Vintage chef Patrick Atanalian dances on the bleeding edge of the culinary avant-garde, pushing past the current "fusion" trend into a world where everything in sight has fused and become surreal.

Now I know that good people and restaurants really don't do evil things--it's just that the world is crawling with evil twins.

Who needs Paris when there's haunted mini-golf, moonlight bowling, and a wild, wild river right in your back yard?

Surfing the vagaries of the produce trade leads to a giddy sense of being in touch with all the world's seasons.

Authenticity is high on my list nowadays, since it seems to be fast becoming one of the rarest of commodities in restaurants. Anyone for spring rolls at Erin Go Burritos? Cheese steaks at Juan de Chang's?

My tongue knows olive oil as an ingredient, not a beverage. But I was determined to learn the intricate flavors inherent in the finest oils, so it was bottoms-up.

A real-life fairy tale in which the wild beasts are hunted, the jungle is a plantation, and the knight in shining armor hails from Apple Valley.

Brian McElrath's Zinfandel-Balsamic Vinegar Truffle is so potent and rich it seems almost meaty.

I had become emotionally involved with the turnip ravioli--giddy, protective, strangely proud. You've got to taste this, I kept telling my dinner companions. But only one bite. Back off!

The Local's Kieran Folliard is no stranger to turning pieces of straw into plates of gold.

Ciao Bella may not be playing in the big leagues with Italian heavy hitters, but out in the minors of the first-ring suburbs it is kicking major keester.

Minnesota beef producers can begin using radiation to kill bacteria and extend the shelf life of everything from hamburger to filet mignon. But a number of scientists, scrappy idealists, and small farmers still say it's not a good idea.

Perhaps it's best to say that Saji-Ya has entered a period of rest after its long spate of medal-winning in the early '90s.

If I told you that Auriga is thoroughly congenial! charming! and very, very nice!, would you read any further?