs. Bloggers -- the smackdown. Shouts go out to New York locals NYCNosh, Ed Levine, and the Amateur Gourmet. [The Food Section] We adore lambrusco -- now Vino and I Trulli are carrying a rare line of lambruscos fermented in the bottle, champagne-style. [Grub Street] Morandi -- now serving breakfast. [Eater] Why are there only two restaurants on Roosevelt Island? Could it be the work of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation? [NYCNosh] The Smoke......

Upper West Siders had a new store to flock to this weekend: Grom, a gelato shop that opened on Broadway between 76th and 77th Streets. There were lines, and our own Joe Schumacher braved the UWS foodies and sweet-toothed for a taste. I ordered a small luna rosso, which was the flavor of the month. It was quite good --dense and creamy. It was also expensive --$4.75 plus tax for that a small cup. That......

The Red Hook ballfields are back in action, and Eat for Victory was there to give us a report. Eater lists the James Beard Foundation Media Award winners, including the SF Chronicle which picked up the Best Newspaper Food Section and Leite's Culinaria for Best Website Focusing on Food, Beverage, Restaurant, or Nutrition. The remainder of the awards will be announced at tonight's gala. Top Chef season one winner Harold Dieterle officially opens his......

Really, you if you're considering going out for dinner on Valentine's Day, you probably should have made your reservations by now. If you haven't, here's a roundup of Valentine's Day roundups -- you should be able to find a place to woo your sweetheart over a prix fixe dinner. Citysearch has a list of restaurants offering Valentine's Day specials including a four course meal at The Little Owl for $80 or at Aroma for $130.......

It's time to celebrate Chanukah! (Someone got the Adam Sandler song stuck in our head -- now we're passing that "gift" on to you). Part of the Chanukah tradition involves cooking foods in oil. To many, this means latkes. We're rounded up some great latke posts and recipes for you: - Food and Wine magazine features recipes for a Latke and vodka party (Smitten Kitchen takes a stab at some of the menu); -......

- Just in time for Chanukah, The Food Section breaks latkes out of the archive. - Augie goes 2000 words deep at Gordon Ramsay’s new place. - Another beaut from Waiter Rant, enjoy. - Attention fans of Spanish cured meats. Alex from Despana tells us that the Salchichon Bellota is back in stock as of today. Head down (maybe call first to confirm, you know customs) and grab a sandwich if you are in the......

We really can't beat this roundup of food gift roundups, courtesy of The Food Section. They've culled together gift suggestions from the likes of the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, Food & Wine, Epicurious, Time Out New York, Cravings, and Chow. Whether you're looking for cookbooks or food-related reads, kitchen gadgets, edible gifts, or something a little boozy, you're bound to find it here. What's on your holiday gift list for the......

- MUG gives us a list of outdoor dining spots in Manhattan. What are your favorites in the outer boroughs? - Midtown Lunch claims that Café Cello might do roast pork even better than Margon. We're still a bit skeptical. - The Greenwich Village branch of Saigon Grill opened on University Place this week; the reviews are as wildly mixed as for the other branches. - And really, who doesn't want to cuddle up with......

- Restaurant Girl visits Bondi Road, which is operating sans gas at the moment. It doesn't seem to have hurt them any: she calls their seven-course sampling menu ($30), which they created due to their situation, an "orgy of fish delights." - The Baltimore Sun spends a day in New York only eating street food. Sounds like a plan. - Now there's even more to love: Caracas Arepa Bar has expanded. - The Food Section's......

- Due to reading too many "Best Steakhouses in America" lists in the back of in-flight magazines we normally would shrug off a list like The World's 50 Best Restaurants as published recently by William Reed Publishing Ltd. After recognizing some American and European panelists, we are inclined to save it in order to help plan high-end dining around most continents. - During a rare mid-week lunch of fantastic burgers and fries at Diner in......

Everyone we know is doing something, however small, in response to the devastating disaster, but some are doing what they do best: cook and eat. We've heard of a few food events to benefit the tsunami relief effort, but please let us know if you've heard of any others. - On January 11th, five chefs specializing in Asian Cuisine will be holding a five course dinner at Sapa, 43 West 24th Street. Sapa's chef Patricia......

Although Bon Appétit mentioned that food blogs were hot, we didn't get named specifically (a special shout out to NY-based Slice and The Food Section, though -- congrats, gentlemen!). But we're feeling hot anyway. Both New York magazine and Bon Appétit listed some of the hottest food trends, and Gothamist Food is right there with 'em, on the cutting edge. New York magazine highlights the city's love of pork, as Gothamist Food readers provide......

The New York Times reports that the James Beard Foundation, the non-profit organization founded by Julia Child and others after Beard's death nearly 20 years ago, appears to be in deep trouble. The Foundation, which owns the Beard House on West 12th Street, cannot account for hundreds of thousands of dollars it took in, and generally appears to be so poorly managed that they will be hard pressed to maintain their non-profit status once......

Saturday marks the first anniversary of The Great Northeast American Blackout of 2003. Last year you may have been trapped in Manhattan, so this year head out to Brooklyn for these commemorative events. The Blackout Film Festival is a collection of short films inspired by the midsummer power outage, ranging in length from no less than 10 seconds and no more than 10 minutes. They will be shown on the rooftop at Office Ops in......

The New York Times reports that many restaurants will be having blackout anniversary parties:That night, Mr. Bashy, chef and owner of the Minnow in Park Slope, sold 67 meals - for a Thursday, he said, slightly higher than normal - in a dining room that seats 40. To commemorate the blackout anniversary on Saturday, Mr. Bashy is firing up the grill once again. Other restaurant owners with similar tales of resilience are going as far......

Our dear Rachelle, who co-edits Chicagoist, can be heard between 11AM and 12PM today on Chicago Public Radio (there's streaming audio), discussing using service websites, blogs, and chatrooms to find out where to eat in Chicago. Go, Rachelle. And Gothamist's favorite stops for food information include Menupages, Chowhound, eGullet, NYCEats, The Food Section, Curbed's food section, she loves new york, and Manhattan User's Guide.......

It was a big night for New York at the James Beard Awards (the Oscars of the American food world): Chanterelle was named outstanding American restaurant; Chanterelle has been run by Karen and David Waltuck since 1979, at first in SoHo, and then its current Harrison Street location in Tribeca. And three NY restaurant entrepreneur's restaurants and talent made their mark: Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park won for best service, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianach's......