Illustration by Carolita Johnson. Who doesn't enjoy a peaceful lunch in Central Park? The above illustration is succinct in showing the ornithological, et al, breakdown of just who's getting leftovers. From pigeon to rat, there are two-winged and four-legged creatures savoring every dropped crumb in the park -- and they're just as pushy as some human New Yorkers when it comes to their lunch break.......

While the man who suspected of stealing women's purses during the morning subway commute has been caught, it turns out there's another fiend with a similar penchant. The Post says a "well-dressed, well-coiffed daytime purse-snatcher has been targeting unsuspecting women as they lunch at Midtown tourist spots." The thief, who seems to be 35-45 years old and between 5'11" and 6'1" with brown hair, is connected to eight robberies in recent weeks, looking for chairs......

First there was the Spitzer Spritzer at Teddy's and now, Sandwich #9: Hot Tongue on Rye. Eisenberg's owner Josh Konecky explains to Gobble the creative process behind today's special: So, who came up with the sandwich? Spitzer came up with it. [pause]. No, I came up with it. Did you already order? Yeah. I didn’t order the tongue. What’d you order? The chicken? No, the roast beef. A lot of people don’t like tongue.......

The California based Westland/Hallmark Meat Company is recalling all its raw and frozen beef products distributed since Feb. 1, 2006 – a total of 143 million pounds of ground beef. The largest beef recall in history was announced after an undercover Humane Society video showed workers kicking sick cows, jabbing them in the eyes and using forklifts to force them to walk to slaughter. (See the video here.) Federal regulations require meat companies to keep......

Video of "Meat and You: Partners in Freedom" from The Simpsons episode, Lisa the Vegetarian After the Humane Society revealed a tape of mistreatment of cows at the nation's "No. 2 supplier of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program," burgers and other beef products were temporarily yanked off NYC schools' menus. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had put an "administrative hold" on all products from Hallmark Meat Packing Packing in Chino, CA......

Sad use of our flag. [cropped], by S.D. at flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting at 104th Ave. and Remington St. in Queens, a bank robbery on Lexington Ave. and 45th St. in Manhattan, and a gas main break on Van Siclen Ave. in Brooklyn.Midtown Lunch considers why it was left off the positive press clippings wall of the new Goodburger.New York Shitty wonders about these Bed-Stuy guard dogs - they only......

When it comes to sushi our tastes skew authentic. Mackerel. Amberjack. Occasionally a tuna and natto hand roll, not Christmas or Dragon rolls. Nevertheless, Gothamist remains a sucker for a gimmick. So when Sakae Sushi, a Singapore-based kaiten – or conveyor belt sushi restaurant – recently opened its first New York City location we couldn’t wait to tear open our disposable chopsticks and begin grabbing tasty morsels as they paraded down the runway. Midtown......

Go! Go! Curry: This Japanese fast food hot spot had lines down the block when they opened in the Garment District last spring; now they’re building on the buzz and branching out in the East Village. We’ve become addicted to their belt-busting Grand Slam (pictured), “a monster platter that comes with fried chicken, pork sausages and a hard-boiled egg, among other things. The thick, sweet sauce has a tiny kick of heat and is served......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a staircase collapse on Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn, an unusual escort on Van Wyck and Atlantic Aves. in Queens, and a person fatally struck by a train at 170th St. and Jerome Ave. in the Bronx. 2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the Commodore 64 PC. The computer, which attached the primary system with the monitor and the keyboard, had a whopping 64K of memory. 17 million were sold.......

Attention Pacific Northwest: New Yorkers don't care about your cuisine. None of Jeffrey Chodorow's blogging, full page ads in the Times or other theatrics could save Wild Salmon from its imminent closure. After Eater circulated news of its potential doom, Chodorow issued a statement, published on Grub Street, "Regrettably, we will be closing Wild Salmon after the new year. We were excited about bringing the food and wine of the Pacific Northwest to New York,......

