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......

The sweet potato is one of those vegetables (you know, the kind with a little sugar in the tank). It goes both ways—sweet and savory—as versatile as the pumpkin or the carrot. Skeptical? Then sweet potato pie might win you over. When roasted, the tuber develops an alluring caramel nuttiness. Mashed with spices and the usual suspects (butter, sugar, eggs), it makes for a subtle custard filling. In fact in this pie form the vegetable......

October 14: Union Square Chocolate Lover’s Walking Tour Join culinary and chocolate expert Joyce Weinberg as she leads you through a chocolate-focused tour of the gourmet delights in the Union Square Neighborhood. Visit Chocolat Michel Cluizel, Chocolat Moderne, Tisserie, The city Bakery, and more. Three tours, 10am-12 noon; 1pm-3pm; 4pm-6pm; $35. Tickets are required and can be purchased at www.unionsquarenyc.org. Rain date: Sunday, October 15. October 15: Foodie Join Joe DeSalazar for his 15th foodie,......

Wednesday night we celebrated the release of Eat This Book! by Ryan Nerz on the (still enclosed) rooftop of The Delancey, savored cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine and watched our first professional eating contest. From left, we saw "Crazy Legs" Conti, Eric "Badlands" Booker and Tim "Eater X" Janus eat as many mini cupcakes as possible (without water!) in 2 minutes. At 29 tiny frosted cakes, New York's own (and a crowd favorite) Badlands won,......

Ever since we first found out about MaxDelivery.com it's made us lazier, and it's probably responsible for putting at least 5 lbs on us. However, when you live on the 5th floor of a walkup and it's raining out...nothing really beats it. This week, nice weather an all, we're going to do everything in our power not to order from the site. However...they are celebrating their first birthday and decided to offer free delivery! All......

New York Magazine has released its Best of New York issue today, which includes some of its favorite food picks. Some argue that the restaurant pr machine has skewed the results, at least of the five new and noteworthy restaurants, but we're happy with at least some of the more valid-seeming choices scattered about the rest of the list. We're huge fans of the fried fish tacos at Mercadito; we thoroughly enjoyed the three rums......

New Yorkers' love for cupcakes have made them a staple snack, sweet treat, or office birthday party surprise as the household names Sugar Sweet Sunshine, Magnolia Bakery, and Billy's Bakery spark visions of buttery sweet frosting, densely rich cake, and the playfulness of a childhood birthday party. Despite cupcakes' trendiness, last weekend when Gothamist was at a wedding, we were still surprised that in lieu of a wedding cake, the husband-and-wife to be opted......

Ask Gothamist is excited because this week is the second annual Cupcakes for a Cause™ - which means we have an excuse to eat lots of cupcakes, and we advise you to do the same! During the week of September 26 through October 2, visit any participating bakery in NYC - including Billy's Bakery, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, Buttercup Bakeshop, SoHo Cupcake Company, Little Pie, Company, Crumb's, Two Little Red Hens, William Greenberg Bakery, Amy's Bread,......

Today: Danny Meyer's Shake Shack re-opens. People are all in a tizzy about this place. We have to admit, we like the burgers at the Burger Joint more, but we haven't tried the famed dogs and custard yet. It's only open from 11-4 through April, but extended hours start May 1st. Madison Square Park, Southeast Corner. April 5: Take A Bite Out of the Big Apple. This event, featuring Marco Canora of Hearth, Ed Witt......

We planned on giving you a whole list of things to do on this rainy, cold Monday (aka: Valentine's Day) but let's face it, your destiny is sealed. Either you're "coupled" and you're going to spend the night in a dimly lit Italian restaurant. Or you're going to sit home alone on the couch with a dozen mini cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine watching Bridget Jones' Diary. Okay, maybe we have a few suggestions up......

Hey There, Cupcake!: 35 Yummy Fun Cupcake Recipes For All Occasions by Clare Crespo (Melcher Media, 2004) Gothamist's fondness for cupcakes is well known and well documented. And while one might imagine that there couldn't possibly be anything new on the cupcake front, Gothamist is happy to report that there are amazingly delicious frontiers to conquer. Because while anyone with a couple bucks in their pocket can drop by at Magnolia or Sugar Sweet Sunshine......

This week, many New York and New Jersey purveyors of fine, delicious for your tummy cupcakes are working with CancerCare, a cancer support non-profit, to make this week Cupcakes For A Cause week! Go to a bakery, asked for Cupcakes for a Cause, and get a specially decorate cupcake. Part of the proceeds will go to CancerCare for Kids. Some of the bakeries participating: Magnolia, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, Two Little Hens, Amy's Bread, Cupcake Cafe,......

Usually, Ask Gothamist is sort of like your mother: We tell you to be nice to your neighbors, mind your manners, eat your vegetables, and avoid junk food. But this week, Ask Gothamist advises you to eat as many cupcakes as you can - because it's Cupcakes for a Cause week. During September 20 ? 24, bakeries throughout the city are donating part of their proceeds from cupcake sales to the CancerCare for Kids......

In NYC, there's nothing like taking a successful concept and running with it in every single possible neighborhood. The Times' Michelle Golden digs into the creation stories that most New Yorkers with a sweet tooth have wondered about: What caused the recent boom of cupcakeries. Gothamist was relieved to finally understand the intricate relationships (pleasant or difficult) and the so-and-so "begat" such-such. The lifeline starts at Magnolia Bakery, with Buttercup Bakeshop, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, and......