Colicchio and Sons

• Tom Colicchio's new restaurant, Colicchio and Sons, gets a glowing review. — New York Times
• Filipino adobo pork does double duty as tender topping for Asian porridge. — Boston Globe
• Michelle Obama has asked corporate food giants to step up efforts against childhood obesity. — Washington Post
• Champagne will soon come in a lighter bottle designed to cut carbon emissions. — Chicago Tribune
• Giveaways and contests are a cheaper way for chains to turn tables. — Wall Street Journal
• One Indian chef's recipes debunk myths that the cuisine is greasy, heavy, and overly spiced. — San Francisco Chronicle
• Photoessay: Scoping out the brand-new Las Vegas CityCenter restaurants. — Los Angeles Times

With 15 restaurants, eight cookbooks, a travel food show, and a silver screen debut under his belt, world-renowned Italian chef Mario Batali is making a return to the kitchen. This Summer, Batali will open the first US location of Eataly, a colossal food emporium based in Turin, Italy. The 60,000 square foot greenmarket and food center, which will be near Manhattan's Madison Square Park, will have a meat restaurant, a fish restaurant, a pasta and pizza eatery, a vegetable-driven restaurant, a panino bar, and a brewpub on the roofdeck. The most significant point to note, aside from the project's sheer scope, is the fact that, for the first time since he opened Otto, Batali will design the menus for all six restaurants.

Much like Tom Colicchio, who has spent more time cooking in the last year with Tom Tuesday Dinner and Colicchio & Sons Tap Room, Molto Mario admitted he's missing the time spent in the kitchen. I love the idea of a celebrated chef coming full circle and embracing the sheer joy of cooking. Do you think Batali and other celebrity chefs can still cut it in the kitchen?