EVENT: Berlin takes over New York this month with the Berlin in Lights Festival. Through the 18th you can soak up the German city through film, music, art, architecture and more. This evening you can check out a couple of Berlin-esque events. First up is the "Urban Design and Memorials" dialogue. A panel discussion which will touch on the "challenges of integrating memorials into the urban fabric, and how Berlin and New York address issues......

Bacaro: Frank DeCarlo of Peasant and his wife Dulcinea Benson transport you to Venice in their 80-seat wine bar/restaurant on the Lower East Side. Northern Italian menu offerings include cicchetti, (think Venetian bar snacks) like crostini, sardines, artichokes, and more, cheeses selected by Lou DiPalo, and pastas, quail, and duck for those seeking heartier fare. 136 Division Street, between Orchard and Ludlow Streets, 212-941-5060. Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill: The Blue Ribbon team is......

Esca's Dave Pasternack is a Midtown Lunch'r too. His faves include Pakistani Restaurant on 38th and 9th, Grand Sichuan, and Han Bat on 35th between 5th and 6th. Restaurant Girl makes her Daily News debut, dines with Gael Greene, looks glamourous. Zagat goes mobile with Zagat.mobi. iPhone not included. Epicurious 2.0 has arrived with a redesign and more bloggers (because what isn't better with more bloggers?). RUB commissioned Orange County Chopper to create a mobile......

Manhattan User's Guide offers up suggestions for budget-priced bubbly. Restaurant Girl is probably celebrating with a glass of bubbly about her new gig as the Daily News restaurant critic, but will her lack of anonymity make for special treatment? Only time will tell. Midtown Lunch serves up an installment of Downtown Lunch, courtesy of the Feisty Foodie. Grub Street is making us panic about the future of the Red Hook Vendors. Aaaack! Vegansexual? Seriously? Got......

Some folks were mighty disappointed when a Daisy May's BBQ cart on Park Avenue and 52nd Street turned out to be a tease. According to Midtown Lunch, the cart was set up outside the Seagram Building for the filming of the next Adam Sandler movie, You Don't Mess With Zohan. The Hollywood Reporter says You Don't Mess With Zohan was written by Sandler, Judd Apatow, and Robert Smigel and it "follows the exploits of......

Jenni Ferrari-Adler has held many jobs—egg-seller, literary agency assistant, reader for The Paris Review—but her latest accomplishment is as the editor of a mouth-watering anthology of essays entitled Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant. Born out of a summer spent subsisting largely on cereal and water while finishing up her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan, Ferrari-Adler wanted to explore what comfort food, solo food, meant to her favorite writers. Collected here......

A commenter asked us about Yushi recently -- although we haven't been, Zach at Midtown Lunch has checked it out and finds it to be more style than substance. Reader Adam turned us on to a blog focusing on a subject near and dear to our hearts as well as our bellies: ILuvPork.com. Manhattan Users Guide slams LES pan-Latin newcomer, Rayeula: "This kitchen is unable to put their mise en place in its place, incapable......

Need to lose a few pounds? Try some pickles -- Drew Nieporent swears by them: "You should slice them the long way, so they last longer. I have lost 50 pounds in 100 days." [NY Daily News] Is your favorite chip on the list of those tested by the Times this week? Kettle Chips are the overall chip champ, but Ed Levine laments the omission of Cape Cod Dark Russets. [NYT; Serious Eats] In case......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on East 79th St. in Manhattan, another bank robbery on East 89th St. in Manhattan, and a police scooter accident at Adams and Tillary Sts. in Brooklyn. A parking ticket fixer was sentenced to three-to-six years in jail for arranging false-documented excuses to get people out of parking tickets. Robert Deniro and Al Pacino are teaming up as detectives tracking a serial killer in a new......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on West 52nd St. and Broadway in Manhattan, a double shooting on Fenton Ave. and Boston Rd. in the Bronx, and escaped prisoners on East 163rd St. and Westchester Ave. in the Bronx. Curbed looks at the new Red Hook IKEA under construction, which is starting to become recognizable. Paul McCartney is playing the Highline Ballroom tomorrow night in a now not-so-secret show. Brooklyn's Smith St.......

