It was the jalapeno all along. Yesterday the F.D.A. announced that after a three month investigation into a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 1,251 people in 43 states, officials have finally been able to match the bacteria strain to a single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper handled by a small Texas produce shipper. Fresh tomatoes were previously believed to be the culprit, and an F.D.A. warning against certain tomato varieties has cost growers an estimated......

Although the F.D.A. has been unable to pinpoint the source of a recent salmonella outbreak that infected over 1,190 people in 42 states, officials have announced that all varieties of tomatoes currently in the fields and in stores are safe to eat. But don’t go dipping into the pico de gallo just yet, because the investigation into raw jalapeño and serrano peppers is still ongoing. According to CNN the F.D.A. is getting 20 to 30......

As if mocking the inadequacy of federal investigators, a ruthless army of salmonella-tainted tomatoes continues to sicken Americans, and the FDA seems utterly helpless to pinpoint the source. Frustrated officials admitted yesterday that the trail had run cold, and the agency's food safety chief, Dr. David Acheson, told reporters “maybe we were being too optimistic” in earlier statements about cracking the case....

Everybody relax: New York grown tomatoes are perfectly safe to eat raw, at least according to the government. Yesterday the State Department of Agriculture tried to calm a jittery public with an announcement that a recent salmonella outbreak is not linked to tomatoes grown in the Empire State. At least 23 people have been hospitalized across the country, mostly in New Mexico and Texas, where the first fatality was reported yesterday. National chains like McDonald’s......

Panic is gripping stomachs nationwide as news spreads about a salmonella food poisoning outbreak caused by certain varieties of tomatoes. The FDA has not been able to pinpoint the source of the poisoning, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports at least 23 people, mostly in New Mexico and Texas, have been hospitalized since mid-April, with no fatalities… yet. The main symptoms are diarrhea and extreme abdominal pain. Tomatoes grown in New York......

The owners of the rooftop Ronald McDonald have stepped forward! We received the following email today from one of them (Ali), telling us:That's my apartment featured in your Ronald McDonald story; it actually was not stolen; my roommate [Michael] saved it from McDonald's garbage one night and then lugged it up five flights of stairs. He's a hero if you ask me.Ronald used to reside near a piano inside the McDonald's but was dumped in......

A McDonald's on the corner of 56th and 8th in Manhattan is missing a Ronald -- but an aerial view of the area shows him safe and sound lounging on a private rooftop. Williamsboard posters report, "someone who lives in the six-story building next door took advantage of a second floor window that lets them out onto the McDonald's roof...". View the full shot after the jump.......

Howard Beach residents are probably shaking their heads over reports of yet another allegedly racially motivated attack in their neighborhood. The police say that a group of white teenagers claims they were attacked by a group, who were made up of Hispanics and blacks. At Cross Bay Boulevard, a the group of white teens noticed the group of black and Hispanic teens; according to the Post, "The apparent leader of the black group walked up......

The early Thursday morning fight in Union Square was apparently set off by a diss. The Post reports that the victims were all affiliated with gangs and the "violence appeared to have stemmed from a show of 'disrespect.'" The police confirmed that a fight did occur at the McDonald's at East 17th Street and Broadway, but it's still unclear if that fight continued on into the park, where a gunman later fired, injuring four people.......

Early this morning, four people were hit by gunfire and another person was stabbed while in Union Square Park. WABC 7 says that a fight "broke out in a McDonald's at 17th and Broadway." And then someone fired into a crowd in Union Square Park - it's unclear if the fight from McDonald's traveled into the park. Four men were hit by the gunfire and a woman was stabbed in a related incident. All this......

A 29-year-old Chinatown resident was charged with murdering his new girlfriend in the apartment he shares with his grandmother. Michael Chin Lenahan allegedly called his brother in NJ to say "I screwed up." His mother later went to the apartment and found a woman's body on her son's bed, under clothes. Police say Lenahan and Lorna Santiago had a date on Saturday night. They started at a restaurant on Third Avenue and then went to......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue off the beach at 105th St. and Shore Front Parkway in Queens, a person struck by a train at 77th St. and 4th Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting at Martin Luther King Pl. and Tompkins Ave. in Brooklyn. A middle-aged man was arrested Sunday evening after attempting to rob a McDonald's on Staten Island, but settling for ripping the clear acrylic box of donations for......

Yesterday, the city announced that cigarette smoking by construction workers most likely caused the seven-alarm fire at the under-demolition Deutsche Bank building that claimed the lives of two firefighters on August 18. FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said, "Smoking was engaged in throughout the building, and particularly on the 17th floor, where the fire originated." However, the FDNY was not entirely blameless in the incident. It was revealed that the FDNY did not keep up with......

What do tourists like more than walking slowly in bunches, visiting Ground Zero, buying fake handbags in Chinatown, and wearing socks with sandals? Eating at restaurants they can find at home! The Post is reporting that IHOP (aka the International House of Pancakes) is in talks with Vornado to open a location at 1540 Broadway (btwn 45th and 46th). It would be the 2nd Manhattan location for the chain - the first location opened......

After two days on life support, the 56-year-old bodega owner, who was shot in the face during a robbery attempt, died yesterday morning and police continued their search for the group suspected of robbing a number of bodegas over the past four months. Police Commissioner Kelly said the robbers are "certainly" considered "dangerous," but Cruz's family wonders why the police didn't tell the community about the robberies. One of Cruz's eight children, Karina Cruz, asked,......

