Okay, it's freezing. Not just freezing -- bone chillingly bitter. We've been at our desk for hours now and still can't manage to fight off the chill from our morning commute. This kind of weather makes us crave warm, cozy comfort food -- hopefully at least one of these options is close enough to you for a quick dash out, or even better, to deliver to you. Soup: Get a warm and cozy homemade soup......

On a recent weekend, we saw Jacques Torres loading boxes of delectable treats from a van into his new store Jacques Torres Chocolate store at 285 Amsterdam Avenue, near 73rd Street, leaving us impressed at his commitment as a small business owner. Today, the chocolatier and the store are mentioned in a NY Times article that examines the emergence of Amsterdam Avenue as an option for retailers, who have traditionally been attracted to Broadway and......

Hot chocolate's all the hype these days with Jacques Torres, City Bakery, Cocoa Bar, and MariBelle all pouring decadent brews at their downtown locales. And, while we have to admit that we’re more likely to stop in one of these spots below 14th Street, there are plenty of reasons for heading further uptown during this holiday season—say, for ice skating at Rockefeller Center, a trip to Central Park, or a visit to the Met. The......

June 7 - June 11: Broadway Panhandler "Yard Sale" Just because they don't technically have a yard in their new location won't stop Broadway Panhandler from having its annual Yard Sale, where you can find discounts of up to 75 percent off on select cooking supplies. 65 East 8th Street, 212-966-3434. June 8: Beard on Film Join directors whose films will be featured at the upcoming NYC Food Film Festival (June 14–16, 21–23, September 6–8):......

April 20-21: Wine Rave NYC Wine Rave NYC is an event designed to take away the stuffiness from wine events. There will be tastings galore, plus "Sips of Wisdom," brief presentations from experts, and the "Hip Sips Lounge," where you can talk to wine industry insiders. Friday, April 20 from 6 to 10 pm and Saturday, April 21 from 5 to 10 pm. $65 general admission, $100 VIP tickets, available online, by calling 212-352-9900 or......

For someone who graduated from college just last year, Ohio native, Soho-transplant Jill Donenfeld has really made a quick study of the New York food scene. As the founder of The Dish’s Dishes, Donenfeld oversees a team of kitchen ninjas she calls Culinistas™ (she also holds the word’s trademark)- who prepare meals en masse and in-house for clients using raw materials from greenmarkets, organic bakeries, and the subterranean caves of Murray’s Cheese, among other......

People tend to go a little haywire over Peeps. We've given you a taste of the madness before, but there's even more sugar-infused insanity this year. Via the epi-log over at Epicurious: chef Francisco Migoya of The Culinary Institute of America has a video up on You Tube demonstrating how to make your own Peeps aptly titled "The Peep Show." More Peeps madness: - Peeps "celebrity survey" via Slashfood: apparently the Peeps Chick is cooler......

The foie gras battle rages on sparked by a sign at Fairway on the Upper West Side. Jacques Torres is in a hot chocolate war in DUMBO (his use of exclamation points is also noted). Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia find a new home at Anthos, in the former Acqua Pazza space on 52nd Street. Restaurant Girl gets an early peek. And with Japanese Restaurant Week starting today, we find Grub Street's guide very......

This week'sNew York Magazine wraps up some of the city's best cups of hot chocolate -- you know, the kind that drinks like a meal. Their top choice, the decadent cup at City Bakery ($2), is rich enough to make even the most passionate chocolate lover feel close to overdose levels (don't forget that February is the month where they feature a new hot chocolate flavor every day). Other mentions include the gianduja hot chocolate......

As first reported on Slice, Patsy Grimaldi, founder of Grimaldi's has come out of retirement to operate Girmaldi's at Aviator, the new sports and recreation complex at Floyd Bennett Field. The Times picks up the story today, quoting Mr. Grimaldi, who sold the original pizzeria several years ago, as saying retirement "was a big mistake". Anyone familiar with Grimaldi's knows they don't do slices. The new shop breaks from that tradition by selling slices......

Now that the big tree is lit, Rockefeller Center draws tourists like moths to a flame. You may even find yourself under its sway. The tree is pretty impressive after all—more than 65 feet tall and adorned with more than 30,000 lights. But when the crowds swarm and the cold bites, remember relief is not far away. Just duck into La Maison du Chocolat, around the corner on 49th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues,......

Every child (and Homer Simpson) dreams of a land where everything is chocolate as far as the eye can see. Spending a day at the 9th Annual Chocolate Show is damn close to that land of chocolatey goodness. As soon as we walked through the door, we were hit with the scent of chocolate wafting through the air. Breathing it in, we worked our way through the crowds to sample the wares of some......

November 3: Chocolate and Dessert Wine Seminar Two award winners paired with two sinful delights -- what could be better? James Beard Pastry Chef of the Year, Jacques Torres and James Beard Sommelier of the Year, Jean Luc Le Du join forces for these seminars focusing on chocolate and dessert wine. Three seminars at 6:30, 7:00 and 7:30, at Le Du's Wines, 600 Washington St between Morton and Leroy. $25. Seating is limited and reservations......

New York Magazine rounds up one of summer's sweetest treats -- the ice cream sandwich. Forget about the tasteless, mass-produced blocks from your childhood, we're talkin' high end sandwiches, with high end cookies (think Jacques Torres chocolate chunk) filled with rich gelato in a range of flavors. Try One Girl Cookies' version of a whoopie pie filled with il Laboratorio's ricotta gelato, the brownie with fromage-blanc gelato from Ruby et Violette, or pick your own......

