Dining

Dining

Though they may imply a level of formality, the best cloth napkins are a sustainable alternative to too-rough paper towels or flimsy take-out extras shoved in a drawer on any occasion. We think these utilitarian tools should be lowered from the pedestal of waitlist-only restaurants and at-home holiday dinners. For the hostess extraordinaire, cloth napkins are a no-brainer addition to your curated tablescape.

It looks effortless when done well: hips swaying, bodies gliding in sync-the kind of chemistry that makes onlookers swoon. But take one class, and you'll quickly realize: Oh...this is a masterclass in feeling inadequate. First, there's the proximity issue. You're asked to step into a stranger's arms, chest to chest, and breathe normally. Easier said than done. You become hyper-aware of everything: your posture, your scent, whether your hips are doing that figure-8 thing, up-back-and-down, or more of a "confused washing machine" motion. It's like mindfulness with a side of mortification.

Some hole-in-the-wall restaurants turn out to be exactly that - a hole you don't want to climb into, much less eat at. This is not that, and far from it. Tucked into a cozy spot on North 10th Street in Philadelphia's Chinatown district is a tiny but mighty gem called Chubby Cattle Shabu. From all-you-can-eat Wagyu Shabu to various seafood courses, all served in the restaurant's authentic Chinese-style hot pot setup, you definitely want to eat whatever its dishing out.

For years, I've brought friends to Mercado la Paloma, the food hall and cultural center that is home to Gilberto Cetina's Holbox, the seafood counter that was our L.A. Times Restaurant of the Year in 2023 and last year was awarded a Michelin star. These days, there's always a line for Cetina's exquisite seafood plates, including his octopus taco with squid-ink-stained sofrito.

I visited Gordon Ramsay Burger and Ramsay's Kitchen for lunch, and spent a similar amount at each. I was surprised that my meal at Gordon Ramsay Burger came out in five minutes and was not that hot. For a similar cost, I got a better burger at Ramsay's Kitchen, plus a course of lobster bisque.

When you think of vintage dishware that's worth a fortune, your mind might automatically wander to Pyrex. Its lifelong durability and whimsical patterns painted on borosilicate glass certainly make it a collector's dream. Or, maybe you think of Fire King's oh-so collectible jadeite green line or the mid-century aesthetic and unique Pyroceram dishes of Corningware. Nostalgia and retro appeal are what make these brands so desirable, even in the 21st century. And there's another vintage name that should be on your thrifting radar: Dynaware.

Spots such as the minuscule clubhouse 4 Charles Prime Rib and Jon Neidich's the Nines, with its burgundy velvet and caviar-topped baked potatoes, helped to establish the template for a proper swankstaurant. The past few months have seen a rush of them - from the gaslight glow of Chez Fifi uptown to the latest Chumley's reboot, known as the Eighty Six, downtown - often coming from chefs and restaurateurs who had initially followed a more casual path.

Even though buffets can be annoying (so annoying that fights have broken out over crab legs), there are still expectations on guests and mistakes you want to avoid. One of those is that you shouldn't sample dishes in line. You're at a buffet, which means you can take as much or as little as you like whenever you like. If there's an item you're not sure you want, take a small portion back to your table to see if you like it.

Over the summer, Houston's only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant found a second home in NYC. Translating to traveler from the Hindi and Urdu word, is a culmination of corporate executive chef Mayank Istwal's 100-day journey across India, where he picked up techniques, stories and subsequently dishes along the way. His resulting 72-hour cooked Dal married with its grand "labyrinth-like layout" of a space housed within a Houston shopping mall earned the restaurant a Michelin Star on Houston's inaugural listing.

Here's what Tripadvisor wrote about Trattoria Amalfi: Trattoria Amalfi puts you in a comfortable spot with its coastal-inspired Italian cooking and a welcoming atmosphere. The handmade pastas and fresh local seafood are standouts-ask about daily specials and don't skip dessert. Service is relaxed but on point, and the patio's a great call if you want to hang out with friends or family over drinks.

You may not find this list of rules on Cracker Barrel's website, but hopefully, by following them anyway, you'll have your best meal at the Southern breakfast chain yet. Of course, some rules are meant to be broken, so abide by them at your own discretion when you visit your nearest Cracker Barrel. But whatever you do, don't assume that the sweet and iced teas are the same thing. These are the Cracker Barrel rules you need to know.

Berenjak, a London-based Iranian restaurant, will soon be firing its coal-grilled kebabs in Los Angeles's Arts District. The restaurant opens Wednesday, September 24, on the garden floor of swanky Soho Warehouse, marking the first publicly accessible location in the U.S.; Berenjak also operates a location at the Dumbo House that is only available to members. The opening comes from a partnership between Soho House and JKS Restaurants, which also operates two-Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Gymkhana.

