Just how well do you know your morning snack? [Cue ominous music] Find out tonight at KGB Bar when Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, reads from his book. Koeppel’s dedication to unpeeling the history of the fruit (turns out it’s actually a berry) admirably resists puns like the one found at the beginning of this sentence, and what seems at first to be another “single item......

When William Gottlieb died in 1999, he left behind an estate worth hundreds of millions (if not near a billion) that included over a hundred buildings, many in Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking district. His sister Mollie Bender was the sole beneficiary of his will, and with her recent death, her daughter is now fighting with her brother for control of the estate. Cheryl Dier and her son Michael Corbett argue that many of......

May 3: Cheezapolooza III: Naked vs Cooked Nolita House hosts cheese gurus Waldemar & Nadia as they feature six of spring's best artisanal cheese both unadulterated and then all hot and melty. Nibbles include Piave Vecchio and Pancetta Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches; Mini Valdeon Blue Cheese Burgers on Brioche and Four Year Aged Gouda Mini Mac & Cheese. You'll get drink tickets for a glass of wine or beer selected to pair with the each......

The Tribeca Film Festival is starting this Wednesday night, so you still have a few days to get your tickets and make dinner reservations. The New York Times gave a few local suggestions including Dennis Foy, Mai House, and Turks and Frogs. Cercle Rouge is offering a prix fixe, three-course menus for lunch ($19.95) and for dinner from 4 - 7 p.m. ($34.95), just for the occasion. Some of our other Tribeca favorites include Landmarc,......

For someone who graduated from college just last year, Ohio native, Soho-transplant Jill Donenfeld has really made a quick study of the New York food scene. As the founder of The Dish’s Dishes, Donenfeld oversees a team of kitchen ninjas she calls Culinistas™ (she also holds the word’s trademark)- who prepare meals en masse and in-house for clients using raw materials from greenmarkets, organic bakeries, and the subterranean caves of Murray’s Cheese, among other......

THEATER: We could try to describe Neal Medlyn's Coming In The Air Tonight, but why bother when there’s this: “The show features a variety of Phil Collins and Genesis music and is about how Neal is starting to slowly fall apart due to how he's all torn up inside from getting his heart broken into tiny pieces. It is also about how Neal steals a lot of stuff from people. Like their belongings and house......

In the world of traffic regulation/enforcement, we guess you should assume anything goes. Because this exchange on Streetsblog between Tribeca resident Charles Komanoff and the NYPD shows that even if there's a cop around to complain to, not much will come of it. Komanoff wrote to the NYPD:At 5:52 pm, a heavy-duty truck, probably in the 20,000-lb class, made an illegal left turn from Hudson Street onto Duane Street in lower Manhattan and drove west,......

"Those thinking of opening restaurants in the West Village have especially stiff competition these days with Little Owl and Waverly Inn among the notable newbies in the neighborhood. Throw two-week-old Blue Ribbon Bar into the mix and the the field only gets tougher, especially for those coveting tasty fare with an ever-so-chic atmosphere gracing the dining room. For those of you without hours to wait for a table at these coveted tables, but a......

The controversial proposal to turn the UPS lot on Spring Street and West Street into a place for 106 Sanitation trucks may align Donald Trump with critics of his planned Trump Soho Hotel. The Donald takes a break from blabbing about ladies of The View and tells the Post, "I don't like trucks, the fumes, the traffic from the standpoint of the community... If the community wanted help, I would certainly help." Still the Trump......

October 7: Beer on the Pier Drink up at the third annual Beer on the Pier, where you'll find brews from around the corner as well as from around the world. Spanky's BBQ will be offering food (not included in the ticket price), and $43.50 will get you a bottomless cup. Pier 94, 55th St at West Side Hwy. Two shifts: noon–4pm, 6–10pm. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit beeronthepier.com. October 10: Eat......

The police are trying to identify the man who was found dead Wednesday morning. The man was fully clad in leather - including a mask- and hanging from a fence at 424 Hudson Street, ignored by people who thought it might be an early Halloween prop until they realized it was a human corpse. The Post speaks to a witness who said the man was drunk and asking for money. The Daily News wrote that......

Strange mystery in the West Village: People found a corpse hanging from a fence on Hudson Street yesterday morning. The Daily News reports the body was "wearing all black leather, cowboy boots with spurs and a spiked dog collar" as well as a mask. And the Post writes the body of the 40-something man was "found kneeling, braced face-first against the fence," with the dog collar strapped around the fence. Though people called the police......

The saga of the 80,000 gallons of diesel fuel stored in 60 Hudson Street continues to rage on. The building is a "telecom hotel" - telecom companies store their equipment there - and during the 2003 blackout, the fuel was used to run backup generators. But residents argue that the amount of fuel is dangerous, citing the fact that the old 7 World Trade Center had half as much fuel and may have collapsed because......

If you've always wanted to give your pet a chance to strut its stuff in a parade - and maybe even meet Liza Minnelli - you must enter Fido or Fluffy in the Rubyfruit Pet Pride Pageant! The Pageant is next Saturday, June 24, but registration closes at midnight on Sunday, so think about your pet and these categories: - Cutest Pet - Pet & Person Look-Alike - Most Talented Pet - Proudest Senior Pet......

Plans are in the works to name all or part of Bleecker Playground after the steely activist and mother of three who helped lay the groundwork for New Urbanism. Earlier this week, Community Board 2 discussed the tribute to Jane Jacobs, who died last April at 89. It's unclear whether the naming will cover the playground, the sitting area and the pathway from Hudson to Bleecker, or just the sitting area and pathway. Some......

