The Habitat, Panificio, Brasserie Cognac

Recently Opened

• The Habitat - Casual fare served up in a rustic atmosphere in Greenpoint.
• Panificio - A new Italian opens up in the old Uovo space in the East Village.
  
• Brasserie Cognac - A Balthazar-inspired brasserie from the team behind Geisha and the Serafina restaurants.

This Weeks Restaurant Reviews

• NY Times: Frank Bruni reviews Alain Ducasse's Adour giving it 3 of 4 stars. "I consider Adour a qualified victory. It's not through-and-through rapturous, but it's first-rate: polished service, a knockout wine list, beautiful oil-poached cod, gorgeous roasted lamb and exquisite desserts, courtesy of Sandro Micheli, the pastry chef."
• Peter Meehan travels to Williamsburg for arepas at Shachis. In related news, Eater posted a rumor that Meehan has turned in his resignation.
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams visits Olana. Adams hates the interior design, comparing it to a "suburban Radisson" but loves the Italian-influenced menu. 
• The Village Voice: Robert Sietsema eats cock, lives to tell about it. We're talking about a male chicken here, of course. Sietsema visits Agnanti in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. There are some misses on the menu but many hits including the Dolmades Yianiantzi (stuffed grape leaves) and "King of the menu is a rooster stewed in tomato sauce ($16) and smothered in tiny serrated squares of pasta. Who'd believe that a tough old cock would cook up so juicy and flavorful?"

Blogs and Newsletters

• Grub Street reports that Boqueria will open a second 90-seat location in SoHo this fall.
• Gotham Gal dines at Ago.
• Gothamist checks on Kyotofu's spring menu.

In Other News

Ruhlman posted about a story that we heard Dan Barber tell the other day at a luncheon to promote the launch of the Cool Foods Campaign. It was story of a foie gras producer in Spain who is raising geese with fattened livers without using gavage, or a force fed diet of corn. Dan was hugely impressed with the quality of the end product, but he was even more impressed that the animals ate at at their own leisure and that they were protected by a one-way fence, which was designed only to keep predators out. The proud farmer told Dan that as long as he provides the geese with everything they need, they will have no reason to leave. This has been so successful in practice that the farmer has even had wild geese join his flock on the farm.

This story provides just one example of how an individual is having a big impact on the environment. The Cool Foods campaign was created to spread this message and to encourage people to make sustainable food choices at the market and in restaurants. Here are 5 food-related suggestions that will help reduce global warming:

1) Eat organic
2) Buy  locally grown foods
3) Reduce meat and dairy consumption
4) Avoid processed foods
5) Reduce the use of excess packaging, e.g., use canvas bags over plastic at the grocery store.

To learn more about the Cool Food Campaign and to sign the Cool Foods pledge visit http://coolfoodscampaign.org.