Photograph of Mark Simmons, Top Chef contestant and sous-chef at Public, and WD-50 chef and owner Wylie Dufresne The festive factor was running high at last night's Taste of the Lower East Side, the 8th Annual fundraiser for the Grand Street Settlement. Forty neighborhood eateries pitched in to benefit Grand Street's programs that assist low-income Lower East Side residents, and they showcased some of their best dishes for the crowd of well over 1,000......

When the mercury broke the 60-degree mark on Tuesday, Gothamist immediately began obsessing about frozen confections. Rest assured, the irony of the situation wasn't lost on us. If anyone offered us an ice cream cone during the recent cold snap that saw temps in the teens, things might have gotten ugly. As is often the case when we crave cold comfort, Gothamist was soon strolling the Tudor-lined streets of Forest Hills Gardens with one destination......