One of the things that makes eating dim sum in New York City exciting is the seeming endless variety of savory and sweet morsels. Even veteran dim sum eaters are rewarded by new discoveries every so often. An initial visit to Chatham Square Restaurant for lunch last Friday yielded just such a find. One of the dessert carts had flaky green pastries that resembled caterpillars. Oddly colored desserts are fairly common in dim sum......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Lebanese Ilili, saying “Ilili is probably the atmospherically grandest excursion into Middle Eastern cooking that New York has ever seen.” While much of the menu is inconsistent, he loves the kebabs and kaftas. Says the service is “occasionally confused.” And get the essmalieh for dessert. In Dining Briefs, Peter Meehan goes to Abraço Espresso (pictured), says “it’s tiny, it brews excellent coffee, and the little food that it......

August 19: 8th Annual Blues & BBQ Head to Pier 54 at Hudson River Park for meat, music, meat, and more meat. Hill Country, Dinosaur Bar-b-Que and other city favorites will be offering up their wares for sale. Full listing of blues acts here. Admission and music free. Pier 54 at 14th Street, 2-9 p.m. August 19: 4th Annual Singapore Chili Crab Festival This year's Tiger Beer Singapore Chili Crab Fest is in a new......

We caught up with Zak Pelaccio, the chef from whose brain sprung such Malaysian-inflected delights as the now legendary crispy pork belly and pickled watermelon salad, to chat about the soon-to-open Borough Food and Drink. He was getting ready to fly to London to check in on his other venture with Jeffrey Chodorow, a Malaysian spot that opened in March called Suka. How did you hook up with Jeffrey Chodorow? I met him through Steven......

Usually I get my restaurant recommendations out of my fares. The time we spend together in the cab is perfect for my screening process. After weeding out (and occasionally kicking out) those who would send me to Applebees, I can judge a fare for ten or twenty minutes before deciding if we have similar taste buds and philosophies on life as well as, by extension, eating. But a few weeks back, one of YOU,......

August 5: A Walking Chocolate Tour of New York This Saturday and every Saturday at 1:00 pm, Chocolate Zoom presents a chocolaty view of our fair city. The first leg of the tour starts off in Soho, where you will get a chance to sample treats from Mariebelle, Vosges, and Kee’s Chocolates. Next, a quick jaunt uptown for five more chocolatiers. More details provided at the Chocolate Zoom website. $50.00 per person (adult or child).......

Last year Katrina Markoff, founder of Vosges chocolate,, and a woman who'd like to "bring peace to the world through chocolate, was named one of Inc. magazine's 26 most fascinating entrepeneurs. Tuesday night, she spoke at the W Tuscany as part of the W Happenings series and served a very new kind of chocolate martini as she spoke about chocolate. After studying at the Cordon Bleu in France, Markoff worked for Feran Adria who showed......

Sam Seder, Director / Writer / Comedian / Co-Host, "The Majority Report"...

After reading raves from Below 14th and NYCEats, Gothamist decided to try Kuma Inn for ourselves. And after the visit, we are glad we did. What better than some Southeast Asian tapas, sake and Tsingtao, and a mellow environment on a dreary night? Some of our favorites were the crab cakes (above left), a grilled tuna accompanied by delicious sauces (above right), and the wasabi pork shumai (right, after Gothamist dug in). The chicken......