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Blog Mom doesn't feel like fixing dinner tonight, kids, so she's pulling a bunch of odds and ends out of the refrigerator and letting you pick whatever looks good to you.

Your choices are:
* The new menu at Le Bistro in downtown Roanoke
* An update on the Duke's Mayonnaise jingle winner (a local boy)
* A local cider house gets name dropped in Bon Appetit
* Fork in the City opens tomorrow. I got a sneak peek last night...

1. We will go backwards. Last night, I was able to attend a pre-grand opening party at Fork in the City, the new location of Fork in the Alley restaurant. The original is located in Crystal Spring in South Roanoke; the new one is at the corner of 6th Street and Marshall Avenue in Roanoke.

Lots of local figureheads were on hand at the party, including Roanoke City Manager Darlene Burcham, developer Ed Walker, Roanoke City School Superintendent Rita Bishop and well-known banker Warner Dalhouse. But there were also lots of other folks just having a great time.

The interior has a lot of the Fork in the Alley flair, but the setting is much larger. The cooks were turning out wood-fired pizzas, french fries and different soups, including a creamy crab soup loaded with huge chunks of lump crab meat.

Fork in the City opens officially tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. They'll be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast menu includes dishes like breakfast pizza and huevos rancheros. The lunch and dinner menus are similar to those at the Alley. When you go, let me know if you agree with the t-shirts that owners Dave and Ann Trinkle were sporting last night: "I (heart) New Fork."

2. Foggy Ridge Hard Cider, which is made by Chuck and Diane Flynt in Meadows of Dan, has been listed as a don't miss in this month's issue of Bon Appetit. Congrats to the Flynts. If you want to see the story I wrote about their cider house, find it here. If you haven't tried their cider, I know you can find it at Wine Gourmet in Roanoke or on the Foggy Ridge Web site.

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Recently, a chef told me what she believes is the most underutilized "condiment" in the home kitchen. And you have probably guessed based on the citrus face here, so I'll just tell you: acid.

As in citrus juice or vinegar, not the psychedelic stuff. And now you can see why I sat here for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out what to title this post. Drop a little acid on that asparagus? No. Squeeze my lemon until the juice runs down my eggs? Double no.

But all jokes aside, there is true value in this hint. Often, when we taste our food and sense that something is missing, it might be our immediate inclination to reach for salt or pepper or some other seasoning. But it could be that a little squeeze of lime or a splash of vinegar is all we need to brighten the flavors of the dish.

The best way to figure out uses for acids as a finishing touch at the table is to experiment. Already, many Southerners like vinegar on their greens, and lots of people love lemon on seafood. But check out some lime juice on Thai food, a squeeze of lemon on your chicken tacos or fajitas, a splash of apple cider vinegar on your broccoli or asparagus.

When I made those pulled pork tacos I wrote about not long ago, we squeezed a little lemon over the pork before piling on the rest of our toppings. I believe it made a big difference, and it probably cut back on the amount of sodium we would have consumed had we added more salt or seasoning blends.

Do you ever use acids to liven up the flavor of your foods? If so, what is your favorite application?

Mycology is the study of mushrooms, and Skip Taliaferro of Smith Mountain Lake is deeply obsessed with mushrooms, so I suppose you could call him an amateur mycologist.

Therefore, of course, he is a big fan of morels and hunts for them in the forest every spring. In case you didn't know, this is morel season. The quirky little delicacies always begin to pop up out of the ground around Easter. But this year, they're staying in a bit later.

Skip says he's been monitoring the ground temperature around Roanoke for several springs now. He figures that the ground temp has to be at least 55 degrees for three days in a row before the conditions are right for morels. Last year, he found his first bunch on April 2. The year before, it was April 5.

Ground temps in Roanoke right now are still below 55, Skip said. So all you morel hunters out there (myself included) may have to hold off for another week or two before the "brains on a stick," as my sister calls them, magically appear beneath the tulip poplar trees.

I love morels not only because they are delicious and a delicacy (did you know Ukrop's is selling dried morels for about $210 per pound?). I love them because, even though my childhood dreams of unicorns and fairies and leprechauns have been dashed, I know there is still a rare, mysterious occurrence in the forest. And I have to be in the right place at the right time to catch this wondrous phenomenon.

