Many people have a strong preference when forced to choose between sweet and savory -- french toast or eggs, cupcakes or french fries, chocolate or cheese? These days, however, the line is getting blurred, with more pastry chefs entering the savory fray, like Sam Mason's Tailor and Pichet Ong's P*ong, both with menus that bring sweetness into entrees and a savory edge to desserts. A dash of coarse sea salt gives an added kick to......

City Councilman Simcha Felder's proposed legislation to fine people $1,000 for feeding pigeons has struck a nerve. Felder and other elected officials claim that pigeons' poop is harmful to New Yorkers and, therefore, various ways to limit pigeons' eating and procreating should be explored. But some pigeon lovers are unhappy with the level of vitriol directed at the city's unofficial bird. Hence the video from Animaniacs, "Goodfeathers" (it's 10 minutes, so settle in to......

Faces who are new to Greenpoint might best recognize Paloma for its owner and chef, Camille Becerra, a Season 3 Top Chef contestant (and early departure). Others might just head there for their touted “Urban American Cuisine,” a mix of restaurant, artspace, and convivial Greenpoint gathering spot that serves up food, drink, and oftentimes live music and DVD and television projections. Gothamist visited with a table of friends on a recent night after a......

Anne Burrell has barely gotten any sleep in the last month. Almost all of her time has gone into the opening of the new West Village restaurant Centro Vinoteca. Its small, trench-style kitchen features a pass window that looks out onto the bar area; the dining room itself is spread out over two levels with about 75 seats total. 1960’s era Italian glass chandeliers hang over the tables (“They make me think of Lite-Brite,” says......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: multiple auto fires at 51st Ave. and 11th St. in Queens, a fatal double shooting on Watkins St. in Brooklyn, and a fatality under a train at 47th St. and Queens Blvd. on the 7 line in Queens. A 12-year-old boy was arrested for throwing two plastic bottles filled with an unknown chemical at two women with toddlers at a Queens playground. The four victims were taken to hospitals......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Esca, calls chef Dave Pasternack a "fish whisperer" (um, OK Frank) and awards the restaurant three stars. "In an era when too many restaurants try to be everything to everyone," he says, "Esca has a specific agenda: show what the sea can yield." The restaurant was previously awarded two stars by William Grimes in 2000. In $25 and Under, Peter Meehan checks out the cafes at the......

While the calendar says Spring, the Greenmarket is still stocked with winter staples and given the unseasonably cold weather it would seem that the city's desire for first of the season asparagus and other first of the season treats may still be a few extra weeks off. With that in mind we browsed the apples, potatoes as well as the excellent meats purveyors who thrive in months where beef stews and roasted meats warm-up......

The Kensington-Ditmas Park area of Brooklyn is slowly becoming known for its restaurants and dishes, including the “haute barnyard” French Fries at The Farm on Adderley. Meanwhile, the wide swath of Coney Island Avenue running through the center of both neighborhoods remains a mainstay of ethnic restaurants from Prospect Park to Brighton Beach -- everything from all-night, tri-level Pakistani joints to Turkish baklava places. It’s sort of like the restaurant bustle of Jackson Avenue in......

Argentines are passionate about both soccer and steaks--luckily both can be found at Buenos Aires in the East Village. A moderately sized dining room with exposed brick walls, dark wood tables, and a few flat screen tv's is appropriate either for a celebratory dinner with family and friends or an afternoon soccer match with your pals. A selection of both hot and cold appetizers off the meat-heavy menu will satisfy a range of palates--from......

Having already taken caffeine addiction and the price of a cup of joe to new extremes, Starbucks continues to set new standards by planning to eliminate trans-fats six months earlier than the new ban actually requires them to. Metro-area Starbucks will be knocking trans-fats off of their menus beginning tomorrow and while most of their drinks are already free of the stuff, some of the foods they carry are chock full of `em. The Daily......

The defense attorney of one of the men accused of beating up an off-duty police officer says his client will be cleared. Police Officer Eric Hernandez so badly injured when a group of men beat him at a White Castle that he was seemingly unable to hear an on-duty police officer's request for him to lower his gun, only the other officer to shoot him. The Bronx DA released footage of an interview with the......

Ha! When it was revealed that frozen dessert chain CremaLita did not have low-fat or fat-free ice cream, we should have known there would be a lawsuit. The Post reports that Stephen Brandt sued Crema Lita, blaming his "severe health problems, including but not limited to cardiovascular problems, mobility problems and cancer [as well as the] negative self-esteem issues [that the] social stigma [of] excess weight gain carries [in today's culture]" on the misadvertised treat.......

- In honor of last weeks Day Without Food Blogs, we offer some food blogs whose names we like: Give Me Some Food A Full Belly I Was Just Really Very Hungry The Food Whore Go sign the petition on Net Neutrality if you have the inclination and time. - In honor of The Red Hot Chili Peppers' recent appearance on SNL, here is a random picture of The Amateur Gourmet's mom and Flea. We......

Down in our lower, Lower Manhattan work neighborhood, amongst the pizza places serving cheesesteaks and the catch-all spots trying to pull off turkey sandwiches, tossed salads and Udon, there are a few places that rise above the clutter. We utilize the following spots for lunch when we don’t brown bag it, you may find them handy if you are caught showing some visitors around the Financial District or you get dragged down to Century......

For many of us, the word "cafeteria" conjures up nightmares of cardboard pizza, soggy french fries, and the social agony of junior high school lunch room politics. Fortunately, those years are long behind us. Corporate cafeterias in New York are a far cry from anything we encountered in junior high, and the folks over at Cakehead want to hear about your office's cafeteria and just how good it is. They're accepting nominations for the best......

We adore Pearl Oyster Bar. The raw bar, the fried oysters, and of course, the lobster roll. Several weeks ago, when we first heard of Black Pearl, a clam-shack-style window tucked into the back of the East Village bar Julep, we were intrigued. When we read the New York Times review, we knew we had to go immediately, if not sooner. The review described the lobster rolls as "the real deal. Top-loading hot dog buns......

Over the weekend Gothamist had a chance to go to The Burger Joint on 3rd Avenue, which shouldn't be confused with Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridian. The Burger Joint is a no frills burger stop with very few options in the way of toppings - cheese and grilled onions. The burgers are almost slider size (think a little bigger than White Castle), so one might not be enough if you're hungry, but four......

There's nothing like a hot summer night to bring on cravings for New England seafood. Visions of clam shacks on the coast and tearing into lobsters at picnic tables were enough to send us racing to Pearl Oyster Bar the other night. Now the subject of the best lobster roll in New York has been hotly debated, but Pearl's has always landed near the top of the list. But don't forget the other items on......

The other night, when Bill Clinton went on Late Show with David Letterman to shill his heavy book, Gothamist was thinking about rumors that Clinton was weighing an offer to host Saturday Night Live. While Darrell Hammond's Clinton impression was great, the memory of Phil Hartman, playing a McDonald's eating, smooth talking Secret Service nightmare is burned in our memory. Whether it's stuffing a Sausage McMuffin in his mouth and almost choking (luckily Rob Schneider......

This Bastille Day we suggest you check out the Loser's Lounge tribute to that deceased French crooner Serge Gainsbourg. A traditional Loser's send up includes a medley of guest vocalists accompanying Joe McGinty and his band on the theme of the moment, tonight, Friday and Saturday, the spotlight is on Gainsbourg. An enormous influence on French music, Gainsbourg is known for such classics as "Je t'aime...moi non plus" and the duet he did with......