Hot 97, the city's biggest hip-hop and R&B radio station, will get the once-over 24-7 by the police as the NYPD is going to install one of their rather conspicuous surveillance cameras outside Hot 97's Hudson Street studios. "We'll keep it in place until Hot 97 is evicted or cleans up its act" is how a police sources explains the decision to the Daily News, as last week the rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard was shot......

- Yay! More Law & Order for next year - Good one: When you order stuff to make an Ecstasy lab at home from eBay, the feds will be watching out - as this Queens would-be E lab found out - NYC can use government "tracing data" to track illegal guns, in spite of Republican Congresspeople who tried to stop it - The NY Sun on the big downtown developments that may be threatening......

Today was the first day of the spring Bliss sample sale. And, of course, an eager Gothamist was there right at 8am. In a perfect world, we would all be able to afford to pamper ourselves with regularly scheduled Bliss facials and manicures. In the face of a less than bottomless bank account, however, the Bliss sale is a nice substitute. You won't find the full line of Bliss products (Gothamist assumes the sample sale......

NBC4 is reporting that Molly the cat escaped through a hole in the wall or ceiling of the building. They are displaying pictures of her looking reasonably healthy-- the crowd is going crazy. Kevin Clifford, a tunnel worker, pulled the cat through the hole-- apparently her tail and legs were trapped in the gutter space between the two buildings. Rock on! UPDATE: Main-stream media is all over the story! NYT: The Fraidy-Cat of Hudson......

The plight of Molly, the Myers of Keswick cat trapped in a wall, has captured the city's heart - or at least a few of its news station news trucks. The latest: The cat, who hasn't been seen in two weeks ever since disappearing into the Hudson Street structure, was seen by the NYPD's camera, but refused to come out. So Animal Care and Control set a "humane trap," in hopes Molly's hunger will draw......

Mom always said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That's why we're a little disappointed that the new, hip franchise Cereality has yet to open in the Big Apple. A cafe solely devoted to the love of Froot Loops, Cap'n Crunch, Cocoa Puffs and the like, Cereality sounds like the perfect compliment to the diner, pushcart and coffee house options we New Yorkers currently enjoy. That said, one New Yorker -......

It's true-- we often tell people that if there was any justice in this world, Hoboken would be New York's sixth borough (along with Bayonne, Jersey City, Weehawken, etc-- seriously-- check out this map-- the border between the states should have been drawn at the river on the other side of Jersey City, not in the middle of the Hudson, which should belong 100% to New York State.) Anyway, until we go to war......

- Downtown take-out joints rejoice: The Weinstein brothers lease thousands of square feet at 345 Hudson Street for their new company - Pedestrian death on 6th Avenue and 14th Street - Rising rents strike favorite gay pick up joint, Big Cup; Gothamist cries with you, as we've put in our share of faghag time there - Police don't think that Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum's "stalker" is that much of a threat - Critical Mass has......

The freight train derailment in the Bronx that blocked Amtrak service yesterday and is causing problems even today was bad (Boston-bound passengers had to take shuttle buses from Penn Station to Grand Central, then take the Metro-North to New Haven to pick up an Amtrak there - totally sucks), but Gothamist is a little more freaked out about why PATH service was held up during last night's commute: A building with a sagging wall. The......

Tribeca residents are upset that 60 Hudson Street still gets to house 80,000 gallons of diesel fuel. No, this fuel is not for a very cold winter, but for back-up generators since the building is a "telecom hotel" - a place for telecoms to store their equipment. The thing is that the old 7 World Trade Center had 40,000 gallons of diesel stored in its basement, and many believe that's why it collapsed, so 60......

…and it’s not recommended in the Wine Room at Philip Marie (glass door), however the Pinot Noir is pretty orgasmic. The “Wine Room” is a private tiny wine cellar with dinning for two tucked away downstairs at this West Village landmark. The cellar was first discovered as a coat-check room but behind a wall revealed a secret space with a trap door leading to a series of subterranean tunnels used as a Speakeasy in......

April 16th: Brewtopia World Beer Festival. This brewfest features unlimited samples from over 300 of the world's finest craft beers. Who can resist? If you're still wavering, you might want to know that the event's organizers will be making a donation to Citymeals-on-wheels, which provides hand-delivered meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers. Convinced yet? Tickets for each session are available online at www.brewtopiafest.com or by phone at 877-772-5425 and are $40 in advance and $50......

And you want to spend your limited funds on a few drinks with friends, but that doesn't mean you can't eat or need to limit yourself to instant ramen noodles. This week's New York Magazine surveys bars around town where you can take advantage of free food during happy hour. And although much of it seems somewhat standard (hot dogs, wings, pizza), there were a few standouts that seemed more interesting to our palates and......

New Yorkology helps solidify the list of Manhattan bars you can smoke in! NYology asked the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (someday, Gothamist will figure out what mental hygiene means because we know that we can't wash our brains) to compile the list, and here are six more bars, added to Karma Lounge in the East Village and cigar bar Club Macanudo on East 63rd that we knew about: Carnegie Bar & Books......

The Times looked at the changing face of Gansevoort Market, an area in the Meatpacking Distract that just won historic district status. The area is "bordered by 14th and 15th Streets on the north, Horatio Street on the south, West Street on the west and Hudson Street on the east." Both the restaurant owners and meatpacking unions are aligned in trying to manage development of the area so it does not lose its charm,......