Chain restaurants offer a sense of familiarity and comfort that keeps people coming back. You can visit a location on the West Coast and then fly to the other side of the country and still know the menu without having too many surprises - that's a big part of what keeps people loyal to familiar eateries. There are plenty of chains to pick from, too, whether you like the seafood options at Red Lobster, the popular menu items from Applebee's, or margaritas at Texas Roadhouse.

I'm a sucker for fried shrimp, especially when they're fried whole, crisp from head to tail. When they're done right, they rival my favorite snack: a bag of shrimp chips. The tôm chiên at Mắm, the Vietnamese restaurant that's gradually expanded along Forsyth Street, certainly delivered in this regard. The shrimp are crunchy but not greasy, and they're savory with what the restaurant calls a "northern spice mix."

You may know your paratha from your roti. You may have even mastered how to pronounce the trickier dishes on the menu, such as paneer lababdar. The modern gourmand knows that they have to steer clear of the major mistakes that people commonly make at Indian restaurants. But beyond the finer nuances of the menu, there is a world of unspoken rules of dining etiquette that govern every Indian meal.

Hosting a dinner party can be a lot of fun, but it can also be kind of stressful. You want your guests to have a great time, enjoy good food and drink, and feel comfortable in your home. Hosts often put their focus on planning the dinner party menu, buying delicious desserts, and setting up decorations, but those aren't the only parts that matter.

Nobu is a brand with cachet. Founded in 1994 by chef Nobuyuki Nobu' Matsuhisa, Robert de Niro, and Meir Teper, there are now upwards of 60 branches worldwide, from Cape Town to Kuala Lumpur. New openings are awaited in Madrid and Rome, while Cairo is about to get its second restaurant. London has two. This successful empire is built on a fusion of traditional Japanese cuisine with Peruvian ingredients.

The people behind the now-closed Lord Stanley are opening a fine dining restaurant in Dogpatch, taking over the former Serpentine space.

The people behind and the now-closed Hina Yakitori are teaming up to open a currently unnamed restaurant, which will be an izakaya in the Financial District.

Looking around the deafening dining room's banquettes full of overengineered outfits, lamenting the apparent extinction of the under-$10 glass of wine, Eren and I admitted to each other that neither one of us was into this. At all. The restaurant, the name of which I've forgotten, is long gone, but at that moment in time, it was marketed everywhere as cool. But cool, when it comes to dining out, is visceral, and this did not strike either of us as cool, just loud and overpriced.

This popular Van Ness bread bakery and market is putting together a Rosh Hashanah feast for four to six people ($270). Dig into rich matzoh ball soup; traditional Jewish beef brisket; chopped liver with caramelized onions; and a fall salad studded with honeycrisp apples, pecans, and pomegranate. Honey-raisin bread or plain challah are also available. For dessert, choose between a honey-date-walnut cake or chocolate flourless cake.

The past decade has seen Atlanta grow into a dynamic dining city, with restaurants garnering James Beard Awards and Michelin stars. But it's not just the great food that makes this a parent-friendly place - it's the warm hospitality. Unless a restaurant explicitly says otherwise, most welcome kids in their dining rooms and put parents at ease. Children are part of the fabric of Atlanta's culinary scene.

"Just knock three times and whisper low, that you and I were sent by Joe," from the old song Hernando's Hideaway, came to mind as we approached the new Amai by Viktor on Dublin's Harry Street.

Not to cast spells, but [the restaurant] will offer the community something just as transformative: a meal that feeds the spirit as much as the body.

To gain some sense of what diners should consider when ordering steak, we got insight from experts who prepare (and conceptualize) steak dishes for a living. Michael Reed, owner and chef of the Michelin Guide-recommended and James Beard Award-nominated Poppy & Seed in Anaheim, California, and Oliver Lange, corporate executive chef of Next Door Astor Place in New York City, shared their opinions on the mistakes they most frequently observe. Their view emphasizes what can go wrong with steak, but also how we can build a memorable experience when we order with a bit more thought.

Jenna Bush Hager, the former president's daughter, revealed her father's hack on an episode of the Today show. She explained, "He'll call the restaurant and order the meal before we get there so we don't have to wait. He has a little bit of a restless personality." Bush apparently has someone on his staff send him over the menu, and then call his family to take their order, too. It speeds up the process so much that they can be finished eating in 30 minutes.

"I have a rule: I never accept an invitation if I don't want to invite somebody back," Garten told Esquire. According to Garten, you should never invite anyone because you feel obliged, and she is right! Fewer things are more uncomfortable than extending an invitation to someone whose company you don't enjoy, and on the flip side, no one wants to go to a dinner party if the invitation wasn't genuine.