And then I take the wondrous phenomenon home and fry it in butter.

I like grits. Always have. And nothing irritates me more than folks who act as if grits are some bizarre, exotic foodstuff they can't possibly bring themselves to try. It's not a pig's stomach lining or the gizzard of a Blue-footed Booby, people. It's made out of corn and served with butter, or cheese, or gravy. Big deal.

My mom made grits for breakfast sometimes - usually the plain kind, but sometimes she would make cheese grits. And then you couldn't beat me to the breakfast table.

Also, of course, grits are famously paired with shrimp for that low country favorite, shrimp and grits.

But although I take pride in my Southern roots, I'll admit that I hadn't heard of grits and greens until I got an e-mail from a regular reader, Charles Thigpen. Charles wants to know if anyone has a good, simple recipe for grits and greens.

"The ones I found on the Internet are too darned complicated," Charles wrote. "Grits and greens are low country soul food and shouldn't be complicated. Emeril and Bobby Flay over complicate everything."

Ha! So you see, Charles needs a basic recipe. If anybody out there can help him out, please send in a recipe. The rest of us would love to see it, too.

It's official: Tony Pope, former owner of Tony Pope Bistro & Wine Bar on Crystal Spring Avenue in South Roanoke, is opening a new restaurant in the former Nico's Ristorante space on Campbell Avenue.

The new restaurant will be called Le Bistro, with Pope as executive chef and general manager. One of the big differences this time: Pope has a business partner, 46-year-old Robert Dowling, who is an emergency room physician at Lewis Gale. Dowling, who was a regular at Pope's South Roanoke bistro, will handle the business end of things, allowing Pope to focus on the food and service.

"My focus my entire career has been cooking and being a chef," said Pope, who is relieved to turn over accounting and payroll and other business issues to Dowling. Dowling said this is the first time he has taken part in a restaurant venture and he's pretty nervous about it. Still, he did not think the white house on Crystal Spring was an ideal location for Pope's restaurant and "hated the thought" of Pope leaving the area.

"I think keeping Tony cooking in the area was my primary motivation," Dowling said.

I do not yet know why Nico's closed. I've tried to reach the co-owner/chef Michael Gucciardo, but haven't had any luck. I know many readers enjoyed Nico's immensely and are sad to see it go.

Tony will be serving both lunch and dinner at Le Bistro. He said dinner will still focus on local foods, tasting menus and fine wines. Dowling is a wine lover, so he wants to have a varied selection of wines on site. Lunch will be more casual and affordable than dinner.

They are currently working on updating the interior of the space a little bit. The target opening date is May 1.

Amanda's nonna making Easter bread.

Please enjoy this guest blog entry by my good friend and co-worker, Amanda Codispoti. Amanda has strong Italian roots and a talented cook for a grandmother. This is the story of her grandmother's special Easter bread. Happy Easter.

Every Easter, my nonna (that's Italian for grandmother) shows up with an abundance of food. There are rice balls, chicken cutlets, cookies and more. But the real treasure is her Easter bread.

She's made this sweet yeast bread for at least as long as my father can remember. It's a recipe that she brought with her to America from Italy more than 54 years ago, and one that my father estimates is a couple of hundred years old.

The centerpiece of her Easter bread is a basket with hardboiled eggs in it. Nonna boils the eggs first, and then weaves strips of dough for the basket and handle. She places the eggs on the basket, laying a strip of dough over them to keep them in place. She also makes dough in the shape of birds. And in another version, she flattens a ball of dough, puts chopped walnuts and pineapple perserves in the center, and then rolls it up.

I'll list the ingredients below, but having baked with Nonna before, I would consider these measurements to be just a recommendation. Nonna still consults with her notebook of recipes, but after decades of baking, it seems that she mostly relies on the feel of the dough and her intuition. In fact, many of her recipes don't indicate how much flour is needed.

Read on to see Nonna Codispoti's bread recipe and a picture of her with the beautiful finished breads.

