What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play! Though The Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room isn't coming back, a new cabaret is coming to fill its void—and this one has a real pedigree. Come June, the 160-seat 54 Below will open its doors (you guessed it) just below the storied Studio 54 space in Midtown. And the newcomer isn't just about capitalizing on its upstairs neighbor's famous name, there is some serious talent involved in this one. Life is a cabaret, after all! more ›

Foie gras, what can't you put it in? Despite the fury the fatty liver often incites, foodies love the stuff. And since we've seen the doughnuts, we really shouldn't be surprised it is popping up in sushi. Everybody, say hello to the latest French import to our shores, SushiShop. more ›

With a vote on the measures looming, organizations like NY Tech Meetup—the organizers of today's protest—are moving at maximum Mbps and seem to be connecting with Congress; the bills are losing sponsors faster than MySpace is losing users. more ›

The long nightmare of a Steak 'n Shake-free New York is finally drawing to a close this week, with the grand opening of the city's first-ever outlet in Midtown, right next to the Ed Sullivan Theater. And to kick things off, the Midwestern fast food chain is throwing one doozy of a promotion: free burgers for an entire year, for the first 150 customers to show up at the new location. more ›

Was Harold Camping right, after all? Grub Street floats a rumor today that space-themed Midtown juggernaut Mars 2112 (aka Shaquille O'Neal's least-favorite restaurant) could be closing, pointing to the massive alien-inclined auctions at Michael Amodeo later this week as evidence. But despite the otherworldly forces that surely conspired to keep this place open for as long as it has been (thanks, Maddox Jolie-Pitt!), we're not so sure it's on its deathbed. more ›

A man killed himself on Saturday inside a Midtown South Precinct jail cell while in police custody for a domestic violence arrest. Officers found 40-year-old Alexander Gonzalez hanging by his shirt at around 3:20 p.m. According to the Daily News and the Post, Gonzalez had turned himself in on charges that he had assaulted his wife. Gonzalez was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, but died a short time later. more ›

In case you weren't streets ahead today, the Community flash mob occurred in midtown as was promised. A handful of Evil Troys and Abeds huddled around Rockefeller Plaza to sing songs and chant in protest of NBC removing the beloved cult show from the midseason lineup. Watch "protesters" sing "Oh Christmas Troy" below. more ›

A fire earlier today has shuttered the Tick Tock Diner in Midtown—and authorities believe it was caused by a discarded cigarette. The fire started in the facade of Tick Tock Diner, which is housed at 303 W. 34th Street in the New Yorker Hotel building, around 10:15 a.m. There was a packed house in the popular diner for Sunday brunch, and patrons didn't seem to mind a little smoke: "We seat 300 people and it was a Sunday morning, so people were waiting on line," waiter Steve Tsiolis told DNAInfo. "People kept eating. They didn't want to leave their food." more ›

Times Squares' costumed entrepreneurs are officially free to ply their trade without fear of retribution. According to the Daily News, the NYPD has stopped the policy of ticketing the Elmos, Hello Kitties, Buzz Lightyears and Spidermen who take pictures with kiddies for tips. The entertainers are allowed to receive tips, but not charge for pictures taken with them in costume. According Girish Dani, who dresses up as Spiderman, Elmo still gets a bad rap: "A few Elmos chase people for tips…I heard one or two Elmos drink whiskey, and this could be an issue." Ah, but Sesame Street is the type of place that drives a monster to drink. more ›

Today's New York Post reveals a shocking truth: strippers don't strip for the accolades or the prestige, but for money! Several dancers at Rick's Cabaret in Midtown say they pull in as much as $10,000 in a single shift. Should protesters be Occupying the pole? more ›

Like Gus Chiggins, Queens resident Raffi Stepanian is a modern day prospector with humble dreams: to avoid coyotes, and find his fortune in the sidewalks of midtown Manhattan. Stepanian made waves last summer when he was interviewed by the Post about panning for bits of gold, platinum and rare gems in the Diamond District. He has said that he makes up to $300 dollars a day: "The streets of 47th Street are literally paved with gold." More recently, Stepanian has been featured on the new show Penn and Teller Tell a Lie. Below, you can see that segment on him, as well as another video of Stepanian doing his thing. Of course, if Stepanian really wanted to make some money, he'd go straight for the taxi medallion gold. more ›

A pedestrian walking by West 57th Street and 10th Avenue was killed by a motorcyclist that struck him. According to WCBS 2, "Police say a 22-year-old woman driving the motorcycle hit the man while he crossed the street at 57th and 10th Avenue just before 3 a.m." more ›

President Obama's NYC visits mean traffic hell, as do Justin Bieber's. But what happens when the Commander in Chief and the super popular teen singer come to the Big Apple on the same day during the holiday season? It is making drivers freak out. more ›

Earlier this month, a 75-year-old woman was beaten with a nail-studded wooden plank by a homeless man in midtown Manhattan. Andre Lineaux, 51, admitted to police that he repeatedly beat Kim Chong, 74, with the 2-by-4 piece of wood. And he says that it was an homage to a Stephen King novel, Storm Of The Century. more ›

According to the Post, a 75-year-old woman was beaten with a nail-studded wooden plank by a homeless man in midtown yesterday evening. Police confirmed the woman was discovered bleeding from the head with bruises all over her body after being attacked by a suspect with a 2-by-4 piece of wood. “I stepped outside and saw a woman laying near a puddle of blood,” said witness Rasheeda Kin, a security guard at a building nearby. more ›

A cook at the Roger Smith Hotel in Midtown is suing the boutique inn for $35 million dollars after two employees dressed up as Ku Klux Klan members and taunted him in two separate incidents. Julius Jones, who is black, states in court documents obtained by the Daily News that a painter allegedly approached him last year donning a "pure white cone-shaped article on his head," and said, "Hey, look at me. I am the Ku Klux Klan." more ›

Remember over the summer, when we first heard that beloved Midwestern chain Steak 'n Shake was coming to New York? Well, transplants and people who can't be bothered to wait two hours for Shake Shack, rejoice, for the burger joint is one step closer to opening this week. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] We interrupt this message on why soda makes you fat to bring you an important news update: The Jonas Brothers were forcing their Korean protegés The Wonder Girls to craft delicate pop songs in a slave-labor "music mill" at their Midtown studio! And now the city has shut them down! Or so says the New York Post in a two-sentence story lacking any information or context. Are the Jonas Brothers trying to compete with the iPad or something? more ›

Chapulines, anyone? Because sometimes everybody wants a little Fear Factor in their life (without actually watching the soon to reboot show), the much loved trio of Midtown Mexican food trucks El Rey del Sabor is serving up some tasty grasshopper dishes while supplies last this week only. more ›

Cops have arrested the man who allegedly bit cabbie Haroon Rashid's ear in Midtown earlier this month, weeks after the New York Taxi Workers Alliance complained that the police didn't care about cabbies. more ›

Those travelers who enjoyed occasionally-working WiFi and 32% less bus-funk on Bolt Bus may have to hit the cripplingly depressing Port Authority Bus Terminal. According to the Daily News a quarter of the service's buses—which are owned by Greyhound— will be picking up riders at Gate 84 of the terminal. Retailers and residents have complained that the buses are a nuisance at their current post on 34th Street and Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue. "The buses are so big, you can't even see my business," the manager of Sbarro on 33rd & Seventh said. If New Yorkers can't get a slice at Sbarro, where will they turn? more ›

Midtown has been flooded with cops ever since the failed Times Square bombing, but rapes still rose 146 percent in the area last year, while felony assaults increased 14 percent in the area—from 274 in 2009 to 313 in 2010, according to the most recent crime stats. But don't worry, the NYPD is staying focused on the real threat to security: cyclists. Officers in the Midtown North precinct have issued 567 summonses to cyclists in the first five months of this year, more than any other precinct. Because, as one intrepid TV news reporter once put it, "Imagine if the man on the bike was a terrorist!" more ›

Responding to reports of a woman wearing a white skirt AFTER Labor Day, the NYPD vice squad and the Department of Buildings swarmed the Midtown offices of Mother PR last night after word got out that they'd be hosting Friday Night Throwdown. The fights, which have been popular for years and have acquired plenty of press for being rowdy, fashionable scenes chock full of high cheekbones, had been on an eight-month hiatus from their usual Lower East Side warehouse locations. Doesn't the NYPD understand that they've ruined a perfectly good opportunity to see male models get punched in the face? more ›

Ivan Chermayeff's 10-feet-tall number nine sculpture has been a midtown icon for over three decades, appearing in feature films, TV shows, and Sesame Street (watch below). But while the red steel digit may seem like a colorful visual homage to John Lennon's favorite number (or something), this playful piece of sidewalk art is anything but harmless—as one 3-year-old boy allegedly found out the hard way. more ›