What I Learned in this Month's Dine Magazine

First issue of Dine magazine for 2006 crossed my desk the other day. Here's what I learned:

Burled Word Luxe: I'm in love with the wood grain table setting on page 10 (noted as "beautiful", "indulgent" and "for sale"). It looks like wood-grained patterned porcelain as rich as the burled dashboard in a Lincoln Continental. Pricey but interesting at the IMA museum store.

Sticky Toffee Pudding: Broad Ripple's new Cork and Cracker now carries the infamous "Cartmel" toffee pudding. Sin in a tin, I like to call it. Normally, I'd ask you rely on the editors' infallible taste on this one, but they tout the beauty of Tab on the next page. Then again, I'm in the middle of a Fresca rediscovery myself, so I can't condemn.

Neal Brown Branches Out: Complete with a beauty shot worthy of any hot, young chef, Neal Brown announces his latest restaurant in the works: Explorateur. This will be the first solo project for the former chef from H2O Sushi. The opening is projected for April or May but they haven't announced a location. He wants to explore a variety of cuisines and focus on service (which would be great because service is the biggest failing at the restaurant where Brown currently serves as executive chef, Brugge Brasserie.)

Nice articles on slow cooking, Ted Allen's new book, and Wilmot Mills, the popular farmer's market mainstay and grinder of my favorite real-deal grits.