Corton's dining room.
In the magazine this week, Adam Platt gives Corton a coveted four stars. Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld preview some cookbooks in advance of the holiday shopping season. They found a gift for every food lover, from the kind who wants to order off the special Chinese menu to the curmudgeon who'd find a soul mate in Kenny Shopsin. On the openings front this week, Rob and Robin recon Flex Mussels, a seafood spot on the Upper East Side, and Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn, run by a former Freemans chef and owner of the adjacent barber shop. In addition to her account of a recent $1,500 dinner at Per Se, Gael Greene visited 10 Downing this week and ate food that was "carefully cooked and jumping with flavor." If you're cooking at home more in these cold, troubled times, Rob and Robin found a recipe to warm you (if not your bank account): Veselka's cabbage soup. But if you just want a snack, you can always order from Dan Guerrera, the Cookie Guy, or pick up some "Cinderella" goat cheese at Murray's.