I’ve been a food writer for some years now, and not surprisingly, the question I get asked most often is, “What are the new restaurants?” Depending on what month it is (since there is a new restaurant that opens every month), I can easily rap off a short checklist that I keep in my head for an occasion like this. People who know me better ask where I like to eat. I’ve answered that question more times than I have fingers and toes, so I decided to once and for all put it down on paper, as well as record it for posterity’s sake.As of this writing, these are my favorite restaurants. When compiling this list, I actually came up with 20 places, but whittled it down to my best 10. I am an expert on no one else’s taste except my own, and even that is constantly changing, so this list WILL be updated sometime this year. I know what I like and it makes me happy when others agree. If not, our different tastes are why there are so many restaurants that open (and close) in the metro every year. Of course, me being the dessert fanatic that ...

I don’t want to write an article about chocolate in the same way most people write about chocolate. I won’t mention the Aztec word, xocolatl (“bitter water”); and I’m sure you don’t need another article telling you what Theobroma means. It’s as tedious to read (again) as it is to write about it (again). These days, countless people regard themselves as chocoholics, and most understand the cacao percentages on a bar of fine chocolate.Instead, consider this article as a guide to navigating your way through The Peninsula Hotel’s Chocolate Nights Weekend Buffet. This sweet spread is part two of the initial sweet indulgences that the hotel launched last Christmas, which was a dizzying success (undoubtedly credited to the theobromine-induced giddiness brought on by massive doses of chocolate). While some people rationalize about just how much chocolate one can eat anyway, to this you can almost hear the crowds crying out in reply, “More, more, more!”Once you stand in front of the buffet, you feel a palpable sense of excitement rising inside you. Your hands are getting clammy, and ...