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For the past two days, I have been working to verify some pretty interesting restaurant news. Unfortunately, the folks I need to talk to have not been returning my phone calls. I think Lindsey is going to have to go into deep investigative mode...

Until I can bring you that news, I'll try to tide you over with this: Izumi, the new Japanese steakhouse out in Botetourt County, had a ribbon cutting. Our Botetourt community reporter, Cathy Benson, has some thoughts on the restaurant over on her blog.

Also, Pearl Fu called me yesterday to let me know that Hong Kong restaurant (located in the shopping center with Wal-Mart on 220 near Hunting Hills) is having a ribbon cutting today for its new buffet. Pearl says this is not just any buffet -- she says the restaurant owners hired a chef from New York to cook for them. Hong Kong's cuisine is more Cantonese than some other Chinese restaurants in the area. I have not had the pleasure of dining there yet, but I've heard several people say they think it's one of the best Chinese restaurants in Roanoke. What do you think?

Later today, I will have a special treat for you all. My Italian friend, Amanda Codispoti, is going to share a little story about the special Easter breads her nonna (grandmother) makes every year. And I have pictures of Amanda's nonna making these breads. The beauty and workmanship will blow your mind.

This is the side of my house. For five years, it has been a bed of dirt. Mainly, we didn't want to plant anything there until the gutter was fixed because it would only wash out the bed. Well, the gutter is fixed now.

It's close to the house, which doesn't bode well for the quality of the dirt there. So it seemed like a great place to build a raised bed for some vegetables this summer. That way I can put in some new soil and organic matter. Doesn't look too difficult to build such a bed there, right? Well, here's the problem:

It's on a slope.

At any rate, we hauled out my Grandfather's old circular saw and bought a new drill that wasn't too wimpy to drive 1/2-inch holes in treated landscaping timbers. And now we are only two lengths short of finishing the raised bed. After that, I'll have to line the inside of the timbers with plastic, since they are treated and I don't want those chemicals in my vegetable garden.

Once we finish up the bed, I'll post pictures. And then it will be time to talk about what to plant. I may have some sun issues ...

A simple trip to the grocery store can be a little confusing these days. It seems every package of meat, every pile of potatoes, every gallon of milk has some kind of label declaring it healthier and more environmentally friendly than the next display.

Exactly what does "organic" mean, some must wonder. How about "eco-friendly?" How does a "free range" chicken differ from a "cage-free" chicken? Or does it?

What is a CAFO? An AFO? What is "grass fed" from "grain finished?" Do you ever fear that some of these stickers are just slapped on a package of hamburger so sellers can jack up the price per pound?

In this age of "country of origin" labels and other USDA, FDA, EPA regulations, every shopper should be armed with the answers to these questions and many more. An informed shopper is a smart shopper; maybe even a healthier and more financially responsible shopper.

If this resonates with you, I would like to refer you to a very helpful Web site called Sustainable Table. Now, I will not pretend that Sustainable Table doesn't have an agenda. Judging by the name, you can pretty much tell that they are in favor of environmentally-friendly, sustainable agricultural methods. But the resources on their site are worth a look, particularly everything found under the "shop sustainable" tab.

There, you will find a lengthy glossary with definitions of all the buzz words I mentioned above, as well as printable shopping guides that you can take with you to the grocery store to help answer any questions that may pop up there. And if you are a slow food advocate, you can even print out little cards to leave at your favorite stores and restaurants as a gentle hint that they should consider more environmentally sound practices.

Check it out. It might tell you the difference between a CAFO and an AFO.

202 Market in downtown Roanoke is celebrating two years in business tonight with a big shindig that will feature free hors d'oevres, drink specials and music. Oh, and Gumby.

That's right, I said Gumby, dammit!

Saturday Night Live references aside, I'm not really sure what Gumby has to do with the 202 Market birthday, but it certainly sounds like fun. And since I have a Gumby who lives on my desk at all times, I'm down with that. Also fun: the "Super Ball pit" in the plasma lounge. And a 5-course tasting menu developed especially for the occasion by Executive Chef Chad Scott.

Party starts at 5 p.m.