Results tagged “butgothamist”

The last time we saw Dan "Chino" Perilla, the new chef at 5 Ninth, was about two years ago. He was gleefully cooking up sweetbreads to stuff into roulades made from pig face. Actually that's not entirely true, the last time we ran into him was at a birthday for his former boss, Zak Pelaccio. So when Gothamist heard that 4Foodies a newly launched online community for folks obsessed with all things food was holding its inaugural event at 5 Ninth last Tuesday, we rushed over to the meatpacking district.

In a town whose worst pork chop might come with a $75 price tag and a perfunctory heirloom vegetable, but whose best tamale might come from a guy in Sunset Park with an Igloo cooler tied to his BMX, it may also come as no surprise that food purveyors like to have as much control over their raw materials as possible. Long suffering menu copy words like fresh and house-made actually still mean something in some places. You know that testa at Babbo? Mario Batali boiled a pig’s head for a very, very long time, instead of buying it from someone else. Less exotically, the mozzarella at many pizza places is still hand-pulled and stretched from steeping hot hotel pans, sometimes twice a day. Meat and fish curing is hardly ever outsourced in restaurants anymore: tour any number of restaurant walk-in refrigerators and you’ll likely find spice-coated and air-dried duck prosciutto, or salmon pastrami suspended from the shelving with butcher twine. When it comes to the home cook, given space constraints and sanitation issues, it seems many food experiments are outside the reach of apartment kitchens, and at the very least, hazard the terms of even the most poorly written lease.

Nothing reminds us of how sedentary the blogging life is like watching a marathon. This is especially true when we see folks without legs running on prosthetic limbs or flying by in wheelchairs without even breaking a sweat. But Gothamist Health did get to be part of the action again this year, somewhat, working at the medical tent at the 15 mile mark. Most runners who stopped by just needed a little Vaseline and a band-aid for annoying blisters, a bit of salt if they felt deprived, or some Icy Hot for achy joints. A few were even so in the zone that they were grabbing and eating handfuls of Vaseline, before realizing what it was.

After last year's mess of an awards show and this year's joke of nominations (where is love for Lauren Graham, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences?), we were going to swear off this year's Emmys. But then we realized Conan O'Brien was hosting, so we must watch and liveblog. And there's the hope of a good Steve Carrell bit, not to mention awkward reaction shots of Candy and Tori Spelling during the Aaron Spelling tribute.

Someone to Watch Over Me

Defending the National Invitational Tournament title is not something a basketball program sets as its goal the year after winning it. The coach and players no doubt would prefer a berth in the NCAA tournament than a trip to New York for the NIT championship. Still, South Carolina coach Dave Odom and his players got that return trip and the bonus of a 76-64 win over Michigan Thursday. Better to win the NIT than lose in it, Gothamist supposes.

If you needed a reason to look to the skies, now you have one. The folks over at New Era, Major League Baseball's official cap supplier, are donning two Manhattan watertowers with inflatable baseball caps in time for Opening Day. A Mets cap will be fitted on a watertower near the 59th Street Bridge this week, while the Yankee cap won't be up in midtown until next week. New Era says there will be two more inflatable caps on Manhattan watertowers later. If you think you have a large hat size, you ain't seen nothing. The inflatable hats are a size 61.5 (we would think larger) and are 14' high by 16' wide.

Yay for optimism, because that seems to be the key word at the Department of Sanitation. The DoS and the city have launched a new anti-littering campaign - "Stomp Out Litter." And it features the cast of Stomp traipsing around the city, from Times Square to the Bronx Zoo - even Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Funny, it looks so glamorous, so "Rent" when the cast of Stomp stomps out litter.

The poor Parks Department. For the second year in a row, they have had to cancel their Winter Festival 2006. Their press release read:

Due to the unseasonably warm climate, we are unable to create snow in Central Park's East Meadow, thus forcing us to cancel the activities previously scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday, February 4th and 5th. Winter Festival, an annual event usually held in the East Meadow of Central Park, features various winter activities, almost all of which require snow.

- Nicolette Sheridan does not look over-Botoxed with fish lips!

With fallen DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff's plea deal freaking out the Beltway, people would expect him to turn over Republican congressmen Tom DeLay and Bob Ney. But Gothamist wondered if any of our area politicians were involved. And, naturally, some were, which isn't surprising given money Abramoff had at his disposal (through Abramoff's organization, about $915,000 went to Republicans in Congress, while $770,000 or so went to Democrats; however, Abramoff's personal contributions seem to be limited to Republicans themselves - about $127,000 worth). Newsday reports that Representative Charles Rangel was the top New York receipient of Abramoff's largesse, getting $36,000; he was followed by "Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-Rochester) at $7,000 and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-Westchester) at $2,000":

Rangel, who has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, said he is unfairly in the spotlight because of Abramoff's actions. "Don't know him, never met him, never took a dime from him," said the senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

Continue reading "NY Politicians in Abramoff's Web"

Inconsistency has plagued the Nets all season, and they suffered from it again in a 93-83 loss to Detroit at the Meadowlands, dropping them a game under .500. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak and might show the Nets where they stand among the East's elite teams. No shame should be felt in losing to Detroit, but the Pistons, even without Larry Brown, remain a team to beat in a conference full of contenders.

The holiday movie season is officially upon us. In fact, it started yesterday. We already spent more than enough time mentioning some little musical that will likely see its box office hopes dashed by the continuing dominance of screenwriter Stephen Gaghan. We caught it Monday and were incredibly disappointed (not to mention bored and annoyed) mostly due to the constant proselytizing and exposition which lacks any nuance. A phenomenal cast performs more than admirably even if few of them are given much in the way of actual definitive character in order to fulfill their small role in this overly-complex story.

If you go to Dinosaur Bar-B-Q up on West 131st Street in Harlem, you will have your choice of many saucy, porky specialties. (And there is beef brisket...mmm, brisket...) But Gothamist's favorite would have to be the "Swag Sampler Plate" which allows you to try spicy shrimp, deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, and chicken wings. The chicken wings are quite exceptional, tender and juicy, with the right amount of BBQ sauce on them. We had these with one of the many much-stronger-than-you'd-think fruity drinks (there's even one called a Donkey Punch!) and was about to call it a day...but then our plate of ribs and brisket, with salad and mac & cheese sides came, so we downed an Zantac and continued on.

Spotted Pig's Pumpkin Salad

We'll refrain from commenting on how Rachael Ray's bra is totally showing in the NY Times photograph that accompanies her big Dining section feature, and we'll not take potshots at her because it's a little too easy (and there are people who do it better, anyway). But Gothamist would like to point out this part of the RR's history:

She had grown up around Lake George, but the cycle of small-town life and low-paying jobs was wearing thin. In 1995, Ms. Ray headed to New York City. She worked first at the Macy's Marketplace candy counter and moved up the ranks quickly, learning about everything from buying cheese to how to shop for Liza Minnelli's holiday food gifts. When Macy's tried to promote her to a buyer in accessories, she moved to Agata & Valentina, the specialty foods store.

Continue reading "Rachael Ray: The Lady Emeril"

There is a new condiment movement sweeping the city. OK, maybe not. But Gothamist and apparently 10 million other addicts around the world are buying bottles of this red chili, garlic Thai sauce to put on sandwiches, eggs, noodles, sauces and virtually any place you can use a little burst of spicy flavor.

- "You can be in a good mood, and all of a sudden you're in a bad mood."And it's sad, because we've been in that station and we can practically smell it with just the power of suggestion. What's typically stupid-MTA is that the sump pump has been broken/out of service for a year, which, NY1 reports, leaves "standing water to collect and stagnate in the elevator shaft." Blech. Why isn't the Department of Health on this?

In just two years Open House New York is quickly turning into a beloved New York tradition (50,000 people took part in the event last year). Part of the city's Architecture Week, OHNY (which runs next Saturday and Sunday) opens to any interested parties over one hundred buildings and places normally closed to the public along with tours, talks, walks, performances and more.

Imagine parking your car at a parking meter and paying with a card. Imagine not having to use a single quarter (let alone a nickel or a dime). On Monday that dream will become a reality for motorists parking in Bay Ridge, Forest Hills and the Upper West Side as parking meters in those neighborhoods will begin to accept pre-paid parking cards as well as quarters (meters in Long Island City already do this). This won't effect parking time-limits or the amount of time that $.25 buys, but it will theoretically make lives easier for many people and save the city a fair amount of money: it's expensive collecting all those quarters.

