Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: three pedestrians struck on 65th St. and 7th Ave. in Brooklyn, a tourist bus vs. building incident on 51st St. and Broadway in Manhattan, and a train derailment on East 239th St. in the Bronx. 47 years ago, two planes bound for Laguardia and JFK collided over Miller Field on Staten Island in mid-air. As body parts, Christmas presents, and debris rained from the sky over Staten Island, 132......

The tcherek (sometimes spelled cherek) is a traditional, crescent shaped Algerian cookie stuffed with almonds that have been pulverized into a paste bound with orange blossom water and sugar. After the cookie is baked it is briefly steeped in more orange blossom water, then rolled in toasted almonds. Nomad’s tcherek recipe substitutes confectioner’s sugar for a less nutty exterior, and on the dessert plate ($6) of 4 house-made cookies at the East Village restaurant, what......

Last week a group of parents in the West Village were up in arms about the S&M street festival hitting a street too close to home. Yesterday the fest, which was part of New York Leather Weekend, hit Weehawken Street -- or shall we say whipped? Those in attendance perused a plethora of whips, chains, blindfolds and other S&M garb. Those not in attendance were undoubtedly plotting a way to make sure their children......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Hostages(!) on Geranium and Kissena Blvds. in Queens, a pedestrian struck at Stillwell and Mermaid Aves. in Brooklyn, and a bank robbery on Columbus Ave. and 72nd St. in Manhattan. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas says that the stress of lawsuits are no distraction. He can keep doing what he's doing regardless of legal problems. A boat full of gadget-minded men. There was a stop-off at Liberty Island; and slide......

Our mother gave us a bag of dried cherries the other day. She'd picked them up for herself, but after tasting them she decided that they weren't for eating. They were for baking, she said, and while she doesn't bake herself, she loves it when we do. In search of sustenance to get us through apple-picking last weekend (yes, it's apple season again!), we turned to those cherries at last. What goes better than......

Last Monday was one of those sweltering August days, which is why Gothamist was quite glad to kick off the evening at Kyotofu with the house cocktail, a refreshing combination of sesame shochu and raspberry. Refreshing as the cocktails were, we must admit that's not what drew us to Kyotofu that night. We were there to drink (and talk) sake. The Hell's Kitchen dessert spot was host to a tasting of sakes from Yamagata Prefecture's......

Sometimes for critics of critics, there's a desire for the critical to set aside the sniping and actually make something. Film critics and bloggers Andrew Grant of Like Anna Karina's Sweater and Aaron Hillis, a writer for The Village Voice, Premiere, and IFC News [pictured right to left] are doing something like that with the creation of their DVD distribution company Benten Films and the release of their first title, LOL on Aug. 28. As......

It was reported last week that the 71 year-old Hartsdale, Westchester Carvel -- the very first outpost of the ice cream shop -- will likely be demolished at the end of next summer to make room for businesses that presumably make more money. Yes, the 68% milkfat solid, sidereal softy known as Cookie Puss is crying tiny crunchy tears as we speak; Flying Saucers are slowing down for their final approach. While the building’s current......

We've gathered a bunch of our favorite ice cream recipes from some of the best food blogs we know to keep you busy and cool over the weekend. So, get busy in the kitchen and give these ice creams a taste this weekend: Hazelnut Cookie Sherry Vinegar Swirl Ice Cream (pictured) from Habeas Brulee Gianduja Gelato from Cafe Fernando Dulce de Leche & Nougat Ice Cream from R Khooks Tiramisu Ice Cream from Desert......

Rescue Dawn (directed by Werner Herzog) Christian Bale seems to be willing to undergo any amount of physical hardship for the sake of a movie. If you saw his scary transformation into the 120 lb emaciated insomniac in the 2004 film The Machinist you know what he's capable of in terms of "method" realism, but in Werner Herzog's newest fiction film, Rescue Dawn he goes even further. Portraying real life Navy pilot Dieter Dengler, who......

At the Ethnic Market highlights international specialty foods and ingredients that you're very unlikely to find at your local Gristedes One of the great things about Rego Park apart from all the Central Asian kebab joints and it being the home of graffitti legend Cost is all the treats at the Russian delis scattered throughout the neighborhood. Which brings us to the subject of today's find at the ethnic market: korzhiki. Think of these round......

We get our baking equipment at a number of places in town: Williams-Sonoma, Broadway Panhandler, Bridge Kitchenware, and they've each got a decent selection of baking sheets and silpat and tart molds. But when it comes to finding that elusive cake mold in the size that no one seems to carry, or the special tip for piping we can't find anywhere, there's one place that never lets us down: New York Cake Supplies. They carry......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a residential hi-rise fire on 10th Ave. in Manhattan, a double shooting on Beach Channel Drive in Queens, and a transformer fire at Barbey St. and Pitkin Ave. in Brooklyn. Entergy was fined $130,000 for not installing a warning siren system at its Indian Point facility by a required deadline. That would be the nuclear power plant that just had its safety rating downgraded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.......

- Is New York going to go the way of LA with posted letter grades for restaurant health inspections? - If you are getting your Seder meal planning underway, feel free to ping the experts over the NY Times with any questions you may have. Click here to email them a question or send it direct to diningqa [at] gmail.com. Funny how the Times even knows Gmail has great spam protection. - Sometimes not eating......

...back to the French Quarter, NOLA, that is: Next Monday the 12th from 6-8 pm at ACME Bar and Grill, join forces with the Culinary Corps, a group wielding a powerful combination of outreach, philanthropy, and culinary prowess -- something their website has dubbed “culanthropy.” In order to raise funds for their inaugural service-oriented trip to New Orleans taking place later this month, the group will host a light-duty fund-raiser at ACME; door prizes,......