We came to win. We were prepared for the challenges they laid before us. Blind wines…bring it. Guess the spices…we came to play. Decorate the cookie…we’ll take down the pastry chefs. This was our mantra. Dirty or fair, we had one goal and that was to win the 2nd Annual Duckathlon sponsored by D’Artagnan. Clearly there was a miscount, because team Mother Ducker didn’t win, although we did steal the duck bacon prize from team......

The Port Authority will face the wrath of chocoholics, as various groups are "begging" the PA to give them some more space on the pier so they can unload 36 million pounds of cocoa beans. The ship is docked at Pier 9 in Red Hook, but workers cannot unload the cargo. American Stevedoring is complaining about the PA's treatment and the fact that the post "can't handle the cargo," but the PA says that American......

Mom always said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That's why we're a little disappointed that the new, hip franchise Cereality has yet to open in the Big Apple. A cafe solely devoted to the love of Froot Loops, Cap'n Crunch, Cocoa Puffs and the like, Cereality sounds like the perfect compliment to the diner, pushcart and coffee house options we New Yorkers currently enjoy. That said, one New Yorker -......

Everyone wants what they don't have. And, when you live in Manhattan, there is little you don't have at your fingertips - especially food-wise. Not so, in the outerboroughs - even where there is moolah to spare. Case in point: the Brooklyn neighborhood of DUMBO. Considering that the area can lay claim to several new über-expensive, luxury highrises under development, it sports only one small grocery outlet. Mind you, both Jacques Torres' chocolate shop and......

The French Culinary Institute's Salute to Healthy Cooking by Alain Sailhac, Jacques Pepin, Andre Soltner, and Jacques Torres (Rodale, 1998) Gothamist knows all about the "French paradox" and that "French women don't get fat." But what we did not know was that New York City's French Culinary Institute has done a "healthy cooking" cookbook that takes traditional high-fat, calorically dense French fare and tweaked it to cut excess fat and calories (while supposedly leaving the......

Foodies have been flocking to DUMBO for quite a while now. It's no surprise. Who can resist the siren's call of the spicy, New Mexican-inspired breakfast burrito at Superfine? Or a piping hot pizza pie with house-roasted peppers at Grimaldi's. Or the Curried Mussels at Five Front? And, then there is the biggest temptation of them all - Jacques Torres Chocolates, chocked full of decadent, Wonka-like confections for children and adults alike. But is Jacques......

We told you it was coming, and now it's finally here: the Seventh Annual Chocolate Show New York, which began this past Thursday, November 11th, and ends this Sunday, November 14th. Gothamist knew that there'd be everything from a fashion show to cooking demos to art displays made of chocolate. But what we were really excited about was getting to try so many different chocolates, all in one afternoon. We wondered beforehand if it were......

The Chocolate Show is coming! The Chocolate Show is coming! We know where we'll be camped out this weekend . . . The Chocolate Fashion Show combines chocolate and couture, in original and delicious designs by top designers such as Nicole Miller, Patricia Field, Sylvia Heisel, Ann Taylor and Suss Cousins. The fashion show will be hosted by tastemaker and style authority Robert Verdi, co-host of the Discovery Channel’s Surprise by Design and host of......

Steven Weiss gives us some more information about the purported NYC Subway edition of M&M's. Apparently, the Subway M&M's were announced as part of the Subway centennial festivities at Grand Central, but, aside from handing out some Subway Centennial M&M's to members of the press, there was no further information on how to get them. Argh. Steven also points out that, based on his photo at left, some trains may have missed the M&M's boat.......

While many people start dreaming of turkey with all the trimmings once the weather gets crisper, residents of the Parkchester area of the Bronx are pretty anti-turkey these days, due to a smoked turkey plant's almost noxious fumes. Both the NY Times and the AP note how finally the City is urging an evironmental agency to close down the LSK Smoked Turkey Products plant. LSK had been asked to work on its filtration systems, but......

Gothamist, like many other New Yorkers, will be strategically avoiding the various lifestyle headaches that promise to accompany the Grand Old Party to our beloved city. For those natives fleeing the island as the Republicans descend, we'll take a page from the administration's book and offer our suggestions for a Gothamist Food "Go Bag" stocked with some of our favorite hometown provisions: - 1 dozen bagels from Absolute Bagels on Broadway at 107th Street -......

Say the word "chocolate" and Gothamist swoons with thoughts of deep, dark rich pleasure. Mention the name Jacques Torres and we're lost in memories of his decadent, gourmet chocolates, hand-crafted in his DUMBO factory and retail shop, Jacques Torres Chocolates. From Torres' dark chocolate-encased Earl Grey Tea ganache to his Wicked Hot Chocolate, spiked with chili heat and subtle spices, his sweet conconctions have won fans - including intrepid foodies that bike or hike......

Nicole Beland, Writer/Girl Next Door...

When Gothamist read about how famed NY restaurant New York Region > Le Cirque Considering Moving on at Year's End" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/13/nyregion/13sirio.html?ex=1402459200&en=acdb02dd1f52aca7&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND">Le Cirque 2000 may have to leave its space at the Palace Hotel, we were surprised that nowhere in the article was there mention of how the restaurant really hit its peak with executive chef Sottha Kuhn and pastry chef Jacques Torres. As Gothamist could only eat our hearts out when we read about Le......

With the "new" attention on the Brooklyn dining scene, forget gatherings outside the Alliance Francaise or pockets of the East Village or Lower East Side, there newest French enclaves are in Brooklyn are confirmed by the robust culinary scene. The Daily News looked at many of Brooklyn's bons restaurants, with a focus on many neighborhoods, not just Smith Street or Park Slope: Chez Oskar in Fort Greene, brunch standby Banania on Smith Street, Park Slope......