A 27-year-old man died early Saturday after he was found bleeding from the mouth outside a Koreatown club in Manhattan. Police now believe that Michael Lin—who was missing several teeth when he was found by a waitress on the stairs near a second-floor entrance inside District 36 on West 36th Street near Fifth Avenue around 3 a.m.—may have fallen over a balcony. But cops are still looking into whether it was an accident or not. more ›

A 27-year-old man died last night after he was found bleeding from the mouth outside a Koreatown club in Manhattan. The victim, whose name hasn't been released yet, was found unconscious by a waitress on the stairs near a second-floor entrance inside District 36 on West 36th Street near Fifth Avenue around 3 a.m. Police confirmed that the victim's teeth had been knocked out, causing the bleeding. more ›

Manhattan's K-Town is busting out of its britches, with a less-than-zero percent vacancy rate on 32nd street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue forcing many restaurants to set up shop outside of the coveted main drag, the Wall Street Journal reports. more ›

Check out the newest openings of the new year. This time, we've got Japan invading Koreatown, some health food for all you resolutionaries, and the continued chainification of Union Square. more ›

Korean fried chicken has been on the radar of Manhattan foodies for quite some time, thanks to Koreatown's Bon Chon. But nowhere else in our fair city has this highly cravable treat spread its wings so rapidly as in Flushing, particularly around Northern Boulevard in the 150s and 160s. The number of restaurants in the nabe serving this delicacy invites comparison to the growth of Starbucks, but in a better, less evil way. There are at least a half-dozen spots, including a branch of Bon Chon. All sport eye-catching logos that emblazon both the walls and the stylish takeout bags, which impart the vibe of having visited a fried-chicken boutique. Given the exquisite taste of Korean fried chicken, we find such highfalutin packaging appropriate. more ›

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! more ›

This was the first film to shut down West 32nd and use it as a backdrop. I think it was very exciting for them to see something like this happening. It was a bit of a mad house at one point when we had Jun Ho Jeong (who is a big star in Korea and has a cameo in this film) show up. That was probably the biggest problem with crowd control we had. I think there were a lot of non-Koreans who came by and saw what was going on and had no idea why everyone was flocking this one Korean guy and then it exploded even more once those people realized John Cho () were there. We really energized three under represented parts of society – Koreans, stoners and sci-fi geeks. more ›

If you are easily distracted by the flashy signs and lights that decorate most of Korea Town’s restaurants on 32nd Street, you would easily miss E-Mo, a hole-in-the-wall that only sells kimbap, the Korean take on Japanese sushi. As much as we love sushi, we prefer kimbap because its hefty size resembles sushi on steroids and actually fills up our stomach, while dainty sushi inexplicably makes us feel hungrier. more ›

Tofu is like chopped liver in the world of haute cuisine—overlooked and undervalued. A handful of restaurants are challenging that attitude though by presenting dishes with tofu front and center. A few even take the next step and make tofu from scratch. At En Japanese Brasserie in the West Village, the menu makes a big deal over the homemade tofu, listing the timeslots that the kitchen makes up a batch each evening. It may seem like a silly touch, but on the other hand, you’d wait for a risotto or a soufflé, wouldn’t you? The white stuff here is surprisingly rich; you’d swear it’s laced with cream. You can order it warm or chilled ($7), but warm is better. And douse it liberally with the flavorful dashi broth on the side. You’ll be tempted to slurp the last morsel from the bowl. It only makes sense that tofu would be a signature dish at Morimoto, the latest restaurant created by the eponymous Iron Chef. Everything here is glimmering white; walking in feels like entering Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. The menu’s Yose Dofu ($16) is prepared tableside with the kind of panache you used to find only in fancy French places. The waiter sets down an earthenware vessel of warm soy milk, pours in a little salt mixture, and uses a little paddle to slowly stir in a most mesmerizing way. The pot is then covered and you’re instructed not to peek. Ten minutes later, ta-da—a solid pristine block of tofu. The accompanying sauce varies seasonally and recently included octopus and mushrooms. This represents a key principle in bean curd enjoyment: Tofu doesn’t have to be a strictly vegetarian food. In fact it’s most interesting when combined with meat or fish. Its allure (especially with soft tofu) is more in its texture than its taste. more ›

In February 2005, the first Pinkberry opened on a quiet street in West Hollywood by 32-year old Korean entrepreneur Hyekyung (Shelly) Hwang. The frozen yogurt fiends came in droves, forced the LAPD to write 1,000 parking tickets because the store's neighbors couldn't find a place to put their cars amidst the visitors' SUVs, and now Hwang has signed more than thirty leases for yet-to-be-opened Pinkberry stores around the country. more ›

