Ten of the world's most competitive eaters faced off in Times Square yesterday for the Famous Famiglia pizza-eating contest, and Joey Chestnut, the reigning hot dog-eating champion, emerged victorious by consuming a record-shattering 45 slices in 10 minutes. Chicago's Patrick Bertoletti, who held the previous record at 22 slices in 10 minutes, placed second yesterday with 43 slices. To win the $5,000 prize, Chestnut ate nothing but protein supplements for two days and drank......

The eyes of the Competitive Eating world (all two dozen of them) will be fixed on Times Square this Sunday for the first-ever World Pizza Eating Championship, set to kick off sometime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Military Island. Trumpet flourish! Competitors will include Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, the 2008 Hot Dog Eating Champion; Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, "a mohawked chef from Chicago" (according to the press release; Tim "Eater X" Janus, the 4th-ranked......

Vintage Irving: Hey everybody, there’s a new wine bar and small plates place opening! Now you have a zillion and one to choose from – except this one’s different, at least a little; it features a cozy private tasting room where the owners plan to host sommeliers and celebrity chefs, starting with Top Chef survivor Sam Talbot, Eater reports. In the meantime, the public is free to enjoy what Strongbuzz describes as the “countryside café”......

Di Fara Pizza in Midwood may be revered by everyone from Brian Chase from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to New York Mag’s Josh Ozersky – who makes a point of living within walking distance of the joint – but Gotham City Insider is not impressed. After a recent visit, she slams the thin crust pizza mecca as “a spot for tourists to take pictures of an old man cutting basil onto a pizza.” And furthermore:......

Newsday is reporting that beloved coal-oven pizza institution Grimaldi’s was shut down today by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The paper's website has it that the Brooklyn restaurant was seized because of over $150,000 in tax warrants. Agency spokesman Tom Bergin told Newsday that Grimaldi's has been in a dispute with tax officials over allegedly unpaid state sales and withholding taxes for two years. And yet... we swung by Grimaldi's......

Slice's Adam Kuban takes his life into his hands by conducting a taste test of all the slices in his neighborhood, Park Slope. Although Kuban claims to have learned secrets of such intense pizza samplings "like only sampling slices, not entirely consuming them," he still manages to ingest over 15 slices in some way, shape, or form. In the mozzarella-hazed-aftermath, Kuban deems Tomato & Basil (226 Fourth Avenue, 718-596-8855) the "best in the Slope overall.........

THEATER: The audiophiles who make up Radiotheatre are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the first King Kong film by reviving their aural homage on Tuesday nights in June. Using contemporary technology to create a lavish sound design that, er, apes the old-timey radio aesthetic, the show is a lush treat for the ears, though not so much for the eyes. But who wants to look at that hairy beast anyway? Tonight you can close your......

Top photo: Focaccia at Palermitana; Primo Sale at Lioni Latticin. The price of the average pizza slice in New York continues to rise dramatically with the price of flour, taking mozzarella cheese and other assorted toppings with it. But not in Bensonhurst. Places like L&B Spumoni Gardens have in fact raised their grandma slice prices because of flour. But at $2.25, it’s merely a quarter more than this time last year. And that's a......

Jersey based pizza fanatic Scott Wiener (pictured) may have found a way to turn his appetite into a career with his just-launched Pizza Tours of New York City. Every Sunday, Wiener will escort up to 32 ravenous adults on a pizza tasting odyssey to half a dozen pizzerias stretching from Lombardi’s on Spring Street to Louie & Ernie’s in the Bronx. The licensed New York City tour guide is charging $55 a person for the......

A Wired reporter bemoaning the pizza backwater that is San Francisco rang up Mario Batali to find out why New York Pizza is so magnificent and got an intriguing theory out of the celebrity chef: New York’s old pizza ovens “capture the gestalt of beautifully cooked pizza.” A food development consultant believes Batali’s abstract ‘gestalt’ is, to scientists, vaporized ingredients that become “volatilized particles and attach themselves to the walls of the baking cavity. The......

