April 5: Italian Festa to celebrate the paperback publication of George deStefano's An Offer We Can't Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America. A reading and signing, followed by a Sicilian wine tasting, with antipasti served. Free. Hunters Point Wines and Spirits, 47-07 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens. April 7: Russell Simmons & Jivamukti Yoga School hold a benefit for Farm Sanctuary, which provides a refuge for farm animals and works to end......

Ever open a bottle of champagne, only to have the contents bubble up and spill over, leaving you with a significant amount less than you started with? Gothamist recently learned a new trick to deal with this problem. Hold the bottle of champagne at a 45 degree angle when you pop the cork (which should be done very very gently, with as little noise as possible). Any bubbles that ensue will go straight up, but......

Whoa-- the New York State Liquor Authority has issued a fatwa against a bunch of bars on West Broadway in Tribeca. Their crime? Apparently they are located a little too close to a low-profile mosque located in one of the nearby buildings (the Sufi Masjid al-Farah at 245 West Broadway.). The SLA has issued summons to The Bubble Lounge, Cercle Rouge, and the Tribeca Tavern. Another bar, The Liquor Store, has already been denied a......

We know that all back gardens are not created equal. They are useful for for pretending you aren't still addicted to cigarettes or can keep your hands off your date in front of your friends. Some, like the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria are nearly always packed, others, like Commonwealth in Park Slope are a welcome addition to an established great neighborhood bar and yet others, like the promised back garden area of......

Today is Bastille Day, but, considering the differing opinions of the US and France regarding Iraq, the festivities in NY seemed tame. The Times wondered where the French were and one middle-aged French woman said, "I think there's so many French people in New York that most of them are probably somewhere else. Maybe they're in Brooklyn." The Times also has a feature on authors of books on how to understand the French, such as......