You've gotta hand it to those "Top Chef" folks--the show has a decent batting average when it comes to chefs who go on to open their own restaurants. Harold Dieterle appears to have a bona fide hit with Perilla, Josie Smith-Malave has bounced around a bit before landing at Speakeasy, and now Dave Martin, he of the funny tics, has brought his truffled mac and cheese and scallops in vanilla bean cream (pictured) to Crave on 42nd. We already posted a bit on his fondness for wacky dish names, but how does the stuff actually taste? Click through to get our critic's take--plus read reviews of Community Food and Juice, a spinoff of Clinton St. Baking Company, Brooklyn African spot Korhogo 126 and seven more new and notable restaurants.

(Photo courtesy of Crave on 42nd)

Brooklyn's yearly party on Atlantic Avenue is always a cut above the usual street fair--more than just tube socks!--and this year was no exception. In fact, the eatin' was so good, I was stuffed by the time I finally found the booth previewing the organic ice cream of Blue Marble (which opens this Saturday). My first priority was to head to  Stir It Up for some red-hot chicken wings, one of my favorite dishes in the borough, and they didn't disappoint. Other faves included the potent sangria at Jolie and Nicky's always delicious bahn mi. The award for worst dish goes to the multiple Latin Corner booths, whose $4 arepa is fast on its way to replacing the sausage and pepper sandwich as biggest street fair cliche.

Gravy was the one part of Alan Harding's Brooklyn restaurant empire that never clicked. The idea of a diner that looked straight out of Agent Dale Cooper's pie fantasies should have been a no-brainer on Smith Street. But the food was thoroughly mediocre, and after a few nightmare service experiences, I was done with it. Apparently, I wasn't the only one--the owners have just converted the restaurant into an expanded version of the adjacent beer garden, Trout. Food is--surprise--fish shack fare and here's a gander at the menu (click for a bigger version):

The fall TV season is officially upon us, having had its proper kick-off with the "Family Guy" skewering of "Star Wars" last night. Tonight is the "Heroes" premiere, and the only question more burning than "How much ass is Hiro going to kick in feudal Japan?" is "What kind of takeout should I get?" Having just moved to Williamsburg over the weekend, I'm not up on my neighborhood's takeout spots yet, though I'm a big fan of M Shangai Bistro, which I'm hoping isn't too far for delivery. In my former hood, Cobble Hill, my reliable favorites for TV-friendly chow were Teeda Thai for curries, Chicory for fried chicken and fish tacos, and Boreum Hill Food Company for burgers. Part of the joy of living in a new neighborhood is unearthing its hidden chow finds, but sometimes you're also just looking for the tried and true. What are some of your favorite takeout spots in your neighborhood? And does anyone have a good recommendation for sushi near the Graham Ave. stop on the L train?

(Photo courtesy of tv.Yahoo.com)

Greetings, hungry hordes! Citysearch has two new blogs to keep Fashion Geek company. One is Imbible, a look at all things boozy in New York, and the other is this blog here, Bottomless Dish, where we'll keep you filled in on NYC's gastronomic highs and lows. Your first taste of bloggy goodness? A video of Mark Iacono, the owner/chef at Lucali, Citysearch's 2007 editorial winner for best pizza. Not only does Mark give us the scoop on who his inspirations are, we also got to watch him make a pie up close. It was a little like a porn shoot, only, you can watch this at work. Get ready to drool.

Lucali: Citysearch's Best Pizza 2007 from Citysearch and Vimeo.