When Rafael Hasid shuttered neighborhood standard Hill Diner, it seemed that the promise of a proper Israeli breakfast was retreating ever further into the horizon. Hasid reopened the spot this month as Miriam, a second location of his modern-Israeli concept, which has held court in Park Slope since 2005. The Israeli breakfast survived the switch unscathed. Gothamist credits Miriam with breaking the falafel autocracy to which most Israeli restaurants in New York have resigned.......

Jeffrey Chodorow has it out for Frank Bruni, and we mean big time. In a full page ad in yesterday's New York Times dining section (at a reported cost of over $83,000), Chodorow a essentially called Bruni a hack with no real food or reviewing experience (see Bruni's bio here), and accused Bruni of personally attacking him rather than focusing on the food at his latest restaurant, Kobe Club. In a rather deliberate move, he......

Well, that was probably inevitable-- after the October 10th fire, the city inspected Broken Angel and declared the building unfit for human habitation. The Times says a lot of work is necessary to bring the building up to code: In conducting last week’s inspection, Bryan Winter, the department’s deputy borough commissioner, found a "50-foot vertical extension” and a “15-foot vertical extension" at the top of the building, Ms. Givner said. "That means no permits,......

August 5: A Walking Chocolate Tour of New York This Saturday and every Saturday at 1:00 pm, Chocolate Zoom presents a chocolaty view of our fair city. The first leg of the tour starts off in Soho, where you will get a chance to sample treats from Mariebelle, Vosges, and Kee’s Chocolates. Next, a quick jaunt uptown for five more chocolatiers. More details provided at the Chocolate Zoom website. $50.00 per person (adult or child).......

Willie Neuman points out an interesting conundrum in today's Big Deal (third item). If a developer with a known history of building oversize and then biting the cost in sheer profits comes into your neighborhood and makes a play to build an oversize building there, what do you do? What if the property in question is an enormous pit? That's exactly what has happened in Borough Park where Mendel Brach, a specialist at the......

The eternal Sunday riddle: Should you have breakfast or lunch fare at brunch? It's one that Gothamist can sympathize with on a regular basis. Sometimes you just can't decide. And, that's why we were so delighted to come across a dish called Ajhi at Tripoli Restaurant, a Middle Eastern fave on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn specializing in Lebanese cuisine. Ajhi is a Lebanese omelet made with fresh herbs, onions, pine nuts, and ground lamb. Sounds......

NYC Transit Authority is putting the subway photo ban back up for vote with the MTA board! Back in September, it seemed like the MTA was moving away from a full-blown ban. However, an amended proposal that would have put a ban on photographing sensitive areas, like dispatcher's room and towers (as the Daily News reports), was rejected. The full-up photo ban was officially proposed in the State Register (PDF) last Wednesday. Subchat speculates......