Eric Greenspan might be the best chef you’ve never heard of. The 31 year-old Jersey born, California raised, and one-time New Yorker spent the better part of the last decade working his way through several top-rated restaurant kitchens- Bouley, Union Pacific, and Alain Ducasse to name a few- before landing his first high profile chef’s job at Patina in Los Angeles four years ago. Later, a stint at the highly-regarded but short lived Meson G......

You probably already know Jeff Newelt, a.k.a. "Jahfurry," and if you don't, he's probably waiting to meet you. The professional publicist, tireless connector, and man about town, goes out almost every night of the week, with several parties and people on permanent mental speed dial, his brain constantly buzzing with new ideas. Described by friends as a "human MySpace" (Anthony Lappé) and "an infectious force of nature" (Larry Smith), the 35-year-old Long Island native and......

VINYL SALE: If you're looking for some rare vinyl, you might want to check out this monthly event: Shakey's Record Fair. A meatpacking district locale seems...a little off, but as FreeNYC points out, if you're "looking for that super rare old school funktified 7"...Shakey's Record Fair is probably the only place you'll find it." 8pm // APT [419 W 13th St] // Free THEATER: Rules of the Universe is a new site-specific play performed in......

Gothamist recently trekked to Lai Yuen in Bay Ridge to sample what neighbors called (in punchy, Brooklyn dialect) “Chinese food to make Confucius proud.” Confucius likely turned in his grave at the suggestion that Lai Yuen’s Americanized offerings, while delicious, even remotely resemble the simple fare of his 5th century BCE brethren, but the experience was vivid nonetheless. It revealed, in white-gloved detail, the fading state of the disused Chinese restaurant concept; a fact which,......

Holiday cooking may provoke a state of panic as you try out a buche de noel or tuna tartare recipe for the first time, but Gothamist assures you that with local classes and instruction abound, the home-chef need not fear their next party. Gothamist recently attended a recreational class entitled "Make-Ahead Holiday Cakes" at the Institute for Culinary Education, located on 23rd Street between 5th & 6th Avenues, which granted five hours of delightful......

It's Law & Order: Concerned-Child- Who-is-a- Police-Officer Squad! An identity theft ring that targeted the elderly or people with "foreign-sounding" names was busted when a scammer called an old man, only to speak to an NYPD deputy chief - the man's daughter. Eleven people were indicted in Queens for duping people into giving up their credit card number, Social Security number, and other personal details. They would randomly call people, and one of the people......

If you’re hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs “so are you nakie” to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

If you have been reading along you know that last week the column covered tips to successfully producing a moist turkey and the week prior it was about how to select a turkey. This week the topic is what you can to serve with the Thanksgiving turkey. Gravy is mandatory, but everything else is up for grabs. We are going to leave stuffing and cranberry sauce up to other people, try looking at Kiri......

Taste of Chinatown started off as an annual event, but it was so successful that it's now held twice a year. We got a chance to see why the other night when we got to sample a few dishes from some of the over 50 restaurants that will be offering tastes for $1 or $2 this Saturday from 1 - 6 p.m. Don't forget to ask for a ballot so you can vote for......

If you consider yourself a New York pizza lover, there are a couple dozen pizzerias you must try before you can even pretend to know of what you speak. You may have heard that Patsy’s of East Harlem serves a floppy, lifeless slice. But throngs of loyal fans have lived and died by Patsy’s for decades, so if you want to talk intelligently about the pizza in this town, you have to go and......

Early Sunday morning, a couple policemen were injured while responding to a landlord-tenant dispute at a Bronx apartment building. And, no, the injuries weren't caused by the landlord or tenant - they were NYPD-inflicted. To top things off, they killed a pit bull as well. A sergeant, a lieutenant and three rookies were pursuing a pot-smoking teen, Lenin Acevedo, who kicked in the door of another apartment. That's when pit bull named either "Cookie" or......

This has been a rough week for your -ist pals, though you wouldn't know it from the great posts all over the network. Plagued with server problems, our tech team (led by the great Neil Epstein) toiled around the clock to solve the glitches as they arose. Seriously, we've said, typed, and thought the phrase "server problems" more in the past week than we have for the last 35 years combined. Why not say it......

A prosciutto that plays soccer, a Szechwan pepper who's a karate master, and a chocolate lollipop that bears a striking resemblance to Mr. Hanky. These are but a few of the colorful characters inhabiting the Javits Center during the past few days. It's the 52nd Annual Fancy Food Show, when producers from around the world converge to hawk their goods to buyers. Not everything is gimcrackery though. Some of the next big trends in food......

It's cola craziness! Federal agents have busted three people, including one Bronx man, for trying to sell Coke's secrets to Pepsi. Ibrahim Dimson of the Bronx, along with two residents in Coca-Cola's homestate, Georgia, were charged with "wire fraud and unlawfully stealing and selling trade secrets." The Daily News reports that Dimson sent a letter to Pepsi offering "very detailed and confidential information" about a new Coke product. Not realizing that colas collude a little,......

TV on the Radio has put up five videos on YouTube for their upcoming release, Return to Cookie Mountain. The new cd was released worldwide on July 3rd - excluding, of course, the US. Looks like we'll have to wait until August. The video above was filmed at Staygold Studios on Wythe Ave in Brooklyn. If you missed the bands amazing show at Prospect Park last week (like we did) you can check out......