During the holidays, we are all bombarded with requests for charitable giving. Sure, it's a great way to do something good and squeeze in one more tax deduction before year's end, but given the number of requests, making a choice about how to spend your charity dollars can be somewhat daunting. The Times focused this week on the dizzying number of food-related charities making year-end requests. more ›

October 11: Restaurant Reviewing in New York City more ›

Mario Batali, Iron Chef, TV personality, cookbook author, and restaurateur sat down with us at Otto Enoteca Pizzeria in Greenwich Village to discuss his latest philanthropic project -- a cookbook with recipes from celebrities, including the likes of Kristen Davis, Ashley Judd, and Harrison Ford. Mario paired up with fellow Food Network chef Giada De Laurentiis to edit the recipes. The cookbook is free and available online at CelebrityPastaLovers.com. Each time the book is downloaded, Barilla pasta will donate $1 to America’s Second Harvest, or one of its local branches, up to $100,000 more ›

- MUG gives us their latest Hot List, featuring recent openings Little Owl and Japonais, among others. more ›

It's already underway at Artie's Delicatessen, but you might be able to hurry uptown to catch the Golden Palace Thanksgiving Invitational presented by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). Eight competitors, each of whom was invited to participate, are competing to be the first to devour a 10-pound roast turkey in 12 minutes. Joey Chestnut, who according to IFOCE is "arguably the most promising rookie eater of all time" will compete against Sonya "the Black Widow" Thomas and Eric "Badlands" Booker, among others. But IFOCE realizes that Thanksgiving turkeys are not so plentiful for everyone, and are donating complete holiday meals for 20 families of four who would otherwise go without a Thanksgiving dinner through Food P.A.T.C.H.(People Allied to Combat Hunger) an affiliate of Second Harvest. more ›

Although it has yet to reach the five boroughs, Katrina is on the minds of New Yorkers. She isn't predicted to descend upon our fair city, but reports of her wrath down South have shaken many to core - looking for some sort of distraction from the onslaught of disaster-related news updates. Gothamist Food wants to do our parts to help fill up the nation's network of food bank pantries to assist Katrina's victims. Here's a link to America's Second Harvest, if you'd like to make a donation. more ›