Richard Vines

It’s 10 p.m. in New York, the bars are crowded and you’re looking for a place to drink with Playboy chef Judy Joo, a fellow visitor from London.

Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park, New York, was named Outstanding Chef in the James Beard Foundation awards last night, beating David Chang of Momofuku Ko and four other finalists.

Spend big bucks and you can enjoy fabulous gourmet meals in New York. How about eating well for just a few dollars? I asked chefs and restaurateurs from the U.S. and around the world where they go for simple, inexpensive food. Here’s what they had to say.

Noma, a waterside establishment in Copenhagen where chef Rene Redzepi serves Nordic dishes such as poached sea urchin and powdered cucumber, was last night named the World’s Best Restaurant for the third straight year.

Noma, the Copenhagen establishment that has held the title of the World’s Best Restaurant for the past two years, is to open a temporary venue at Claridge’s hotel during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The cup awarded to the Greek winner of the first competitive marathon at the inaugural modern Olympic Games sold for a record 541,250 pounds ($867,000) today, outstripping estimates of 120,000 pounds to 160,000 pounds.

An exciting change in the London restaurant scene over the past three years has been the emergence of small, simple venues where you can eat and drink well without spending too much or enduring fussy service.

Fancy lunch at Dabbous, the new restaurant of a little-known chef that opened earlier this year?

James Knappett, one of the U.K.’s most talented young chefs, is to open his own restaurant in London -- serving Champagne and hot dogs.

Heston Blumenthal, the Fat Duck owner whose dishes include a seafood concoction to be consumed while listening to the sound of crashing waves, last night presented his latest culinary creation: Airline food.

Joel Antunes was one of London’s culinary stars in the 1990s. Les Saveurs, on Curzon Street, was awarded a Michelin star in 1994 and the French chef then moved to the U.S., winning acclaim for Joel, in Atlanta.

Mark Driver, who worked for banks in London and Hong Kong before helping found a hedge fund, yesterday began planting vines on the coast of England where he aims to produce sparkling wine to match France’s finest.