Designed to evoke the kind of joint where you'd plant a revolver in the men's room in order to shoot a corrupt police captain, the East Side Social Club opened last night, from the family behind such winners as Employees Only and Macao Trading Co. Located on East 51st Street in the former Montparnasse space in The Pod Hotel, the club is divided into three distinct sections: a bar in front with Art Deco accents; a fine dining room with classic checkered tablecloths in the center; and an elevated, semi-private back room divided by ironwork. It's open from 6:45 a.m. to 4 a.m., giving the public the opportunity to conduct "business" at all hours. (For the record, it's not literally a "club.") more ›

In the same way that Radiohead's seminal album OK Computer perfectly articulated the industrialized world's millennial unease, one Gothamist reader's photograph of a rat stuck in an Upper West Side sidewalk has become a universal metaphor for the pitfalls of urban living. We are all rats, trapped by the, um, race—until the city swallows us up and turns our death into a ridiculous website meme. Our inbox continues to pile up with submissions from readers around the world, who are immortalizing the poor rodent's passing with Photoshop. more ›

One of the season's more buzzed-about restaurant openings is The Breslin, which will soon be joining Stumptown in the trendy Ace Hotel in the Flatiron District. The hype in this case is not without reason, as the proprieters here are restaurateur Ken Friedman and chef April Bloomfield, of The Spotted Pig fame. more ›

With all this rain it may not seem very much like summer out there lately, but hopefully by the 4th will be all sunshine and fireworks. Here are some old images of New York City on Independence Day, courtesy of LIFE's photo archive. Man, people really packed on to those beaches! more ›

The festival continues through May 3rd, and while this year boasts less films than usual (approximately 150, down from roughly 200 last year), that also means it's a slightly more manageable festival. Last week Executive Director Nancy Schafer talked us through some of the fun events happening during the festival, which include free stuff like the drive-in movies and the fair street fair, the post-screening Q&A's with directors such as Spike Lee and Steven Soderbergh, and a "work in progress" premiere screening of the documentary, Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful. more ›

The AMTMoA (that's the Art Museum Toilet Museum of Art, for you philistines) is holding their first-ever call for submissions! Before you go trying to steal the royal throne at the Louvre, read on. The museum (which is online-only) holds "the world’s largest collection of images of art museum toilets taken at various art museums around the world," and they're currently seeking to build up their collection. "The site currently houses exclusive images ranging from the prestigious marble lavatory at the Metropolitan Museum of New York" to art toilets spanning the world. Interested parties can find more information about submitting an image here. And hey, Guggenheim (pictured), step up your game, alright. What a disgrace. more ›

As Andrew Sullivan simply stated, "Say goodbye to the rest of your day." Google is now hosting an exhausting millions of images from LIFE's archives, "stretching from the 1750s to today." Here are a few NYC gems, and if you're looking for more of old New York, we'd suggest having some search keywords in mind to make it a bit less overwhelming! more ›

Photographer William Eggleston got famous in 1976 when his photographs—derided by art snobs for their bold departure from black and white—were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. According to the Times, the controversial show, with its emphasis on the lifestyles of everyday Southern folk, was received with such dismissive comments as "Perfectly banal, perfectly boring." Now, of course, his work is considered iconic, and the photos' abiding popularity is due in no small part to Eggleston's costly use of the dye transfer printing method, which yields stunning colors. more ›

NY Magazine threw their 10th Annual tasting frenzy last night at Skylight, with chefs from dozens of the city's best restaurants corralled to raise money for City Harvest. Some of the bolder-faced names included April Bloomfield from The Spotted Pig and, supposedly, Tom Colicchio, but he was nowhere to be seen at the Craft table when we were there. As for the food, the big standouts of the night were definitely L'Ecole's Smoked Arctic Char with Pickled Tomato and Goat Cheese, Adour's Hazlenut Croustillant, and the Witch's Kiss tequila cocktail from PDT. more ›

Internationally acclaimed British artists Gilbert & George are getting their first American retrospective in more than two decades with an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum that opens tomorrow. On view are more than ninety pictures produced since 1970, including more than a dozen that will be seen only in the Brooklyn. The exhibit will be on view through January 11th and is the final stop an acclaimed international tour organized by the Tate Modern. more ›