There are nice people out there! Earlier this week construction manager Chris Csoka got himself a $60 ticket while he was dropping off a truckload of baby supplies to an unemployed man—despite being told by a traffic agent that it was okay for him to unload in a no parking zone on Staten Island. But after hearing about the ticket an unidentified NYPD detective has stepped up to pay it for him. It may not feel like Christmas outside, but the spirit at least is there! more ›

Today, Science tackles the topics of kids and sugar, and finds, perhaps unsurprisingly, that young'uns really like sweet stuff. But it's not just that they like it—they're biologically wired to love it. more ›

Saturday night's New York Wine and Food Festival dessert extravaganza, SWEET, wasn't a competition, but Anne Thorton's offering had people raving, and her table was cleaned out long before the night's end. So we're calling her the winner. Thorton's the pastry chef and event manager at Hotel Griffou, which has become both a trendy nightspot and critical punching bag (Pete Wells at the Times says, "I was treated worse each time I showed up.") We've never checked into Hotel Griffou, so we were pleasantly surprised to find Thorton's dessert—Salted Caramel Banana Pudding Pie—outshining chefs from such critical darlings as Locanda Verde and Per Se (not that their creations were anything to sneeze at, either.) more ›

It was a sight to warm the hearts of dialysis clinic owners citywide: The massive, football field-size space la.venue at The Waterfront in Chelsea was overrun by 43 of New York's top pastry chefs and confectioners last night for the Food & Wine Festival's most anticipated debauchery. The event sold out before the Wall Street crash, and with tickets going for $175 a pop it's no wonder people queued up well before the doors opened to make sure they got their dwindling dollar's worth. more ›

Many people have a strong preference when forced to choose between sweet and savory -- french toast or eggs, cupcakes or french fries, chocolate or cheese? These days, however, the line is getting blurred, with more pastry chefs entering the savory fray, like Sam Mason's Tailor and Pichet Ong's P*ong, both with menus that bring sweetness into entrees and a savory edge to desserts. more ›