• We had a Boston/NY food showdown, and so does The Boston Globe.
• Make some chocolate goodies for your Valentine's Day honey.
• The Sneaky Chef vs. Deceptively Delicious.
• This chili is made with brisket and has no beans.
• Whoopie pies!
• Restaurant reviews: Kingston Station and Jack-Tar.
• This week's recipes: Lemon-Sugar Crepes, Magic Meatballs, Shrimp Remoulade, Turkey Chili, and Macaroni and Cheese.

I must say that I was transfixed by the photos when I read the post about the Chocolate Crepe Cake on Foodaholic. It is a dreamboat of a cake, and a very uncommon type, too. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary cake, but every slice is a wonder as the cake is composed of a stack of about 20 crepes, all layered generously with a rich chocolate and espresso filling/glaze. The white topping is actually cream that is poured over the finished cake, swirling together with the chocolate glaze. It looks amazing both whole and once it has been sliced, since you can see all the thin layers that make it up then.

The recipe was from Delicious Magazine, but it can be found in the post, as well. It was featured on the cover, but Foodaholic's photo looks at least as good, if not a bit better. If the combination of chocolate and espresso isn't your favorite, you can try Martha Stewart's darkest chocolate crepe cake, instead. Either way, jaws will drop if you serve a cake like this one.

Crepes, waffles and pancakes are three foods that are firm favorites at breakfast, but often have all their possibilities over looked in the book Crepes, Waffles and Pancakes aims to remedy that by presenting the reader with over 100 different recipes for the three that range from savory to sweet and cover every meal of the day, from breakfast to dessert. One of the things that I like best about this book is that a good number of the recipes are based on one or three basic batters. On one hand, it does seem a bit like you're only getting a few recipes in the whole book, but on the other, it means that you only really have to master a few things to make all of the delicious-looking dishes. Besides, when you have a good recipe, you may as well stick with it. The more basic recipes include Lemon and Sultana Buttermilk Pancakes, Breakfast Waffle Sandwich and Vanilla Crepes with Autumn Fruits. Some of the more unusual recipes include Walnut Crepes with Waldorf-style Chicken Salad, Pesto Pancakes Crisps and Spicy Lamb and Chickpea Waffles. There are tips for making some of the recipes gluten free, which is a nice addition for anyone sensitive to wheat or gluten, and most of the recipes are accompanied by tempting photographs.

Crepes, the thin and fluffy pancakes that always manage to seem slightly exotic to those more familiar with the thicker American-style of pancake, are as easy to make as they are to eat. Once you discover this, you might find yourself more inclined to make them on a regular basis, which is where a book such as Crêpes: Sweet & Savory Recipes for the Home Cook comes in handy.

The book has recipes for 15 different varieties of basic crepes, with 11 suitable for savory dishes and 4 sweeter ones for dessert crepes, and all are used in different combinations to create dramatically different dishes. Technique is thoroughly covered, with suggestions on what size pan to use as well as how to mix the batter and how to determine the right moment to flip the pancake. There are also tips for storing crepes, so you'll have them on-hand when you are ready for them. Recipes include Cheese Blintzes, Tomato Crepes with Ratatouille, Blue Corn Crepes with Leeks and Mushrooms, Strawberry and Ricotta Crepes and Chocolate and Hazelnut Praline Crepes, as well as many more mouthwatering combinations.

It is easy to get into a breakfast rut. Cereal, fruit and toast are so ridiculously simple to prepare that even on weekends it seems like doing anything else is a bit of a pain. But foods that take slightly longer than opening a box of cereal are also much tastier than cereal, so what we need here is some motivation to get our culinary juices flowing on this morning. The above video is a well put-together music video of pancake making, complete with a pancake-making song that could very well have you singing along as you cook. The pancakes are the thin crepe-like British style of pancake and are served in multiple - tempting - variations that will definitely get you craving a plate of them yourself.

It doesn't include a recipe, so you might want to try out one of our eight favorite pancake recipes or some crepes, so you can experiment with different fillings as they do in the video.

Of course, if you're content with cereal for breakfast, you might just want to skip the video and go pour yourself a bowl right now.

Even though the may of Pancake Town USA doesn't seem to think that any time is a good time for pancakes, he certainly can't deny that Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is a natural day for them. The tradition of eating pancakes on the last day before the season of Lent was started to use up dairy and eggs that were often abstained from, from Ash Wednesday to Easter. But enough with religious roots: you don't need an excuse to eat pancakes, but it doesn't hurt to have one. Here are Slashfood's eight favorite pancake recipes: