Starting in January, some of New York's top restaurants and chefs will take turns offering menus inspired by 19th century banquets, as part of Zagat's "NYC Vintage Dinner Series." Each chef will host a one-day-only event where, according to Tim Zagat, guests can enjoy an "unforgettable dining experience with dishes that have largely disappeared in the last 100 years." The series was unveiled at a press conference at Le Bernardin this morning. Although none of......

The Employees Only crowd have joined forces with David Waltuck (chef/owner of Chanterelle and 2007 James Beard Award winner) to open Tribeca's Macao Trading Co., a big funky restaurant packed with antiques to evoke "the 1940s portside feel of Macao’s red lantern district." The space is bi-level and the menu's bi too, with Macao's history as a Portuguese colony reflected in both Chinese and Portuguese versions of ribs, bass tripe. Meals are served family-style in......

Boqueria Soho is the spacious new outpost of the decidedly smaller Flatiron district tapas joint, named for a food market in Barcelona and beloved by Times critic Frank Bruni for its "charismatically bustling, remarkably warm scene." The second location keeps the warm vibe while more than doubling in size, with room for 70 diners in the 2,300-square foot room. But the focal point here is the open kitchen, which is surrounded by a 12-seat chef’s......

If there was ever a time to open a glamorous new bi-level restaurant in midtown, this ain't it. But you've got to admire restaurateur Rohini Dey for going through with this NYC outpost of her acclaimed Indian-Latin American restaurant, called Vermilion in Chicago and At Vermilion here. If you build "At," they will come—and hopefully they'll still have a line of credit available. Her ambitious new location features a double-height water curtain, a 22-foot metal......

When Sam Buffa, co-owner of the Freemans Sporting Club Barber Shops, went on his first impromptu date with his bride-to-be Jean Adamson, who was then head chef at Freemans, their night ended in Vinegar Hill, the quaint little neighborhood bordering DUMBO. So it's kind of sweet that their new labor of love is opening in a 19th century carriage house right where they started, and now reside. They've spent the last four and a half......

As Andrew Sullivan simply stated, "Say goodbye to the rest of your day." Google is now hosting an exhausting millions of images from LIFE's archives, "stretching from the 1750s to today." Here are a few NYC gems, and if you're looking for more of old New York, we'd suggest having some search keywords in mind to make it a bit less overwhelming!......

Macy's Parade Studio in Hoboken opened its doors yesterday for children from various New Jersey elementary schools to get a preview of this year's eight new floats and four new giant helium balloons. Disney's new Bolt movie was represented, but the real star was a freaky display of Woodland creatures celebrating the first Thanksgiving. (Or celebrating their first acid-fueled orgy?) And if you grew up on the Smurfs, you'll be happy or appalled to know......

Five of New York's secret supper clubs joined forces over the weekend for the epic Undergrounds Unite dinner party at a capacious, bi-level loft in the shadow of the Empire State Building. On Saturday night the place was packed with 165 gourmands who had found their way there in the rain by following a series of cryptic instructions—enter a bar on 35th Street, look for the man learning how to cook everything, ask him for......

New York, meet the bike rack of the future. Today the DOT announced that after a lengthy design competition, a jury of six—including sodden cyclist David Byrne—chose "Hoop" (pictured) out of the ten finalists. It's the work of two Copenhagen designers, Ian Mahaffy and Maarten De Greeve. "Constructed of cast metal, the design is elegant yet sturdy enough to withstand New York cyclists’ harsh treatment," the DOT said in a statement. Mahaffy and De......

The 1930s were a time of breadlines and Hoovervilles (homeless encampments); there was even a shanty town in Central Park for a few years, in the former Lower Reservoir of the city water supply system. As New York is struggling through a new financial crisis, take a look back at the city as it developed during the Great Depression.......

Photographer William Eggleston got famous in 1976 when his photographs—derided by art snobs for their bold departure from black and white—were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. According to the Times, the controversial show, with its emphasis on the lifestyles of everyday Southern folk, was received with such dismissive comments as "Perfectly banal, perfectly boring." Now, of course, his work is considered iconic, and the photos' abiding popularity is due in no small part......

The artsy technology geeks at Eyebeam really outdid themselves with last night's sold-out "MIXER Underground" by turning their warehouse-size Chelsea space into an elaborate labyrinth and rock club. The place was swarming with giddy artists who must have spent weeks building their massive DIY creation, and the enthusiasm was contagious, evoking the spirit of the old Rubulad parties when they started in pre-gentrified South Williamsburg. There was a robotic bartender hidden away behind a fake......

Famed restaurateur and one-time blogger Jeffrey Chodorow has just opened up Center Cut in the Empire Hotel, and if for some reason a vegan had to eat a steak—say, to win a million dollars or get Fugazi back together—this would be the place to force it down. The theatrical 190 seat restaurant, complete with bar and lounge, is serving "steakhouse classics" using naturally-raised meats, free-range fowl and sustainable seafood. Their catchphrase is "where style and......

The 11th annual New York Chocolate Show is taking over the huge Pier 94 space at West 55th Street this weekend, and the serotonin surge started last night with a colorful "Super-Hero" chocolate fashion show. Almost everything you see the models wearing here is edible, and the sweet threads will be displayed on mannequins until Sunday or until someone breaks past security and eats them, whichever comes first. But take it from us; security is......

Yay, another massive cruise ship to fill our oceans with sewage and sludge so that bored pensioners can distract themselves from their impending deaths is being built in Finland, and this one's going to be the biggest one yet! Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas has a 1,200-foot-long hull that rises 213 feet above the waterline and displaces 220,000 gross register tons. That's 42 percent grosser than the Independence of the Seas, which was......

NY Magazine threw their 10th Annual tasting frenzy last night at Skylight, with chefs from dozens of the city's best restaurants corralled to raise money for City Harvest. Some of the bolder-faced names included April Bloomfield from The Spotted Pig and, supposedly, Tom Colicchio, but he was nowhere to be seen at the Craft table when we were there. As for the food, the big standouts of the night were definitely L'Ecole's Smoked Arctic Char......

Every time theatrical glam-prog rockers Apes and Androids take the stage, it feels like Halloween. You can always count on a Busby Berkeley-size supporting cast of costumed dancers, massive paper mache demon heads, neon boats sailing through the crowd, stilt-walkers, confetti, balloons and vast mountains of glitter. And their shows that actually coincide with Halloween—in '06 at The Annex when they recreated Michael Jackson's Thriller in 3D, and last year at an obscure Williamsburg loft—have......

Nightlife impresarios Cornelis Craane and Paul Coleman Drohan, whose pedigree extends to old school clubs like Palladium, The Roxy, and China Club, have just opened this new venue that hearkens back to the messier '80s era of NYC nightlife, before the hedge fund bros took over with their $1,000 bottles of Absolut. Located in the Flatiron District, the duo hopes The Imperial will "recreate a fantasy playground reminiscent of the Warhol-Basquiat club days where art......

Award-winning architectural firm Bentel & Bentel has just unveiled Rouge Tomate, an ambitiously designed bi-level restaurant in midtown that's founded on the principal of S.P.E. (Sanitas Per Escam, Latin for Health Through Food). It's the first New York location of a Belgian chain started by a former Mercedes-Benz salesman. In keeping with the eco-friendly approach, executive chef Jeremy Bearman (L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas and db Bistro Moderne here in NYC) is committed......

Originally designed by Plaza Hotel architect Henry Hardenbergh in 1907 as a men’s bar, The Oak Room closed during Prohibition and re-opened in 1934 as a full-service restaurant. The interior is a city Landmark, as is the Plaza Hotel, which reopened in March (after extensive renovations) as a hotel and luxury condominium, where some tenants complain of loneliness. The Palm Court, that other famous eatery in The Plaza, also reopened in March to derisive reviews......

You didn't think you'd get out of here without some more ADOWABLE doggy costume photos to brighten up this nasty rainy day, did you? These heartwarming shots were taken by Katie Sokoler on Sunday at the McGorlick Park dog costume parade. It would be just too much cute to publish all the photos here—we do have some restraint—so feel free to overindulge at her flickr set. And for the Halloween dog completist, here are our......

Top Chef fever is spreading like salmonella, and who among us can resist the hype, especially considering that the new season of Top Chef, premiering next month, was filmed here in NYC? Last week the Top Chef Truck concluded its tour in Union Square with former cheftestants Richard Blais and Andrew D'Ambrosi cooking for us in the tractor trailer's kitchen. And yesterday a slew of Top Chef stars, past and future, were wrangled for cooking......

So there's a new club in Chelsea opening tonight! It's called Citrine, and it's described in the press release as "Where the Beautiful Come to Play." So all you businesslike trolls can just return to the shadows of Marquee from whence you came! But if you're absolutely fabulous looking and so playful and long for "a unique blend of comfort and exclusivity," well, totally enjoy! It's located in the 2,200 square foot space formerly occupied......

As crews begin dismantling Olafur Eliasson's four arboricidal waterfall scaffolds, the mayor's office has released a report asserting that the economic impact of the installation was better than expected. When the waterfalls were turned on back in June, Bloomberg predicted the city would see some $55 million in revenue from the exhibition. A study commissioned by the city’s Economic Development Corporation says that the NYC Waterfalls generated an estimated $69 million for the city. According to City Room, that figure breaks down like so:...

Awww, are you ready to have your heart warmed up by 100 zillion watts of pure canine cuteness? While the furry masses crowded Times Square Sunday for the Fourth Annual Dog Day Masquerade, the city's well-heeled hounds opted for a more refined day of dress-up at Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side, where the annual Halloween Howl was as pup-ular as ever. Flickr aficionado "istolethetv" was all over it like Scooby on snacks.......

The burger and custard haven Shake Shack is getting ready to open its Upper West Side location some time soonish—they are still waiting for some paperwork). In the meantime, they're putting the finishing touches on the place, which has a much bigger kitchen (= faster service) and a rec room downstairs for rental (parties, events, presentations even) that will be open to regular seating when not rented. The space has a slightly raw feeling, with......

It was a sight to warm the hearts of dialysis clinic owners citywide: The massive, football field-size space la.venue at The Waterfront in Chelsea was overrun by 43 of New York's top pastry chefs and confectioners last night for the Food & Wine Festival's most anticipated debauchery. The event sold out before the Wall Street crash, and with tickets going for $175 a pop it's no wonder people queued up well before the doors opened......

Internationally acclaimed British artists Gilbert & George are getting their first American retrospective in more than two decades with an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum that opens tomorrow. On view are more than ninety pictures produced since 1970, including more than a dozen that will be seen only in the Brooklyn. The exhibit will be on view through January 11th and is the final stop an acclaimed international tour organized by the Tate Modern. Since......

The Department of Transportation's design competition for the next generation of bike racks entered its final phase yesterday with the installation of ten design prototypes around New York City. Nine of the ten finalists' prototypes were installed at Astor Place, and as of 6 p.m. yesterday they were almost entirely unused. It'll probably take a day or two before more cyclists discover the next-wave locking options in the Alamo island there, so for now it......

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