This week on Ask the Critic: Taking Mom out for brunch on Mother's Day, and eating alone around New York City. More

This new Gowanus restaurant serves a sandwich that's all about balancing savory and sweet, soft and crisp. More

Pitmaster Matt Fisher, half of the team behind Fletcher's Barbecue, lives in a neighborhood that respects tradition as much as the 'cue he practices. Click through to see what he eats at his home base in Ridgewood, Queens. More

In this week's mailbag: where to celebrate a combo birthday-wedding, what a vegetarian and a carnivore should eat for a week-long trip, and what restaurant in East Village is good for hosting a leisurely group lunch. Our answers, or a few dozen, after the jump. More

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During the Passover seder we talk about four children who each ask a question of the adults at the table. The wise child, the only one we really celebrate, says to the family, "What are these laws and traditions you carry out?" In other words, "what does all this mean to you and me?" So the allegory goes, this is the child we entrust our traditions to. We trust him to keep them safe and practice them well.

Zizi Limona is what happens when the wise child opens a restaurant—or when three of them do. And though chef Nir Mesika and Hummus Place vets Yigal Ashkenazi and Sharon Hoota have succeeded in creating a neighborhood spot that's casual and affordable enough for weekly meals, they've also made something greater. Call it pan-Middle Eastern or the New Israeli Cuisine or whatever else you like, but heed this: if the deceptively simple stuff at Balaboosta gets you hungry, it's time to head over to Williamsburg for a taste of smart Middle Eastern cuisine like nothing else in New York.

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Oyster happy hours abound in New York, but is that dollar-a-shuck really worth your money? We did the legwork and found eight spots for oyster happy hour that we'd happily recommend. More

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After four weeks of Oregon Month, we end today with a look back at our favorite bites and sips. Geez Oregon, you are one delicious place. More

For someone who's always looking for high-quality eggs, milk, and produce, but can't always shell out the big bucks, it's always nice to meet people making them more available and affordable. So meet Five Acre Farms, a brand that brings together a handful of different small-to-medium sized farms within 275 miles of New York City. More

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At first glance over the menu, I thought we'd write about a few sandwiches from Mediterranean/Middle Eastern sandwich shop Taboonette and leave it at that. But after tasting said sandwiches, we went back and ordered just about the whole menu. The takeaway? Union Square has an awesome new casual food option. More

When you saw the S'mOreos in our roundup of 14 Things To Make with Oreos, did you think, "Man, if only I could watch an animated gif of a S'mOreos being squished down over and over again for eternity..."? Well, so did we. So did we. More

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It's not too often you need a formal Field Guide to tell foods apart. (A carrot and an orange may be roughly the same color, but we're betting you've never confused the two.) But Jelly Belly beans? There are only so many different shades those little guys can muster. Is there anything weirder than expecting cherry, and getting cinnamon? Looking for a tangerine and biting into cantaloupe? We wanted to spare you that pain. So we set out to taste and identify all 50 flavors. More

This is the kind of chicken noodle soup I can get into. It's warming and comforting, with hunks of chicken meat and slinky noodles suspended in a rich stock. But this isn't some bland rendition. No, this soup is imbued with the haunting aroma of star anise and cinnamon, and tickled by the numbing sensation of Sichuan pepper. A sprinkling of chopped chile completes this assertive bowl of soup, which comes together surprisingly fast. More

Can anyone else simply not wait for corn season to start? It's just about upon us, and though I haven't seen any local corn yet, some decently sweet and flavorful stuff has started rolling in from south of the border. I serve mine with some homemade salsa verde (this recipe calls for boiling the ingredients, but I prefer to char them under the broiler until tender—about 20 minutes), a sprinkle of Cotija cheese, a drizzle of Mexican cream, and extra lime wedges on the side. More

Hey all you smart phoners, pull out your nifty gadgets and check out our newly launched mobile site! All of our content is now viewable on your phones, including the tastyness from AHT, Slice, and SENY. You'll find all the coverage you know and love, and can even post comments and start new threads directly on Talk. Thumb around on there and let us know what you think! More

To Seek Out Strange New Worlds ... and Eat Their Foods Spaceballs ... oh, wait. That was another movie. The J. J. Abrams–helmed Star Trek movie opens tomorrow. As I was reading up on the new installment, I came across this line in the Wikipedia entry: "Another reference to Abrams' previous works is Slusho, which Uhura orders at the bar she meets Kirk at." That reminded me that food and drink is depicted routinely in the Star Trek franchise—across ten movies and six TV shows. There's no doubt—or at least, I hope—that there will be food references in the 11th movie, which will feature Romulans, Vulcans, Orions. As a refresher, I thought I'd take a look at what passes for... More