Sure, it's American caviar, and yes, it sounds like it's named after that annoying chick from The View, but don't turn up your noses just yet. The hackleback ($25 1/2 oz.) they're serving at Mas is damn good--nuttily flavored, firmly textured, and not overloaded with saline. The airy brioche toast it comes with was also so good it nearly outshone the caviar, but not quite. Pair it with the rosewater martini with a lavender sugar rim. Drink. Nibble. Repeat.

I'm a sucker for chocolate pudding. When I was growing up, I raced home from school every Wednesday in anticipation of my grandparents' weekly visit. Grandma always made chocolate pudding, sometimes even chocolate pudding pie. Her pudding carried a trademark creaminess, and it never had that nasty skin on top.

A lunch at Market Table today brought those fond memories back. Their chocolate pudding smoothly filled a coffee cup, certainly holding its own in terms of creaminess. Topped with a tiny dollop of whipped cream and a mint sprig, it came with a brittle-y nut cookie, which was fun to crumble in for texture. But the real charm was its hazelnut undercurrent and extraordinary lightness. Even Bill Cosby would get all goofy over it.

Get this delicious dish while supplies last, as it's running only as a special.

I was happy to hear that Jehangir Mehta's Graffiti won Time Out New York's "Best Pastry Chef Run Restaurant" at this year's Eat Out awards, especially since the menu doesn't shove the "I'm really a pastry chef" aesthetic down your throat with weird combinations like tamarind-clam juice-marinated-anchovies-with-cilantro-sorbet-and-manchego. One of his more brilliant dishes is a recent add, and since it's so undersold on the menu, I'll do the honors. The "Graffiti Burger" is actually two juicy sliders geniusly spiced as if they were Indian kebabs. The patties are packed with mint, lemongrass, onion seeds, fennel, cumin, and coriander, and are so flavorful it's nearly a sin to slather on the accompanying ketchup or chipotle mayo. So the writing's on the wall, folks: Don't miss this dish.

I had two transcendent experiences this weekend that led to a revelation

1. I had been craving a good soup dumpling since a weirdly fruitless visit to Shanghai in the fall. While for some reason I had a hard time tracking them down in the city of their origin, I of course had no problem finding them at Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown. My hankering was humored by small, delicate buns bursting with a rich, porky explosion of meat and broth. 

2. Then I saw the revival of Gypsy. Despite Patti LuPone's compact, pint-sized package, she exploded on stage with a robust energy that had just the right hint of ham in a deliciously diva-esque performance as Mama Rose.

The revelation: if Patti LuPone were a food, she'd definitely be a soup dumpling.

One of my favorite restaurants in the East Village that never gets enough attention is Sobakoh. It's been open for a few years, and while it has a nutty cult, it never seems to draw the steady crowd or press it deserves. So I'm here to tell you: I'm appropriately nutty about the agedashi sobagaki, or soba gnocchi. As you can see from the picture, they resemble fried golf balls more than any gnocchi you've ever had, but after biting through the crunchy, delicate exterior, you'll find heavenly, moist ground chicken. And once you dunk the whole thing in the savory sauce, the whole experience goes from delicious to divine. 

Come to Mama's Mudsliders for these chocolate cream-filled beignets. Though they look like standard-issue street-fare zeppoles, they are light, ungreasy, deep-fried dough balls of delight. Think texture of a gougere combined with flavor of a cream puff--the stuff of very sweet dreams.

Though not everyone seems to agree on the overall quality of Bar Boulud, the one thing that's received unanimous praise is the restaurant's charcuterie program. The pates, rillettes and saucisson are the work of Gilles Verot, a legend in France, and his Tourte de Gibiers au Genievre (pheasant, duck and partridge served "en croute") is so tasty it should be available on more New York corners than Pinkberry. Fortunately, many restaurants do offer gourmet meat plates, and we've whittled the list down to five charcuterie standouts.

(Photo of Bar Boulud's charcuterie plate by Eric Laignel)

Everyone is agog over the charcuterie at Bar Boulud, and with good reason. I was most enamored, however, of these escargots persillades, and not only for their pretty presentation. The tender, juicy snails are bathed in a blessedly un-oily garlic and parsley sauce. Stuffing one inside an accompanying potato croquette brings on one bewilderingly blissful bite.

This lovely, buttery, crispy-skinned haddock is on the Restaurant Week menu at Gotham Bar and Grill . Served with smooth potato puree, moist leeks and crunchy Brussels sprouts, the portions were ample, wine pours generous and service not rushed. Three courses all-told with tax, tip and tipple = $48. That's $7 less, or rather 25 percent more bang for the buckage for the same meal on the year-round prix-fixe. The bad news: Though the special runs again next week, rezzies are booked. The good news: There was ample room for walk-ins at the bar.

Beet, orange and feta salad
Pan roasted haddock
Trio of sorbet
$24.07
Glass of Sauvingnon Blanc, $11

I'm just back from living in Tokyo for three months. Even though I was in what Michelin considers the food capital of the world, there were a few things from home that I missed. One dish in particular plagued me the entire flight back: Mary's Fish Camp's fried clam roll. I decided that no matter what the state of my jet lag, when I got home, I would dump my three months' worth of baggage and hightail it over to the fish shack.

I usually only go to Mary's at lunch to avoid the crowds. But it was dinnertime, and I couldn't wait another minute for those crunchy clams. By the time I got the menu, I was salivating. But as my eyes fell on the page, I noticed something very disturbing. No. Fried. Clam. Roll.