News that Queens Borough President Helen Marshall is putting her discretionary account towards repairing the Unisphere (regularly working fountains!) reminds Gothamist of another classic, and often forgotten, New York trip: The Queens Museum of Art and the Panorama of the City of New York located within it.

Gothamist managed to get on over to the new IFC Center this weekend to see Miranda July's excellent Me and You and Everyone We Know and decided to check out the food as well. We had heard that there was going to be an adjacent restaurant serving a gourmet take on pub fare and wanted to see if it was any good.

Security cameras might appear in all subway stations, if the MTA and local politicians have their way. Some stations have security cameras; most recently, nine stations in East New York had cameras installed, thanks to using an Assembly member using his MTA funds from the state. NYC Transit President Lawrence Reuter thinks security cameras are a "very good program to really drive down crime and allow us to make the system safer for customers." The digital cameras "beam images to monitors posted in front of the token booth with the footage kept for 30 days." As we believe in fighting subway crime, Gothamist supports these cameras, especially since regular citizens can photograph to our hearts' content. But Gothamist wonders if the MTA will feel motivated to bust up people who have fun with their signs.

Now, the NY Times had a feature about how the new Dreamworks animated film, Madagascar, went to great lengths accurately recreate New York City, such as looking at blueprints of Grand Central Terminal. And Gothamist does think those scenes look amazing - as well as how the animators depicted the Central Park Zoo. But one thing Gothamist feels we need to point out about the film, which is about the Central Park Zoo's zebra, lion, giraffe, and hippotamus getting involved in various wacky antics in the city, and then ending up shipped to Madagascar, is that the Central Park Zoo, as wonderful as it is, doesn't actually have a zebra, lion, giraffe or hippo on its property.

The debate with the Democratic mayoral hopfuls was broadcast yesterday, showing how very different their styles are. Basically, the young pups, Representative Anthony Weiner and City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, were more combustible; the NY Times noted that Weiner was the only candidate to stand when answering questions, and that Miller stood after realizing this. Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields and former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer stayed seated and were much calmer, perhaps trying to milk their status more as elder statespeople in NYC politics. Weiner was especially punchy, perhaps because he's trying to make more inroads in city politics, and called the others "stale", making Gothamist wonder if one of them would call him "moldy" or "past the due date." The lately beleaguered Ferrer made a rather valid point, at least in the context of the debate, saying, "If anybody wants another play out of the W.W.F. among the four candidates for mayor in the Democratic primary, I mean to disappoint you. Any one of these Democrats is a thousand times better than Mike Bloomberg." Clearly, Ferrer wants to win, but Gothamist thinks it's smart of Ferrer to point out that their goal should be to get a viable candidate on the ballot this November. But Gothamist still feels like September 13, the Democratic primary, is a long way off.

Turn your heartlight on this summer, and enter Gothamist's new contest to win Neil Diamond concert tickets. The Brooklyn native is coming to NYC this summer on his world tour, and the countdown to the ticket sale is on. But Gothamist happens to have three pairs of tickets to give away!

The MTA has pushed back plans to automate the L train to next year, as they work on working out the kinks and convincing the public that the line will work. In fact, when the MTA tested the automated L train over the weekend, the sole motorman made many mistakes; Newsday reports:

The failed exercise lasted less than an hour. It ended when the motorman, a train service supervisor with years on the job, mistakenly pulled an emergency alarm box in the subway tunnel, shutting off track power and stalling several other trains along the L line.

Yes, we've seen trailers for it. Yes, we've read about it in magazines. Yes, we've seen David Duchovny do the talk show rounds. But Gothamist always knew we were never going to see his writing-and-directorial debut, The House of D, because, well, the idea of seeing Robin Williams play a mentally disabled janitor felt masochistic unless we were seriously medicated. And we think many people would agree with us - the people who cringe when we see Williams approach an awards show podium, when we are watching Access Hollywood, when somehow it's Jakob the Liar on cable. And today, A.O. Scott echoes everyone's fears with the first two lines of his review in the NY Times:

The reasons to avoid David Duchovny's unwatchable coming-of-age drama can best be summarized in a simple declarative sentence. Robin Williams plays a retarded janitor.

The bill passed by Congress for Terri Schiavo. And two sites from the AP on the matter: One is Euthanasia Research and Guidance Organization and the other is Terri's Fight.