lsanderson | Food, NY Times...

In Turin, Chocolate's the Champion
By CORBY KUMMER
TURIN, Italy

THE streets of Turin may be overflowing with Olympics visitors for a few weeks, but they always overflow with chocolate. Perhaps in no other place in the world, and certainly no other city in Europe, do so many pastry shops and chocolate-makers roast and blend their own cacao beans. The cafes of Turin, still the world's most sumptuous and beautiful, are famous for serving the city's own hot-chocolate-and-espresso drink called bicerin, a fabulous layered concoction served in glass cups. It's easy to stroll down the arcaded shopping streets and sample bars and fancifully shaped pralines wrapped in foil and colored papers with appealing Art Nouveau designs. More

Butter, Brown and Nutty, a Homage to New Orleans
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

DAVID KINCH, the chef and a partner of Manresa, in Los Gatos, Calif., changes his menus daily. But inevitably, there will be a dish or two that includes brown butter. A glance at his biography reveals why: Mr. Kinch grew up in New Orleans, a city that dotes on the nutty flavor of browned butter.

At Manresa — with a contemporary, market-driven menu — soup, fish, abalone, sweetbreads, savory olive madeleines and pastry cream all benefit from the tantalizing effect of amber brown butter, made by melting butter and letting it reach what the French call the hazelnut, or beurre noisette, stage.

"Brown butter ice cream is a Manresa classic," Mr. Kinch said. More

Recipe: Roast Squash Soup With Brown Butter

Golden Threads Among the Crystals
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Salt was once so precious it was called white gold. Now there is golden saffron salt, to sprinkle on seafood, potatoes, poached chicken or soups. Saffron is expensive, and unlike many seasonings, it cannot merely be dusted onto food. Added to salt, it can be. Casina Rossa sea salt with saffron is available in a 3.5-ounce jar for $22 at www.salttraders.com.
Wines for Fish (And Other Foods) On South Street

One of the earliest signs of redevelopment around the old Fulton Fish Market is a new wine shop, Pasanella & Son. It's housed in a 19th-century building that was once a chandlery, then a brothel, and until a few weeks ago, a wholesale operation that handled 70,000 pounds of salmon a day. Marco Pasanella, an architect, and his wife, Rebecca Robertson, live in the upper floors of the building, at 115 South Street (Peck Slip), and opened the wine shop in the spacious, brick-walled ground floor. Their 400 or so labels are grouped according to the foods they can complement. They plan wine tastings and dinners in the back room and garden, (212) 233-8383 or pasanellaandson.com. The son is Luca, 7 months.

Another new wine shop with an unusual approach is Cellar 72, 1355 Second Avenue (72nd Street), owned by Guy Goldstein, the wine director for restaurants in the Tour de France Restaurant Group, and several partners. Sommeliers from some top restaurants like Per Se and Picholine will often be in the store to help customers with their selections, Mr. Goldstein said, and the American Sommelier Association will be holding classes in the back room: (212) 639-9463.

Know Your Grapes? Advance 2 Spaces -- Hmm, I'm sure I don't know anybody this would be a good present for...

Britt-Marie Bäcke was looking for a more enjoyable way to learn about wine after studying tedious volumes to become a certified sommelier in Sweden. So she invented Bouquet, a sort of Trivial Pursuit for wine lovers. Its 900 question cards cover everything from the origin of gin to the predominant grape in Corsican wines to the name of the winery that makes Wedding Cuvée. The game is designed for up to six players, but teams can also play. The markers are corks.

Bouquet is $44.95 at Crush Wine and Spirits, 153 East 57th Street, and at www.wineentertainment.com.