The city has agreed to pay $2 million to the parents of an unarmed Brooklyn teen who was fatally shot by a police officer three years ago. In January 2004, police officer Richard Neri was patrolling a Brooklyn rooftop with another officer at 1AM. Around the same time the other officer had opened a door to the stairwell, Timothy Stansbury and his friends were heading upstairs, to go to a party in another building in......

Looking for coastal dining? Try Staten Island. If that Mr. Softee jingle grates on your nerves, maybe you should try to write your own. Andrea Strong explores the world of Greek wines. Does Shrek the Third's huge movie opening mean that less kids will eat less fast food at McDonald's, since McD's has the green ogre telling kids to order milk - not soda - and apples - not apple pies? Or should McDonald's have......

After last week's revelation that a Bronx Chinese restaurant allegedly refused a diner's payment of $2.75 when it included 10 pennies and the ensuing media spectacle, the Daily News decided to send one of its reporters to test the penny tolerance of various fast food establishments. Reporter Ethan Rouen traveled to five eateries, including Jesus Taco and McDonald's. Rouen details the "dirty metallic reek" emanating from his hands and pitying stares from employees. But the......

It's the time of year when the Gothamist Food mailbox is chock full of pleas. You want it . . . you need it . . .you must have your Shamrock Shake. We've tried to help you find them in the past, but to no avail. But now, dear readers, the mystery of why a Shamrock Shake is nowhere to be found in the five boroughs has been solved, thanks to the investigative team at......

- 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 pretty funny when a story about over a dozen rats scurrying around a West Village Taco Bell-KFC location is the leading story on the local news (okay, there was a mention of an off-duty police officer shooting a neighbor, too). The footage (see here at WNBC), while totally repelling, is also amazing. And that rat dangling from the chair? No wonder everyone is swarming to 6th Avenue and West 4th Street to catch......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a police car crash near Wall Street, a fall victim down a hole at Yankee Stadium, and an all hands call in Times Square. WNBC has some amusing highlights from Federal mafia recordings: "In actuality, to be perfectly honest with you, I shot him in the leg first, and he went down screaming, and then I started taking his arm off with the chainsaw. He couldn't move. He felt......

Despite winter being upon us, the hipsters of New York took to the streets yesterday with strange, creative outfits and shopping carts in this year's Idiotarod. What's the Idiotarod, you ask? It's like the annual Iditarod from Nome to Anchorage except with teams of human idiots replacing dogs. Some of the more creative costumes we noticed: Wonderwoman, the Noid (think Domino's Pizza campaign), the McDonald's mascots, the Cosbys, Ghostbusters with the Stay Puft Marshmallow......

Having already taken caffeine addiction and the price of a cup of joe to new extremes, Starbucks continues to set new standards by planning to eliminate trans-fats six months earlier than the new ban actually requires them to. Metro-area Starbucks will be knocking trans-fats off of their menus beginning tomorrow and while most of their drinks are already free of the stuff, some of the foods they carry are chock full of `em. The Daily......

Yesterday, a newborn baby girl with her umbilical cord still attached was found outside the Eastchester Gardens housing complex in the Bronx. A 911 caller tipped authorities, who questioned a 14 year old girl who may be the mother after dogs tracked the scent to a fifth floor apartment. The girl, Latisha Burns, was at her junior high school when the police took her for questioning; a classmate told the Daily News, "She looked like......

The initial reports about an afternoon stabbing at the Union Square Greenmarket were just a small picture of what happened: A group of about 50 teenagers gathered, using bricks, knives, belts planks and more and attacked each other. Seventeen year old Taishawn Bellevue was fatally stabbed in the chest. Seventeen year old Glenwood Nobles was stabbed multiple times in the back and Carlos Tejada was hit on the head with a brick. Tejada was released......

With the Citigroup buying the naming rights to the new Mets Stadium, MTA executives are hoping to hitch a ride on the company's money train. On Tuesday, the Daily News reported that the MTA will be in discussions with Citigroup about renaming "two MTA stations: the Shea Stadium stops on the subway and commuter railroad systems, an authority spokesman confirms." There were two opinions in the article: An MTA board member who said he would......

Well, you can't blame City Councilman Leroy Comrie for lack of optimism. Comrie, who represents the 27th District, had considered introducing a bill that would have banned cellphones in restaurants. Seriously. However, the NY Sun now reports that bill will probably not be presented at all, after Comrie heard complaints from the restaurant industry. "I was surprised at the feedback from the restaurant owners, that they didn't like it," Mr. Comrie, a Democrat of Queens,......

As the city continues to beat the drum against trans fats, Mayor Bloomberg is taking every single opportunity to tell people why they are bad for you. At a press conference yesterday, he said, "If you want to eat fries, nobody's taking away your ability to eat fries. I love McDonald's fries." It's just that restaurants should use fatty oils that just don't have trans fats! We expect McDonald's to be sending a truck of......

Fast food may get a lot less tasty a little less unhealthy. Yesterday, our fair city's Health Department proposed measures to decrease the use of artificial trans fat at restaurants that can't seem to do it for themselves. The new law would limit restaurants to 0.5 gram of trans fat per serving. How much fat is that exactly? Well, a typical McDonald's hamburger contains 0.5 gm of TF and a yummy, yummy Big Mac contains......