To kick off a flurry of fun content we’ve got in honor of Valentine’s Day, we sat down with Deborah A. Levine, author of the just-released book Love Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Many Ways We Celebrate Romance and Passion. A collection of letters, quotations, and fun facts, Love Miscellany answers [...]
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Top Chef Just Desserts Season 2 Episode 7: Doughnuts + Double Eliminations
Episode 7 of Top Chef Just Desserts season 2 touched on at least one subject very near and dear to my heart — doughnuts! Le Bernardin‘s Executive Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis is back to discuss doughy treats and chocolate showpieces! I play in a band called Hot Doughnuts (founded many years before they became trendy), named [...]
The Town Dish Dishes on Bravo’s ‘Top Chef: Just Desserts’ Season 2 Premiere
While we await the return of our pastry expert Chef Michael Laiskonis from parts unknown (actually, I know where he is, but I haven’t had enough coffee to remember), I asked my food blogger friends from The Dish to pinch hit for the first episode of Top Chef: Just Desserts season 2. Find out what [...]
Dining Poll: Do You Choose Just Desserts When Dining Out?
How sweet is your sweet tooth? Enough to make you pass right over a restaurant’s entrees and savory dishes and head straight for the pastries? Have you ever made an entree out of ice cream? Cobbled together a meal from cobbler? Share your opinion — or addiction — in today’s dining poll. Have you ever [...]
Top Chef Just Desserts Episode 9: Michael Laiskonis on Cold Spray, Payard + More
It’s down to the wire on Top Chef Just Desserts and Le Bernardin Executive Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis was along for the nail-biter of a ride we took last night. His expert answers helped shed light on Francois Payard’s impeccable reputation, Yigit’s spray can, and what it really takes to make a chocolate truffle. Thanks [...]
Top Chef Just Desserts Episode 1: 20 Questions with Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis
Bravo’s fun Top Chef: Just Desserts premiered last week — and it’s back again tonight. The lovechild of Top Chef and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, even the show’s initial ep tested my knowledge of all things sweet. Despite my culinary school training, it turns out that I don’t know a whole heck of [...]
Friday Dining Poll: Which Dessert Do You Love to Order?
Which of the following desserts do you order most often?survey software
Valentine’s Day 2010: Put a Fork in It!
Valentine’s Day 2010 is just a fond (I hope!) memory by now. I hope yours was as fun as mine (I dined at SHO Shaun Hergatt and had a delightful Valentine’s Day dinner!). I didn’t get there in a limo, but some lucky Tweeps had that option, thanks to winning the OpenTable Valentine’s Day Limo [...]
Fondue or Fon-don’t: Does Melted Cheese Melt Hearts?
We recently announced the winners of the OpenTable Diners’ Choice award for the Top 50 Most Romantic Restaurants. Of the 50, a whopping 12 were Melting Pot restaurants, where fondue anchors the menus. Two other winners, La Fondue and Simply Fondue, are also, as you might have guessed by their names, fondue-friendly eateries. The Chicago [...]