DAILY BREAD, PLUS: Gayer-Nicholson has won a following in the Twin Cities with her signature pastries. The timing wasn't the greatest—think January in the Twin Cities—but Michelle Gayer-Nicholson couldn't resist the offer to take over...

SMOKIN' GROWTH: This barbecue concept is a primary growth vehicle for Darden Restaurants. CHINESE HIP: P.F. Chang's does not look like the Chinese restaurants most of us grew up with. MAKING DOUGH: Panera Bread is a darling of...

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DAMAGE CONTROL: Accidents will happen in commercial kitchens, but a string of recent incidents suggests you should take extra care when they do. Being able to quickly distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate food safety claims is a...

Tribeca Grill COVERS UP: New York's Montrachet is among the city's high-profile operations participating in Restaurant Week. WIN-WIN: Myriad Restaurant Group's Tracy Nieporent says restaurant week is good for guests and for business. ...

BEER TASTE, CHAMPAGNE BUDGET: Special dinners at Oscar's in the Waldorf-Astoria raise beer drinking to a new level. Anyone who assumes beer drinkers aren't a refined lot has never attended a beer aficionado's dinner at Oscar's, an American...

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HOT AND COOL: Guests can relax at the serene Fivespice in Portland, top, while Shibuya's approachable cuisine, below, has helped make it a hot commodity in Las Vegas. DRAMA: Anemic entree sales took off when Las Vegas' Shintaro lured away a...

WELL-INTEGRATED ART: "Barbara Lazaroff collected reliefs from Asia, and we built them into the wall and repeated the decor of the glass-with-bamboo screen," Jones notes. SETTING THE SCENE: The cozy ambiance is enhanced by the soft glow of...