Yesterday afternoon, Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping went to the Astor Place Cube to protest Starbucks' refusal to let Ethiopia to trademark coffees. The Ethiopian government tried to trademark coffee names, like Sidamo, Harar, and Yirgacheffe, which could bring nearly $100 million to farmers, but the US Patent and Trademark Office denied Ethiopia's trademark applications. Reverend Billy was arrested and taken to the 9th Precinct; we're guessing the Starbucks across from......

Call it a ghetto latte, call it bootleg latte - the real question is whether or not ordering a cheaper Starbucks item and then jazzing it up at the condiment station is right. The topic has been debated on Starbucks Gossip, after a reader noted that a customer managed to turn her iced grande and venti Americanos with shots into an "Iced Quad Venti Breve Latte and an Iced Triple Grande Breve Latte," saving almost......

- Lots of talk these days about absentee Chef’s and their far-flung empires. Here is Frank Bruni's Diners Journal round up, where he makes this observation: "I’m betting that if we had copies of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s daily planners for the last year, we’d see that he spent much more time at Perry St. and at Jean Georges than he did at Jo Jo, 66 or Vong. My assumption is based on my experiences at those......

Although Bon Appétit mentioned that food blogs were hot, we didn't get named specifically (a special shout out to NY-based Slice and The Food Section, though -- congrats, gentlemen!). But we're feeling hot anyway. Both New York magazine and Bon Appétit listed some of the hottest food trends, and Gothamist Food is right there with 'em, on the cutting edge. New York magazine highlights the city's love of pork, as Gothamist Food readers provide......