What does a $135 million Klimt buy you? The ability to charge $50 for admission to see it, apparently. The Neue Galerie, the tiny, gorgeous Fifth Avenue museum, received the $135 million painting as a gift from Ronald Lauder, and has been earning rave reviews from critics for the gilded Klimt painting, Adele Bloch-Bauer I. And now, it is putting a $50 price tag on the chance to see her on the gallery's usual closed day - Wednesday, as it rides a publicity wave. The Neue explained the price hike using the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which announced it was raising the suggested general admission to $20 last week, as an example, noting the Met's $50 admission on Mondays for special exhibits. We're trying to think of people who would pay $50 on Wednesday while they could pay $15 on other days, but we suppose those people might be scholars, tourists with a Klimt hankering, and those who can use a write-off. more ›

We're not going to lie- we've lost a lot of valuable holiday shopping time by not leaving our neighborhood during the transit strike. Well, that, and drinking in our apartment. Setting out to buy some of our friends presents, we were reintroduced to the wonderful advance that is drinking while shopping. Not the open bar of those scary Lucky magazine events (we'd rather not have a Manhattan dropped on camel colored Sigerson Morrison shoes) but the quiet moment between lines, between where we are going next and how much it is all going to cost. That is the beauty of places in the middle of all your shopping needs that served alcohol-in the last few hours we tried the high and the low- and were rejuvenated. more ›

Oddly enough, we didn't get many responses to our last post on winter drinks -- perhaps it was because, just a few short weeks ago, it felt more like spring than winter. But now that we've seen a few snow flurries and have had several occasions to bust out the hats, scarves and gloves, we're definitely ready for some boozy beverages to warm us up. Thankfully, the good folks at New York Metro gave us a roundup this week of where to find some warm drinks for the cold weather. Whether it's mulled wine at Cafe Sabarsky or Cafe Steinhof, the Green Tea Hot Toddy at Good World Bar and Grill, or the good old Irish Coffee (made with Clontarf in lieu of the more standard Jameson's) at Maggie's place, you'll stay warm when it's cold outside. So now that you're more in the mood, where do you go for your winter warmers? We know for a fact that if you're really nice to the bartenders at Otto, they just might concoct some special boozy goodness to go with their utterly decadent hot chocolate, and that Hearth serves some fantastic warm drinks, including the Kathy Madison, a ginger-infused hot cider with bourbon, which will warm up even the frostiest toes. more ›

Maybe it's the cold weather, but lately, Gothamist has been dreaming of escaping New York for a European city such as Vienna, Madrid, or Athens. Unfortunately, with the dollar's quick descent in relation to the Euro, it seems we won't be heading over there any time soon. more ›