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......

If you happened to miss it this week, you should take a good look at Peter Meehan's exploration of New York barbecue. Aside from giving us enough 'cue porn to make meat lovers swoon and vegetarians squirm, Meehan provides a thorough overview of the barbecue landscape, including spots in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Wingdale, just a short ways upstate (sorry, Staten Island). He gives a special nod to Daisy May's BBQ, calling......

From beastly brisket sandwiches to Bruni-sanctioned shrines to pork, Brooklyn has established itself as a dining destination worthy of a restaurant week all its own. Now in its fourth year, Dine in Brooklyn (Monday, March 19, through Friday, March 30) offers an opportunity to sample nearly 200 of the borough’s best at $21.12 (honoring Brooklyn’s zip code, ‘112’) for three courses. Participating restaurants range from perennial favorite and harbinger of sustainable cookery Applewood to Park......

Bruni two-stars David Chang's Momofuku Ssam Bar, calls Chang "one of this city's brightest culinary talents." He likes the food, the waitstaff, and the design of the restaurant. "By bringing sophisticated, inventive cooking and a few high-end grace notes to a setting that discourages even the slightest sense of ceremony, Ssam Bar answers the desires of a generation of savvy, adventurous diners with little appetite for starchy rituals and stratospheric prices," says Bruni. Eater......

- Momofuku Ssam Bar makes shakes up their menu -- the late-night selection is available earlier and Ssams later. - The Village Voice's Seistema visits the Smoke Joint and likes it "right out of the starting gate." [via Eating for Brooklyn] - The Black Pearl has been reborn in Chelsea -- long live lobster rolls! - Congrats to the winners of this year's food blog awards; a big shout out to Smitten Kitchen, Slashfood, and......

Bruni one-stars the recently reopened Russian Tea Room. He finds some of the food very appealing, some not so much. The kitchen is "bedeviled by inconsistency," he says. Also, he doesn’t love the caviar and hates the service. Eater is off the money, having bet on the pedigree and the chef earning the Russian Tea Room an automatic two stars. Also in the Times, Peter Meehan visits Smoke Joint in Fort Greene for barbecue. Tries......

- Ed Levine wonders aloud if there is such a thing as a "cheap 4 star" eating experience, and then tells us about his, at the Del Posto Enoteca. - The fight is on over the right to use the Guss' Pickles name. - The Clinton Hill Blog checks out the Smoke Joint, a new BBQ place in Fort Greene, and declares happily, "Smoke Joint does it right." - Savory New York has recently added......