“Kee’s Chocolates was formed in 2002 by Kee Ling Tong, who left her job in the corporate world to pursue her dream of opening a shop for flowers and chocolates in New York’s SoHo area. After a year, Kee’s reputation for making fine chocolates overshadowed her flower business, and she began to concentrate on […]

I’ve never been fond of Valentine’s Day, even when I was in a relationship and was able to celebrate it in the way that Hallmark, 1800 Flowers, and Godiva wanted me to. You should love and celebrate your family and friends every day of the year, not just some random day in February where […]

Desperate to jet off somewhere exotic? Maybe Armenia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, Holland, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Vietnam, West Indies, Yugoslavia, but you’re short on cash and you haven’t renewed your passport? Try Kalustyan’s. Opened in 1944, the market is the […]

New Yorkers are particularly spoiled when it comes to consuming cupcakes. True, we’ve seen the fanfare and confetti of the brick-heavy Mangolia cupcake, made famous by Sex and the City, funny girl Amy Sedaris selling her sweets to Joe’s in Greenwich Village, and the gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and spectacularly delicious variety at Babycakes - […]

Tonight a dear eco-conscious friend of mine is hosting a sustainable potluck where sustainable foodies gather to eat well and talk shop on local food systems and organic food issues. Initially, I was a little intimidated by some of the foodies attending (some have products that are sold in major supermarkets, others are opening […]

In 2002, owners Peggy & Debbie, former theater actors who ran in the corporate circuit and former employees of the famed Magnolia bakery, took their love of baking and launched a full-scale operation in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Armed with dusty Betty Crocker cookbooks, quite simply, the two best friends wanted to open a […]

Have you ever had a dream so outrageous you couldn’t even bring it up in conversation? The dream that sometimes gets you out of bed and literally moves you through your day? The kind of dream that makes the crowded subways, the cold coffee, the frigid cold, and the broken photocopier, bearable? But this […]

This sounds mad, right? Chocolate rice pudding? However, I’ve learned to never doubt the gastronomy gods because the genius who merged chocolate and bacon (when I thought such a pairing should be outlawed) changed my life. One evening, as I was thumbing through Food Network episodes, I came upon Giada’s recipe for chocolate rice […]

When you’re single and on a budget you have two problems: food is more expensive and it always goes off quickly. Buying in bulk is easy when you have a big family and storage space, however, when I make recipes I always think about dishes that are cost-conscious, can be made in advance, and […]

Meet the Sunchoke (otherwise known as The Jerusalem Artichoke). They’re ugly little things, true, but goddamn are they good. They can be found in the root vegetable bin in the produce section, and they look like a cross between a potato and a ginger root. Visiting a friend’s house for dinner the other […]

My friend, who’s a bit of a gourmand in the kitchen, has invited me over for supper tonight. I suspect turkey meatballs are on the menu, but one can never be certain of menus - only of the fact that whatever she’ll fix I’ll know it’ll be delicious. Anyway, I’ve been tasked with dessert […]