Steven Thrasher

A surprisingly delicious decorative cookie from the White House kitchen, consumed in the West Wing

Yesterday, we took our first-ever trip inside the White House. There were all kinds of culinary secrets we discovered that we weren't expecting.

First, as we waited to go through security, we saw a lot (and we mean a lot) of staffers coming back from a Mickey D's run. Would Michelle approve of all that McDonald's?

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The happy brides, the happy grooms

A week ago, when we inaugurated our pop-up Big Gay Food Blog with a piece on the hopeful wedding cakes in the window of openly gay fashion designer Michael Kors, the prospective votes for same-sex marriage were being counted and recounted, Democratic senator Ruben Diaz was being reviled for his anti-gay position, and the prospect of another Republican senator crossing over to break the 31-31 tie seemed remote. But, let's face it, civil rights are a central feature of our Constitution, and by doing the right thing and breaking the tie Senator Stephen Saland goes down in the history books. And Kors's cakes go from being a dream to a reality. The original piece follows.

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incrediblethings.com

So pretty!

It's time to celebrate this weekend, and many of New York City's hotels and restaurants are getting into the spirit, offering special details and discounts on dining.

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Jeff Tidwell/Flickr

Florent closed its doors three years ago, but Gay Pride Week still doesn't feel the same without it. The week was always a big deal for Florent Morellet's iconic Meatpacking District diner, which served as a LGBT community center of sorts. The restaurant was a popular place to meet up during and after the Pride parade, and in 2006 Morellet himself even served as one of the parade's grand marshals. And Florent closed its doors, of course, on the last day of Pride Week 2008.

Although his restaurant was synonymous with Morellet himself, Darinka Chase was probably its second most recognizable face. As Florent's hostess for much of its 21-year existence, she greeted most of the people who came through its doors at all hours of the day and night. And as the wife of Café Katja co-owner Andrew Chase, she knows a thing or two about the alchemy behind a successful neighborhood restaurant. So to commemorate Florent's distinctive role in Gay Pride Week, we spoke with Chase about her memories of working at the restaurant, and Pride Weeks past.

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Stucco-covered Julius' may be the city's very first gaystropub.

Why is the weather always hot as hell during Pride Weekend? Your best refuge -- before, during, or after the march -- is in a well-air-conditioned restaurant for a meal or snack (with a frozen cocktail or two, if you prefer). And you needn't call it "brunch."

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The Daily Hookup, a discount website aimed at gay males, launched quietly this week. It aims to offer the same old gamut of lifestyle deals, though obviously geared toward its demographic. But rather than feature just any old restaurant, they have special "curators" who seek out only the hottest of hot spots.

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Photo courtesy Takashi Inoue

Couples that cook together, stay together, like Takashi Inoue and Saheem Ali.

Yesterday we spoke with Taskashi Inoue and Saheem Ali, partners and business partners at Japanese restaurant Takashi. They told us about how they met at the Roxy and gave us the lowdown on all things beef-related. Today we continue the grilling conversation and learn about Inoue's skill in cooking Kenyan cuisine.

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Doug Quint handing out a Big Gay cone, way back in 2009

As you might have suspected, Fork in the Road owes a debt to the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck when it comes to selecting the name for this week's pop-up food blog, the Big Gay Food Blog. (In turn, we can't help suspecting that the BGICT's Doug Quint was inspired by South Park's Big Gay Al, but that's another story.) Anyway, as a salute to the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, we offer below the entire arc of our coverage over the last two years, beginning with an item in our Blogroll Gazette, showing how it's grown from a one-man, one-truck operation into an entire edible empire. Take a lick!

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Hmmm, Bone Lick B-B-Q -- the name and location are right, but will it score high on the other criteria?

This being the week of Fork in the Road's Big Gay Food Blog, there was really no other choice for Our 10 Best than ferreting out the optimum places near the parade march route to eat brunch, lunch, dinner, and a post-midnight snack on that most important of weekends.

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Photo courtesy Takashi Inoue

Beefy love: Takashi Inoue and Saheem Ali

Mixing business and pleasure is a challenge for most people, but it wasn't for Takashi Inoue and Saheem Ali, who are both partners and business partners, running the West Village Japanese temple to all things beef, Takashi. We called them up to learn about what it's like running a restaurant together and how a night at the Roxy resulted in true love.

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