EVENT: The Greenwich Village Antiquarian Book Sale is going on all weekend, so now is the time to go searching for that first edition you've been wanting on your bookshelf. You'll also find out of print books, maps and much more! Friday through Sunday // P.S. 3 [490 Hudson St] // Three-day pass $12 ART: Monday's interviewee, James Top, shows off his work tonight at the opening of his first solo NYC show, titled......

Roses or chocolate or, credit card be damned, both? Since time immemorial, men have spent February 14th scrambling to buy the right things without paying through the nose. But now there's a way to get both classic gifts in one package, and have some of the proceeds go to a good cause, thanks to Rhonda Kave of Roni-Sue’s Chocolates. Roni’s Roses are exquisite truffles packed with rose flavor as we found out upon tasting......

We interviewed hundreds of people this year, from long-time rockers to the designer of New York’s subway map. Here are a few conversations you may have missed:On the day Radiohead’s In Rainbows was released exclusively online, musician Jonny Greenwood talked about the “experiment.” Doctor for the uninsured Jay Parkinson told us how to save $1,250 on our next MRI. Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz wondered why they can't make a quiet truck. Actor/Director John Turturro......

After a video of a man being harassed and beaten by a group of teens was publicized by The Smoking Gun, some wonder if the tape is real. The main reason why most people suspect it could be staged is because the teen who filmed the incident is an aspiring filmmaker. Seventeen-year-old Kadejra Holmes told The Smoking Gun she didn't have anything to do with the attack and then took the video off YouTube. Her......

Mike Nelson has been working day and night at the abandoned Essex Street Market to create what he calls A Psychic Vacuum. The space has been closed off for 13 years and is now home to Nelson's first major New York exhibition. The 6,500 sq foot installation is a labyrinth of 10 rooms that create a fictional world with inspiration from the world outside its doors. Upon the opening of the space last week......

NY Mag's Best of New York is out. Want to know what's good in your hood? Here's a handy little chart that will direct you to just that. Here's a glance at some of the more fun categories: Best impromptu dance party: No Malice Palace, 197 East 3rd Street (take that cabaret laws!). Best zoo animal: Sasha the Siberian tiger, Bronx Zoo. Cheap men's haircut: Frank's Chop Shop, 19 Essex Street. (Wu-Tang Clan and actor......

After much speculation on Gridskipper and Eater, Shopsin's, the infamously cult-like diner in Greenwich Village, has definitely closed for good. NYC Nosh got an email from Kenny Shopsin: Yes we are closed for good. You should read this sentence with emphasis on the last word. My family and I have a strong sense that there is an art to staying small, and humble. Our departure is a happy event meant to continue the success......

The New York Times takes a close look at the Essex Street Market, a Lower East Side institution that's been doing business since 1940. Although the market was only 60 percent full five years ago, its low rent and the steadily increasing income stream of many in the neighborhood have led to a rejuvenation. But not everyone who walks in the door is a LES trust fund hipster with extra cash to spare. Saxelby Cheesemongers......

Calling J. Jonah Jamison! Animal points out some rubbery impediments to people's daily lives: Artist Jasmine Zimmerman's rubber band installations. There are photographs of the Essex Street subway station entrance, parts of Tompkins Square Park, and other walkways covered with the bands. Animal has her full artist's statement, but here's an excerpt:The installations alter urban traffic environments, such as crossing staircases or busy sidewalks on the streets of Manhattan, inviting the pedestrian to reinvent......

In another life, Gothamist may have been a mouse. That's how much we love cheese. It makes us really, really happy (sometimes to the degree that we could swear it gives us a high). We were thrilled to see that some people agree with us--in a recent Chowhound discussion on fromageries a contributor said, "I just took a piece of perfectly ripened Torta del Casar and ate it in my hands around the corner and......

When we hear the phrase "American cheese," images of cellophane-wrapped neon orange slices leap to mind. Scary stuff. Anne Saxelby seeks to change that with her new shop, Saxelby Cheesemongers, which opens in the Essex Market in the beginning of May. Saxelby's shop will focus entirely on American cheeses -- cheese from dairies all across the U.S. Saxelby worked at the legendary Murray's Cheese as a cheese maven, and then worked at several farmstead dairies......

When Gothamist started this feature, back in the day, at the dawn of the day, really, the thought was to revisit bars as well as review new ones. But we got a little distracted. Between looking for Lillie and trying to get to Caddyshack, the new venture by Brooke Webster of Meox Mix, in Brooklyn and all the blind dates, well, you know. (Or you ought to anyway, because we blacked out.) Recently, though, we......

The estimable Aaron of 601am, Jake, and I are planning a Gothamist-601am Happy Hour on Thursday June 19, at Smithfield on Essex. We hope to see some of our readers there. Smithfield has outdoor space, too, for any smokers, although you can create your own pick-up scene in the front, too, we guess. (And, yes, Lockhart, we were thinking about having it on your doorstep, but decided we couldn't be that easy first time......