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 history” nonfiction food book (Potato, Salt, Beans, Caviar, Vanilla) at times brims with manic, even evangelical writing, but Koeppel has good reason: It turns out the modern banana crop is the lynchpin for more than a half dozen topical issues, everything from terrorism (including state-sponsored terrorism) to the locavore movement. more ›

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. more ›

May 3: Cheezapolooza III: Naked vs Cooked more ›

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. more ›

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 hand-picked sources. Donenfeld is also a soon-to-be cookbook author and the current writer of a weekly food intelligence one-sheet (available to DD clients). Gothamist sat down to talk shop with The Dish’s Dishes entrepreneur #1 last week at Jacques Torres on Hudson Street, and left with a recipe for squid salad. more ›

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 wares but also their thoughts and ideas…Over the course of which Neal gets progressively covered in more and more blood. The end. As if that weren't enough, it features special guest appearances by Kenny Mellman (of Kiki & Herb), Bridgett Everett (At Least It's Pink), and Adrienne Truscott (of the Wau Wau Sisters).” Read ye olde timey 2004 Gothamist interview with Medlyn. - John Del Signore more ›

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. more ›

"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. more ›

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." more ›

October 7: Beer on the Pier more ›

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 "rookie police officers, and residents" all had seen the man in the neighborhood around 4:30AM; it's also possible the man had been recently released from a psychiatric hospital. more ›

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. more ›

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 of its stored fuel. Apparently storing that much fuel is a city buildings code violation, but the city gave 60 Hudson a variance last year - perhaps because most of the fuel is stored underground, and then the above ground fuel is encased by fire resistant walls. No word on whether there's a fire-and-crash resistant ceiling, though. more ›

- Butch/Femme Fashion Showdown more ›

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 residents don't want the actual playground renamed. They say it could endanger funds for a restoration project and kids will be confused if it suddenly were known by a different name. more ›

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 in the bum by someone in his entourage who was upset he couldn't sit in on the interview. And the studio has had its share of incidents - a shooting outside Hot 97 while 50 Cent was inside, the whole thing that eventually sent Lil' Kim to jail...and there was that Tsunami song, which isn't really cause for police surveillance, but still, it's not a great moment in Hot 97's history. The owners of Hot 97's building will be meeting this week to discuss whether or not to keep the radio station on as a tenant. At any rate, the police assigned to monitor that camera will have to be well-versed in the rap world figures - we suppose Commissioner Kelly has instituted the "Hip-Hop 101" course for cadets? more ›

- And don't try the food at Whole Foods - The Company Bitch was banned after tasting a soy protein meatball, which means we will only know if something is terrible AFTER we pay for it more ›

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. more ›

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! more ›

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 her to it. ACC's field director Mike Pastore says, "We can put a man on the moon, but there's a cat that seems to be about four or five feet away. We got to pull this one off." Which is totally what Gothamist was thinking, because we've totally seen that Seinfeld. Maybe we can get Detective Fred, the undercover cat, working on this? more ›

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. more ›

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 with Jersey over the border, we'll just have to appreciate Hoboken from afar. Thankfully, others share our love for our neighbor to the west. This week Forgotten-NY got around to writing up a full tour of the area, complete with about a thousand pictures. Favorite facts: more ›

- College Humor takes on the Subway Scientologists... you know one day you'll see Tom Cruise there, peddling L. Ron's ware [via City Rag] more ›

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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 Hudson's mother lode of fuel is such a hot topic. Residents are worried that the building is a terrorist target, and Congressman Jerrold Nadler says, "Housing this much fuel in a residential area is a stupid idea, not to mention irresponsible, reckless and life threatening. We are asking for trouble." The city's stance is different: Since most of the fuel is stored underground, and whatever fuel above ground is supposedly protected by being "enclosed by floor-to-ceiling fire-resistant walls," then it's all okay! Mayor Bloomberg said, "Congressman Nadler has discovered something that has been in the papers for an awful long time. There is fuel stored there. Fuel to run generators in case of an emergency." Way to explain things, Bloomberg. Anyway, Gothamist wonders how the 80,000 gallons of diesel would be moved out of the building: Would there were tons of barrels being rolled out? And we like that this topic is out in the public, because now we know where not to move. more ›

…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 the 1920’s! This puts Benihana, and their flying shrimp to shame. more ›

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 at the door. Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th street between 6th & 7th Aves, two sessions: 1-5 pm, 6-10pm. more ›

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 our wallets: more ›

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 at 156 West 56th Street, Lexington Bar and Books at 1020 Lexington Avenue, Circa Tabac at 32 Watts Street, Kush at 183 Orchard Street, Hudson Bar and Books at 636 Hudson Street, and Grand Havana Room at 666 Fifth Avenue, 39th Floor. Many of these places are allowed to skirt the smoking ban because they also sell cigars; some charge a "smoking cover" if you don't buy a cigar, because a certain amount of the revenue needs to come from cigar sales. Also, you can smoke in the Campbell Apartment at Grand Central. more ›

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, or, rather, its grittiness. Reporter Michael Brick also dryly notes a "" Gothamist did chuckle over that. more ›