Once again, there were some fabulous, over-the-top dog costumes on display at the 2008 Tompkins Square Park Dog Halloween Parade and plenty of pups hamming it up for the cameras. These were a few of my favorites:

Marie Antoinette

This is my third year taking photos at this event, and I can say that without fail, pugs in costume are hilarious. Their butterball shape is perfect for dressing up, and their furrowed brows and bugged-out eyes give them a sweet, put-upon expression. Check out previous years’ devil-pug and Chinese pug to see what I mean. This adorably grotesque Marie Antoinette was my fave this year, for getting the spirit just right.

Snake Pup

This pup-being-swallowed-by-a-snake costume looks like it was sported by the same dog who was “Millipup” last year. I like when the owners get dressed up in a matching outfit: here’s a photo of the full Jungle explorer costume.

Card Shark

Every now and then, you’ll have an owner who builds a mobile diaroma around their pet’s persona. These guys came in virtually unseen through a side gate dragging an entire gambler’s den on a cart, complete with stereo system. The mini red velvet sofa is genius.

For more photos of this year’s event check out my Flickr.

Update 10/30/08: See more Halloween doggy pics from me and others featured on Gothamist.com and NYmag.com.

Damn you Dessert Truck.

Not only have you infiltrated my evening stomping grounds in the East Village, as well as my work-days in Midtown, but just as I was growing immune to the lure of your chocolate bread pudding you’ve unleashed something even more irresistible.

Like the creamiest of pie fillings topped with toasted marshmallows and crunchy sugar-roasted pecans, this pumpkin custard is the perfect autumn snack. It’s a good thing it’s jacket season too because soon I might need to camouflage my many, many indulgences in this treat.

I promise to shut up about Dessert Truck now.

Dessert Truck - Park Ave and 52nd St. Mon-Fri 12pm-4pm and on Third Ave and St. Mark’s every day 6pm-midnight

Ninth Street Espresso is probably my favorite coffee spot in the city–a tiny enclave east of Avenue C ideal for people-watching and drinking superlative cappuccinos. Now that they’ve opened an outpost on Tenth Street, next door to Life Cafe, (yes two blocks away), I might be more inclined to dash out for a cappuccino on those cold days when Ave C is just a little too far. This location forgoes tables for a long, slender standing-only bar, but the same baristas pull expert espresso shots, and the same Balthazaar bakery treats are available. Plus it’s right across the street from Tompkins Square Park, where the real people-watching happens.

Ninth Street Espresso 341 East 10th St. Near Avenue B

Remember when Tasti D-lite was the king of low-calorie soft-serve?  No more. In the past eighten months, “real” frozen yogurt shops have sprouted all across Manhattan, and the boom shows no signs of slowing. Last month yet another, 16 Handles, opened up on Second Avenue not far from the new Pinkberry on St. Mark’s Place, (with a buy-one-get-one-free offer for August). It seemed like overkill, but I was hopeful. Maybe 16 Handles can save me from my Pinkberry addiction.

Not long ago I silently mocked the lines winding out of each newly-opened Pinkberry, packed with people willing to shell out $6 for a cup of sleekly-packaged swirly girly low-cal dessert something, for no one was quite sure if it was really yogurt, or a batch of chemicals–not that anyone really cared. But then Pinkberry got its frosty fangs in me. The concoction is creamy, tart, and sweet at first taste, then the flavor gently fades, leaving you face-down in your cup, chasing that initial tang all the way to the bottom. Topped with enough supersized, abnormally-perfect raspberries and blackberries to make it acceptably healthy, each costly cup of this embarrassingly compelling stuff drove me from the bright shop into the shadows, blissfully snacking and hating myself at the same time.

I tried Red Mango, an Asian import which has recently landed on 14th street and claims the Pinkberry entreprenuers swiped its yogurt concept; it wasn’t the same. I missed that tarty zing–that sugary something–that ineffable Pinkberryness…

16 Handles‘ plain tart yogurt is pretty close to what I require in a frozen yogurt. The whole place is self serve, and offers 16 rotating flavors (chocolate, raspberry tart, and mango sorbet stood out to me), and a salad-bar sized selection of toppings from fresh fruit to yogurt chips, granola, ground-up butterfingers, and long-forgotten breakfast cereals like cinnamon toast crunch (hmmm). I liked being able to control how much of everything went into my cup and pay by weight–I ended up shelling out $4.09 for my strawberry-and-mango-studded creation instead of the requisite $6.23 for the Pinkberry three-topping medium. But be sure to come armed with a little self-control, or it could get expensive.

I have one critique–the little wooden eco-spoons were awful. Fro-yo needs to be lapped from smooth white plastic, not off a splintery surface. If you dare to go on the front lines of the yogurt war, dash around the corner and get yourself a proper spoon from Pinkberry on St. Mark’s Place.

16 Handles 153 Second Ave. between 9th and 10th Street

A take-out-style offshoot of prix-fixe dessert bar Chikalicious (located right across the street), “Dessert Club” specializes in pudding. Or, as their menu charmingly puts it, “puddin’” — in vanilla custard, adult chocolate, brioche bread varieties. OK, twist my arm why don’t you? If there’s one thing I like better than pudding, it’s gourmand-friendly take-out pudding, and Chikalicious is pretty fabulous so how could this be wrong?

I ordered the warm vanilla custard puddin’ ($3.50) which was served in a small plastic dish with a piece of spongey cake in the center. Perhaps it was a mistake to order it warm because the puddin’ had a creme-anglaise consistency unlike any proper pudding I’d tried, and the warmth seemed to contribute to its overall soupiness. It was effectively sopped up by the cake and it had a convincing rich custardy flavor, with the appearance of real vanilla beans. Still, the lovely thing about pudding is its smooth not-quite-liquid, not-quite-solid texture, and this didn’t quite measure up.

By contrast, the red velvet cupcake ($1.60) was a complete miss. The icing was tooth-achingly sweet, and the cake itself rather papery-tasting. I might give the puddin’ another whirl but I’d steer clear of this.

Seating, while a distinct possibility, is limited and they’re open until midnight (1am Fri and Sat). So if you’re a night-owl pudding lover who also likes creme anglaise, this might be your new happy place.

Chikalicious Dessert Club 204 E 10th St Mon-Thurs 1pm - 12 am; Fri 1pm - 1am; Sat 12pm - 1am