Women in white coats move deftly in the window of the Koreatown section of 32nd Street forming tray after tray of fresh mandoo--Korean dumplings--at the aptly named Mandoo Bar. The main attraction are obviously the mandoo--theirs have thick doughy wrappers and the typical variety of meat and vegetable fillings, spiced up by the occasional inclusion of kimchi, the fiery Korean radish. We were partial to the goon mandoo, pan-fried dumplings filled with pork and vegetables, and the vegetable mool mandoo, boiled vegetable dumplings filled with a fresh mix of vegetables in a dark green wrapper, but the kimchee mandoo wrap themselves around kimchee, tofu, pork, and vegetables, for a spicier dumpling. 8-12 pieces range between $6 - $10, and the menu also offers traditional Korean rice dishes, like dolsot bi bim bob, a combination of rice, vegetables, and beef, and an egg cracked atop in a sizzling stone pot. Mandoo soup, a clear, but rich beef broth filled with a generous number of pork dumplings, is comforting and perfect for a colder day. Though the Korean restaurant options are plentiful on 32nd street, Mandoo Bar is another tasty choice for a casual meal that's kind to your wallet. more ›

Bruni no-stars Freemans: doesn't much like the food, though he does like the decor. He compares it unfavorably to The Spotted Pig, and says, "Most of its dishes... could be quickly and easily replicated at home." more ›

Celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday with the Bikini Bandits and Phillyist! (NSFW). Speaking of Mr. Franklin, send in a picture of Ben (or Ed Rendell) with a red tongue and win a free t-shirt. And they might have the next YearlyKos in Philly. more ›

- Some Greenwich Village residents are worried that plans for 36-40 Gansevoort Street will mean sleepless nights. Fashion brand Theory (Angelina Jolie wears it!) is converting a five-story building into offices, complete with a rooftop garden, which conjured up Hotel Gansevoort nightmares for people living on Horatio Street. Theory has met with residents and Theory's president Andrew Rosen told the Times, "We're not a bar. We're a day business. Our only objective is to be a credible, positive influence in the community. We intend to be there for a long time, so our commitment to the neighborhood is significant." Or form a group of fashionistas who really want the Theory store in the neighborhood. more ›

Korean sushi? You may turn up your nose at the notion. It must just be another instance of bad New York fusion, you might say, like the Chinese restaurants that have sushi bars tucked away in the back. But, as Gothamist found out recently, Korean sushi has an authenticity all its own. Some even say that Korean sushi, most often called kim bap, was a precursor of the Japanese variety. The real truth may be that the two developed side by side. Seaweed and rice are dietary staples in both Japan and Korea. In kim bap they are married beautifully. In fact, in Korean, “kim” means seaweed and “bap” means rice—as in the more familiar bibimbap. There are a few factors to distinguish kim bap from its Japanese counterparts. Kim bap are always constructed in maki-like rolls with rice that is seasoned minimally, if at all. They don’t contain raw fish but always include vegetables. Whereas sushi is more a fancy luxury delicacy to be indulged in, kim bap are more of a spartan workaday food, good for lunches or snacks on the go. more ›

We're fascinated by the Verizon cable meltdown that still have 1,500 Manhattan residents without phone or Internet access (the cable melted at Madison and 38th Street - that's either Murray Hill, Midtown East, or Koreatown). Mainly because we happen to use Verizon for our high-speed internet needs and would have been weeping like a seven month old baby whose parents made us use the potty if our precious, precious internet access were compromised... and then we'd try to steal some WiFi from a neighbor. But are issues like residential telephone service outages less an issue nowadays because people don't have land line phones anymore? Or are internet phones like Vonage so popular that getting a number where telemarketers can call you is unnecessary? more ›

You'd think that being a tourist from Baltimore, you'd be able to get away from shootings, but on Saturday, a woman visiting from Charm City was shot during a botched robbery. A group of men were trying to steal DVDs and CDs from a vendor at 1204 Broadway, around 29th Street, a building full of vendors; Newsday reported that two men argued with the vendor about the movie selection, in order to distract him while others could steal CDs. The vendor called 911, but then the robbers beat him up as the argument moved outside and then they tried shoot him, shooting 25 year-old Sheria Guster of Baltimore instead. Guster had been on a Flatiron shopping tour, and ended up going to St. Vincent's Hospital for her single bullet wound. She was released from the hospital yesterday. While reports say that Guster was alert and even smiled when an ambulance took her, another person on her tour said, "It turned out to be a terrible shopping day," which is a Lennie Briscoe-ism if we ever heard one; thank goodness Guster is all right. At any rate, two men were charged in connection to the crime yesterday, but the police are still awaiting ballistics results. more ›

Gothamist loves travel - but hates travelling. Who actually enjoys shuttling to the airport, long flights, the interminable wait for your luggage when you finally arrive at your destination? Let's not even discuss the whole packing process! more ›

The Mandoo Bar on University Place is finally opening up! NY magazine says that the downtown offshoot of the Koreatown institution has "pumpkin noodles with tofu in coconut-dill sauce, beef-and-miso stew, a seasonal prix fixe matsutake-mushroom menu, and the oxymoronic 'New York�style soy cheesecake.' One of the fun things about the Koreatown location is that you can see them make mandoo (the University Place location's kitchen is in the basement). NYC Eats has a photo of freshly made mandoo at Mandoo Bar in Koreatown as well as more about how you can order your mandoo (and other dumplings). more ›