New York City is home to numerous cultural institutions, but they aren't the only places to witness the city's abundant creative energy. You'll find it also behind the swinging kitchen door of the city's best restaurants.

New York is home to thousands of restaurants, but a new crop of cookbooks may inspire you to stay in the kitchen and cook, rather than order takeout.

After years of not understanding coffee, Jerry Seinfeld says he's finally discovered the delight of meeting someone over a cup. "You have coffee and for some reason it makes you talk a lot," he says.

Once people figured out how to roast the seeds of the Coffea plant in the 1400s, coffee took over the world. In doing so, it fueled creativity, revolutions, new business ventures, literature, music — and slavery.

Porter House New York's Chef Michael Lomonaco invites Leonard Lopate to his kitchen for some pro tips in cooking the perfect steak.

With the baseball season upon us, it's hard not to think of the delicious concession that's become synonymous with America's favorite past time: The hot dog. We dug into the WNYC Archives to find out why and how the baloney on a roll became king of the ball field.

In the Catskills this weekend, there was a payoff of sorts for the the long winter — with its cold snaps and, at times, copious amounts of snow — in the form of amber gold: maple syrup.

New York City isn’t known for its barbecue. But for Pete Wells, who reviews restaurants for the New York Times, three barbecue joints come tantalizingly close.

Food writers Deb Perelman and Melissa Clark take a turn under the Stir-Fry hot seat and answer questions about food and cooking.

Fried chicken, a green salad and chocolate mousse. That was the first big meal the then 24-year-old Rozanne Gold cooked for former Mayor Ed Koch as his personal chef in 1978. 

Carolyn Sherman answers questions about horseradish, starting her own business, and her favorite winter comfort food in this edition of 60-Second Stir-Fry.

The Sporkful host Dan Pashman takes a turn in the 60-Second Stir-Fry hot seat. He answers questions on everything from granola to social media.

While underground dinners may seem like old hat to some, a handful of startups are betting the concept is just beginning to take off. But many supper clubs are still more expensive than the average restaurant meal, which may limit the market.

Jeff and Adina Bialas of J&A Farm in Goshen, New York, get their turn under the spotlight for this 60-Second Stir-Fry.

Chef Jacques Gautier takes his second turn in the hot seat for this round of 60-Second Stir-Fry.

Former cook at Per Se and current Gilt Taste senior editor Whitney Wright takes a turn under the spotlight.

Steve Ettlinger admits that he’s not a huge fan of junk food, but Amy Eddings put him to the test by pressing him on what junk food he would eat if he had to indulge. Instead of naming off a branded product, Ettlinger went with the more general answer of “glazed donut.” Maybe that’s more of a mid-afternoon treat for the author, though, because he said he prefers a savory start to the day.

Food waste is a big problem — for public health, the environment and consumers. Chefs and restaurant owners seem like they'd be the least likely to waste food, and yet 15 percent of all the food that ends up in landfills comes from restaurants. Some restaurants are starting to take action.

When you can't eat with the ones you love, love eating with the ones you're with. Or something like that, with apologies to Crosby, Stills and Nash. 

Author, nutritional supplement entrepreneur, tech investor and speed learner Timothy Ferriss promises in his latest book, The 4-Hour Chef, to teach you the skills you'd gain in six months of culinary school in just 240 minutes.  

Those 4 hours are about the time it took me to get through the first 20 pages of this dense, wide-ranging tome. I've got 620 more to go.