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There are pub crawls, there are babies’ first crawls, and now there are cupcake crawls. In a city with cupcake shops as ubiquitous as gay bars, and double-decker Sex and the City tour buses, it’s shocking that it’s taken so long to adopt a crawl devoted to the frosted, crumbly-on-a-bad-day, chocolate-filled-at-its-best treats. Alas, now it’s happening, and SugarTooth Tours is pioneering the movement. Starting next Wednesday, April 17^th, the official “Cupcake Crawl Across Manhattan” commences with its three-hour crawls happening most Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 2pm to 5pm.

At Cherrywood Kitchen, a classed-up New American spot from chef Chris Cheung (Jean-Georges, Nobu), a cherrywood log burns on the fire and makes for a rack of ribs on par with the best of any Gotham barbeque offerings. In a twist of pairings, the apple celery slaw is the real spicy counterpart to the rich but milder ribs. You can eat them with a fork and knife—the bones just fall to the bottom of the plate. In fact, it may be best to keep your hands off, since Cheung doesn’t shy away from slathering on a sweet chili glaze, and the sexy librarian-themed dining room doesn’t exactly jibe with wet wipe packets.

Gwyneth Paltrow, she of GOOP fame, she of the $90 plain white t-shirt on her website, released a new cookbook recently that focuses on the “elimination diet” she took to when ill recently, meaning no coffee, alcohol, dairy, eggs, sugar, shellfish, deep-water fish, wheat, meat, soy or anything processed. The result is It’s All Good, and like many of Paltrow’s recent ventures, critics have been quick to pan it, calling it “laughable Hollywood neuroticism” or, as with GOOP, calling her out for showing off a lifestyle pretty unattainable by those of us who are far from a Gwyneth Paltrow income. I mean, there’s a $120 tuna salad recipe in it, featuring Manuka honey, which costs $25 a jar.

There are many restaurants in Midtown Manhattan worth passing by with a brisk gait and a scowl, but Desmond’s and Forty2West (pictured), new steakhouses on 38th and 48th respectively, are not among them. That’s a reasonable preface, too, because it wouldn’t be hard to pass them inadvertently—Desmond’s is on the second floor, with an entrance on Seventh Avenue that looks like a stairwell to a janitor’s closet. Forty2West is sandwiched between a Five Guys and a Chinese take-out. Facades notwithstanding, both places should quietly sneak into the top rung of fine dining on their other merits.

And here, you, you thought that food trucks were just for the festival set. But leave it to restaurateur Rob McKinley and Mike D of the Beastie Boys to find a more noble purpose for mobile meals. Although Hurricane Sandy is a memory for many, for residents of many parts of the New York area, including the Rockaways, the storm’s impact is still affecting daily lives. So Mike D and McKinley, with the help of teams from popular local restaurants like the Breslin and Fat Radish, created the Rockaway Plate Lunch food truck to bring residents warm meals.  

It's easy to surrender to the Iroquois New York, a peaceful nook amidst chaos and crowds. Situated in the heart of the city, this peaceful, upscale boutique hotel is a place of seamless luxury: classic cocktails in the lobby, toasty rooms and suites, first class service and a consistent, regal aura.

Marco Pierre White has called Eric Chavot "the best in London without a doubt." And the Michelin-starred chef finally has another place to call his own--literally. In the low-key luxury surroundings of the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair, his new Brasserie Chavot is actually light on the haute, instead forwarding a clever take on French provincial dishes: snail Bourgignon, meatball and potato espuma, white bean velouté, foie gras boudin blanc, and, for dessert, baba au rhum with crème fraîche Chantilly.

Congratulations. You’ve made it through the 40-day period of Lent and are now entering an entire day of divine gluttony known as Easter. Just like Jesus, you too are resurrected, as your worst vices -  ice cream sundaes before bed, chocolate after lunch, and mustard & salami sandwiches – are raised from the dead newly available during a meal known as “the moveable feast.” But since we all know the most moving we’ll be doing is from the table to the couch/reaching for the Italian bread, let’s get started on where to eat. Here are the restaurants serving New York’s Top Easter Brunches.