The owner of a Papa John's in Norwalk, CT uploaded footage of a delivery car being robbed of a GPS system and an iPod to Youtube, hoping the community would be able to help identify the thief. Co-owner John Koch explained that after he told customers and employees about the robbery--which took place in the parking lot (a man seems to case the parking lot and then grab the items from an unlocked Toyota......

Photographs of Senator McCain at Verrazano Pizzeria by Mary Altaffer/AP Senator John McCain headed visited New York today. He stopped off to appear on The View in Manhattan and discussed a homeowner aid plan in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. And while in Bay Ridge, he went to Verrazano Pizza on 4th Avenue and 91st Street and bought a $3 slice of pepperoni pizza. He told the counter worker to keep the change from a $20,......

Last night, Gothamist and Slice had our second pizza party at Fornino in Williamsburg. We want to thank those of you who attended and hope that everyone had as much fun as we did. Michael Ayoub and his staff served up a whopping 360 pies--18 different types, from the margherita classica to a decadent tartufo pie--over the course of the evening as well as some other tasty treats including fresh mozzarella and a black truffle......

East Village pizzeria Artichoke has been open a scant two weeks, but the blogosphere is already abubble. All it took was one avid pizza geek kvelling to Slice that it’s on a par with Brooklyn's acclaimed Di Fara Pizzeria. This initial report led many to assume that this standing-room spot models its pies after those turned out by Dom De Marco, the maestro of Midwood. The only similarity between Di Fara’s and Artichoke is the......

Almost exactly two years ago, Gothamist and Slice had a pizza party at Fornino in Williamsburg. It's been a long time, but we're happy to announce that we're having another pizza party at Fornino on April 7th. When: Monday, April 7th from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. (or longer) Where: Fornino, 187 Bedford Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Bedford stop on the L) What and How Much: All you can eat pizza, unlimited drinks (beer,......

It could be argued that all pizza is by definition "ethnic," but some pizzeria fare is especially deserving of this designation. Ethnic Pizza Patrol strives to find unique cultural interpretations of this classic New York City food. Expect piping hot tips about New York City pizzerias that feature an ethnic twist on pizza or combine a pizzeria with another concept, i.e. a taco joint; or manage to do all of the above. Once this......

Left cover by Gretel sent to subscribers, right runner-up cover by Wieden + Kennedy. New York’s Best of New York lifestyle catalog is out, and among the rightful winners, like Best Old School Lobby: The Chrysler Building and Best Dive Bar: Mars Bar, there are some curious ‘bests’ to ponder. In the New York Classics section, for instance, the sterile, six-month old Music Hall of Williamsburg is hailed for its “unequaled” sound and sightlines. This......

On Moore Street in Bushwick, you'll be hard pressed to find a better place to eat than Roberta's, the newly opened and very discreet wood-fired pizza haven. A fire engine red wood-fueled oven with the restaurant's namesake painted in white churns out thin and perfectly crispy pizzas (and the occasional calzone) for a spacious wood-paneled room with a cafeteria-table set up that still sports remnants of industrial garage doors. Cash only, and BYOB, Roberta's......

Tired of squandering your mornings laboriously spreading cream cheese on your freshly defrosted bagel? Kraft Foods, Inc. is here to blast you and your breakfast into the 21st century, with their new line of frozen bagels that come pre-filled with cream cheese! They’re called Bagel-Fuls, and they’re expected to hit stores in April after an “integrated” marketing campaign that’s sure to feature commercials with New York “characters” hailing this new revolution in bageldom, maybe the......

Photo of pizza by Tien Mao Just last week, the Crosby Connection opened in its new location, continuing its tradition of serving delicious, reasonably priced sandwiches. If you were fortunate to get to Crosby early enough last week, owner Joey Cramarossa was giving away samples of a pizza that he planned on selling from his new location. When we previously talked to Cramarossa, he said that there was nothing like this pizza in the......

