Lisa Wepf, left, and her sister, Amy, owners of Toast on Market in Louisville, Ky., with the restaurant’s chef, George Morris.

Beating more than 150 other municipal water systems, New York City came in first in the New York State Water Taste Test at the State Fair in Syracuse this week.

HANDS-ON COOKS A dinner party organized by the supper club A Razor, A Shiny Knife, in Homer, N.Y.

MILD BUT FLAVORFUL Many low-alcohol beers are from Britain, but American microbrewers are now concocting their own.

HE DID IT ... Barry Sorkin’s barbecue restaurant in Chicago, Smoque, has attracted more customers than his 40-page business plan projected.

HUNGRY-THIRSTY At Pegu Club, left above, tomato kebabs and pancakes stuffed with snails; right above, duck crostini. Center, the Brandy Library’s dippable lambs in a blanket.

ROOTS The veal is known for its rose color.

IMPORTED IDEA Nana Shi makes fortune cookies in China, where her customers need advice on how to eat them.

Genovese basil is quite different from the big, pointy, heavily ridged basil usually sold in huge bunches at Greenmarkets and farm stands.

Two washed-rind cheeses that were winner at the American Cheese Society’s competition last month are available at Murray’s Cheese Shops.

Melissa Chmelar, who owns Spoon NYC catering, has expanded her retail counter into a larger, adjacent space with a more generous counter and seating at tables.

Consumption of monosodium glutamate, or MSG, the widely used food additive, may increase the likelihood of being overweight, a new study says.

FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS Marc Forgione has his own place, Forge, in TriBeCa.

MASTERLY Naomichi Yasuda maintains precision in Midtown.

An end-of-summer dinner, a pig roast to benefit Slow Food, a tasting of local foods, and more.