Every year stress is a main ingredient during the holidays. With Halloween around the corner and Thanksgiving and Christmas not far off, most of us think say the same thing to ourselves: This is the year I will shop early so I can avoid last minute shopping. I will begin the holiday season fully relaxed and enjoy it!

Yet every year time seems to slip away and suddenly the holidays arrive. You end up racing to the stores, panic-stricken, trying to find candy in the empty racks or a beautiful turkey for the dinner table that is now triple the price because the only store that has any left is the high-end market down the street.

The Syrian American Council (SAC), Northern California chapter, will hold a town hall meeting and fundraising dinner to benefit the victims of the Assad regimes brutal crackdown on protesters in...(PRWeb February 02, 2012)Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161015.htm

The New York Times dining section today compares the nutritional value of food from Paula Deen's restaurant Lady & Sons ( Savannah, GA) against food from Frankies 570 (NYC). What food did they compare? From Paula Deen: "a reasonably sized dinner portion of Southern fried chicken" from the buffet. From Frankies: "sausage and peppers over polenta" from the regular menu. While the Times readily admits that this stunt is a "decidedly unscientific and arbitrary comparison," it's also bizarre, lazy, and kind of a waste of money? NYT via Eater National

70 West 68th Street, UWS

Phone: 212-721-0068; website

Status: Opened at 5 PM today Joanne Trattoria, the much-anticipated restaurant from Lady Gaga’s dad and chef Art Smith, opened tonight for dinner. Its hours will be 5 – 10 PM for the time being with plans of expanding into lunch and Sunday brunch in the near future. The 70-seat restaurant, named after Lady Gaga’s late aunt, is chef Smith’s first foray into the NYC dining scene, but he is already being accepted with open arms; the doors have barely opened and the restaurant is already booked through early March. Those who can’t get their paws on a table can try their luck at the bar where the menu will be available but space will be limited. Those fortunate enough to have scored a reservation will enjoy a meal cooked by (or, well, consulted over by) Art Smith himself. The menu features traditional Italian dishes with a touch of Southern soul such as wood oven baked foccacia, veal osso bucco with creamy polenta, six-layer

Krieger Exactly one week ago new, diminuitive barbecue spot For Reno Provisions opened to the public in what will soon become Park Slope's new barbecue row (Dinosaur and Wild Whiskey Warthog are coming soon). By the looks of the online chitchat, practically the entire neighborhood has stopped in to the new place to sample the wares and file early reviews. And what's the verdict? Some are early fans, praising the pork, the ribs, the sides, the biscuits. Others can't get over the fattiness of the brisket, the size of the space, the prices, and the lack of preparedness in the kitchen. Quick, now, check out the initial reviews. The Mostly Good News: Delightfully Dishy went this past weekend and was impressed: "I'm a firm believer that good barbeque is all about the meat on its own, and from the first bite of the pulled pork, I was very pleased, and may have even felt a glimpse of that Southern accent come back...We ordered a 1/4 slab of ribs - and they were very, very tender. Ribs are an art in and of the

Don't have the cash flow right now to try any of the cool new restaurants you read about? Or simply can't get into any of them on a busy night? Here are a few recommendations for inexpensive, accessible alternatives to five of the hottest new places in town. 1) Acme/Northern Spy Food Co.: The recently revamped Acme is one of the hottest tickets in town right now, thanks to its chef, Noma-vet Mads Refslund. The place is packed most nights, but if you want a meal of inventive market-driven cuisine at a more relaxed price, head to Northern Spy Food Co., in Alphabet City. Like Mads, chef Hadley Schmitt also has a knack for pairing lightly-prepared proteins with grains, pickles, herbaceous sauces, and perfectly cooked eggs. The Northern Spy menu has more meat dishes than the one at Acme, but you can still order striped bass or squid and mussel ragout if you want a fish fix. At Acme, entrees range from $21-$30, and at Northern Spy many of the mains are about $20 or less — even with a drink, you can easil