Last month, one of our favorite sandwich shops, The Crosby Connection, lost its lease on all of its 45 square feet on Crosby street. But yesterday, the sandwiches - and salads - were available without missing a beat, just a few blocks removed at Parisi Bakery on Elizabeth Street between Houston and Bleecker. It's "Crosby at Parisi"! Owner Joey Cramarossa is now working out of the front part of Parisi at 290 Elizabeth Street.......

This week in the Times, Bruni one-stars Primehouse New York . Calls it “an estimable [steakhouse], with virtues that will rightly earn it the affection of many discerning carnivores and give it a solid chance in a competitive field.” On the downside, the quality of the meats isn’t always quite what it should be, service is uneven, and beyond the steaks, the menu doesn’t have much to offer. In Dining Briefs, Bruni revisits One if......

Food bloggers from around the world are offering delicious prizes as part of Menu for Hope 4. Menu for Hope is an annual fundraising event hosted by Chez Pim. Last year, Menu for Hope raised an incredible $62,925 to help the UN World Food Programme feed the hungry. Want more details? Well, here’s the FAQ. From December 10-21, you can buy raffle tickets to bid on any on the food-related prizes being offered. Tickets cost......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a person fatally injured under a train at 77th St. in Manhattan, a shooting at Neptune Ave and West 35th St. in Brooklyn, and a shooting on 133rd Ave. in Queens. A 24-year-old man killed his mother and brother and then dumped them in the Harlem River. Young teenagers are clamoring to learn about sex. Mayor Bloomberg feels that city parking placards are being abused and will start cracking......

It could be argued that all pizza is by definition "ethnic," but we think some pizzeria fare is especially deserving of this designation. Ethnic Pizza Patrol strives to find unique cultural interpretations of this classic New York City food. Expect piping hot tips about New York City pizzerias that feature an ethnic twist on pizza as we know it; combine a pizzeria with another concept, i.e. a taco joint; or manage to do all of......

The holidays are upon us, which means that it's busy season, and you probably have little time to do the grocery shopping, let alone cook yourself a hot dinner. Gothamist opted for one solution at the Whole Foods Market on Bowery, the megalith of a grocery store that you either love for its fromagerie, Ciao Bella gelateria, and free wi-fi upstairs--or hate for being so enormous you find it impossible to find anything--which offers......

Lately we've had tacos on the brain, particularly those that involve organ meats and creepy crawlies some folks consider to be Fear Factor fare. Given our taste for the bizarre, it may be hard believe that there are times when we crave nothing more than a simple pork or beef tongue taco. Last night at about 1:30 a.m., we found ourselves in such a mood. As luck would have it we also found ourselves......

At the end of a row of newspaper boxes lining a street in Corona Plaza is an orange number offering a free publication titled, "This Is What I Eat." The eight-page newspaper is also being given out at a nearby Associated Supermarket. The design screams supermarket circular, but "This Is What I Eat" is actually a public art project created by Stephanie Diamond. Diamond asked the residents of New York City's most diverse nabe about......

Last month Remy Ma, after a night out at Pizza Bar in the Meatpacking District, shot her friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph. Oops. The 23-year old survived the rapper's wrath, and Remy Ma went to Riker's. The altercation began after Barnes-Joseph was believed to have stolen $3,000 from Remy Ma, something that is still unconfirmed. According to the victim, instead of calling 911 after the shooting, Remy went through her purse while she bled from two shots......

Today's new and narrow NY Times Metro section features a battle over pizza propriety. The Times reports Papa John's Pizza is opening right next door to Johnny's Pizza, a 39-year-old Sunset Park institution. John Miniaci Jr. whose father started the pizza parlor in 1968 is none too happy about this development and not just because Papa John's is a blight upon the very word pizza: Miniaci's father died just a month ago. In fact John......