Though it’s only been open for a little more than a week, Thai Tony’s on Fort Hamilton Parkway at the edge of Kensington, Brooklyn, is already building a strong neighborhood following. During repeat visits, Gothamist watched the owners and staff bustle around the dining room of the self-described “home-style bistro,” greeting returning customers by name. That’s right, they already know most of their customers by name. Thai Tony’s first came to our attention via our......

SoHo standby Lucky Strike has brought on a new Executive Chef, Wen Chen, formerly of Odeon and Papillon. To celebrate his arrival, during the week of May 6-10, he'll be preparing a special 3-course prix fixe menu, which will change daily, including an appetizer, entrée and the "Lucky Lemonade" a cocktail comprised of Ketel One Citron, lemonade, cranberry juice and mint. The luck continues at the end of your meal, when you'll pick a number......

- Finally! Banh mi sandwiches in Midtown. But are they any good, and are they worth the $7.50 a pop? Midtown Lunch readers chime in with their thoughts. - The newly re-opened Blind Tiger is opening for brunch this weekend at 11:30 a.m. After Monday their new regular hours will be 11:30 a.m. until 4:00 a.m, and the kitchen will stay open until 2:00 a.m. In addition, they're having a grand re-opening bash on Monday,......

- The Daily News explores the world of the NYC gastropub, including the Spotted Pig, E.U., Spike Hill, recently opened Alchemy and the Inn LW12 (Augieland gives us a preview), and soon-to-come Borough Food & Drink, a Chodorow creation. - A hearty bowl of ramen will keep you warm, and Manhattan Users Guide has highlighted some of the best. - After being on Eater's Deathwatch for a while now, The Lonesome Dove is officially dead.......

- It's strange that in this arctic weather that the best food news we've heard today is that NYC Icy is returning. NYC Nosh snapped a photo of this sign in Hell's Kitchen. Bring on the summer! - Midtown Lunch shares the news that you can now find chicken and waffles in Midtown. - And speaking of fried chicken, we're now seriously craving some of the Korean fried chicken featured in today's Times. - Michael......

Jen made her first high-definition television appearance last night on WNBC's Live at Five. She spoke to Sue Simmons and Lynda Baquero about New York blogs-- besides Gothamist, she also mentioned Brownstoner and Midtown Lunch. Bonus fact 1: Before the cameras were on, Jen told Sue how much we all love her groundhog impression! Bonus fact 2: After the segment, she saw Chuck Scarborough in the news room! And here's a very comprehensive history......

- Baby, it's cold outside, and what better way to warm up than with a steaming bowl of soup. MUG rounds up readers' favorite chicken soups, or if you prefer cooking your own, the Daily News lets us in on soup recipes from Dirty Bird, Tabla, and Fairway - Have you seen this bulgogi sandwich cart? If so, let Midtown Lunch know. - Okay all you lovebirds out there, Valentine's Day is right around the......

Artist Sergio Furnari's life-size sculpture based on a photograph of construction workers during Rockefeler Center's construction has been a familiar site all over the city. But someone had the gall to steal the 100-pound worker on the right. Furnari told the Post, "People loved that guy the most, because he was holding a bottle. He's probably sitting in the [thief's] living room having a drink." Furnari says he noticed the sculpture was missing from......

Gothamist was excited to see fast-moving construction today at the new site of Westville East on the southwest corner of Avenue A & 11th Street. Formerly Italian eatery Angelo Della Pasta, the new branch is a sister restaurant to the cozy cross-town spot of the same name. Westville East opened once before in 2004, at the site of the current Curly's Lunch on 14th Street, but folded after a short stint in the space.......

Gallery-goers may have shown up at Julie Saul Gallery for last Thursday’s opening reception of Brian Ulrich’s Copia—stunning photographs that show how mass production permeates the everyday life of pop princesses and counterculture teens alike—but it was Roz Chast’s Theories of Everything series that sideswiped the show. Originally scheduled to close last month, the exhibit has been extended to February 10. And with good reason. People at the gallery were nudging their dates to take......