Soon after East Village mainstay Lit Lounge turned 10 years old, we found out that owner Max Brennan was just about ready to open a new bar, in a new borough. The Flat will be different from its Manhattan sister—to our knowledge there's no cavernous basement in which to make terrible, terrible decisions—and here's how Brennan described it to us: 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 ›

Tired of the crazy lines at the 14th Street location? Don't have a problem surreptitiously supporting PepsiCo? Couldn't care less about underpaid tomato pickers? Great! Then perhaps you'd like to consider doing your Trader Joe's shopping at the brand-new, spaciously appointed Staten Island location instead. more ›

The highly anticipated Big Gay Ice Cream Shop opened its neon-accented doors for business this weekend, with a little help from owner Doug Quint's famous friends, and several hundred Salty Pimp fans. more ›

Iced Blended lovers, rejoice! Beloved LA-based chain Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf opened their first NYC outpost this morning, right on schedule. more ›

Finally, a place where we can show off our oversized cardigans, finely tuned bocce skills, and drink, all under one roof! Meet the Greenwich Village Country Club, opening this fall with promises of a "kitschy, retro theme" featuring mini golf, bocce ball, and, the Game of Senior Champions, shuffleboard. more ›

Turns out that when American Apparel founder Dov Charney isn't getting sued for sexual harassment, he's busy investing in new projects. Like a barbecue restaurant in the East Village. Because nothing goes better with a pair of neon tricot leggings than some spicy pulled pork and a couple of hot biscuits! more ›

LA-based coffee chain The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is setting up shop in New York, because this town apparently doesn't have enough retail coffee options. more ›

Yesterday, we stoked the rumor mill with a tip that beloved Midwestern burger chain Steak 'n Shake is heading our way, and it looks like the gossip might be true! more ›

Upon walking into Eataly, the mammoth new food experience from Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali and Oscar Farinetti, you might actually think you were in Italy. Besides the produce, nearly everything is imported, and the 50,000 sq. ft. bi-level space is filled with rows upon rows of dried pasta, nougat, olive oils and anchovies piled 12 feet high. You're welcomed with a smart espresso bar as the space opens into seven "restaurants," 14 food stations and a full "piazza" with a raw bar, fresh-cut prosciutto and marble-top tables. But this is not the Italy most Americans imagine—the Italy of quaint Tuscan towns and pushy grandmothers. This is the Italy of Vespas and stilettos. And as Mario Batali hopes, "It could be the cornerstone of Italian gastronomic culture." more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Some sick bastard is toying with the bellies of burger lovers in Manhattan this morning by putting up signs at various shuttered storefronts announcing that beloved In-N-Out Burger will be opening soon. Rumors that In-N-Out was making a move on Shake Shack's turf have been circulating for years, sparked more by desperation than any substantive news. And now a merciless prankster has exploited New Yorkers' perpetually frustrated lust for the In-N-Out by putting up signs like this in Union Square, where the Virgin Megastore used to be. The location is almost certainly way too big for an In-N-Out, so there's no fooling us there. But what about at 22nd Street and Broadway? more ›

Even though it was gray and gloomy yesterday, Marty Markowitz was on the scene at the ceremonial opening of the Cyclone and the annual “Blessing of the Rides” at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. The Brooklyn Borough President, who broke a bottle of egg cream on the first Cyclone car to inaugurate the season, wasn't the only celebratory one on hand. The Daily News talked to two brothers who started camping out at 5 a.m. to get the first ride! more ›

After more than 20 years of planning, a portion of Brooklyn Bridge Park will open on Monday. Following a 9:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting with Gov. Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg, the Pier 1 section of $350-million greenspace will open to the public, Brooklyn Heights Blog reports. Pier 1—which boasts a 2.5 acre lawn and a 1,300 foot esplanade near Fulton Ferry Landing—was actually supposed to open late last year, but bickering between the city and the state over control of the park caused delays. News of Pier 1's debut comes just one week after the city obtained control of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Unfortunately, Pier 1's proposed wine bar probably won't be ready for opening day, according to Curbed. more ›

Brother Jimmy's BBQ is having a go at that big, 7,500 square foot space on East 16th Street that formerly housed Irving Mill (and before that Candela). This is the sixth location of the mini-chain, and their first foray below 23rd Street. Unlike the other locations, this multi-level venture is focusing more on dining, with a bar area that's much smaller than Jimmy's regulars have come to expect. But the J-bro's "southern roadhouse" design has been transferred intact: Jack Daniels barrels, corrugated tin roofing, Southern license plates, antique signage, etc. The menu (seen here) also has some new options you won't find at other Jimmy's outposts. more ›

Click on the film stills for more details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include Alice in Wonderland, Brooklyn's Finest, The Secret of Kells, Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss, Victor Fleming's Red Dust, Harlem Aria, The Art of the Steal, Aliens, The Temptation of St. Tony, and El Topo. more ›

This week in openings, we have a meatball revolution at The Meatball Shop, some gluten-free confections from Tully's, farm-fresh dishes at Print, classic French cuisine at Bistro Vendome, wood-oven pizza at Ovest Pizzoteca, sushi as you have never seen it before in Williamsburg at 1 or 8, and a talented new chef at Anella in Greenpoint. more ›

Did none of these suggestions solve the intractable problem of Valentine's Day for you? Well, your looming V-Day troubles are over: Philly's favorite Rita's Water Ice (snowcones, fro-yo, etc.) will be opening their first NYC location on the 14th, and all visitors for the first week will get a free ice. Cheap date! We'd go with the black cherry, but can someone go and let us know what Swedish Fish® Sweet Tea tastes like? [Via Grub Street] more ›

Click on the film stills for details and reviews of this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include: Edge of Darkness, When in Rome, Saint John of Las Vegas, 44 Inch Chest, North Face, Off and Running, Evil Dead, Seven Samurai, and The Shining. more ›

Bonchon Chicken: This Korean fried chicken chain is opening two new locations in New York, one in midtown and one in the financial district. Despite their creepy, mathematical approach to food (special sauce+specialized chicken+spice = customer satisfaction!), the chain has been wildly successful, thanks to their crispy, moist chicken wings. Chicken is available regular or hot, and "contain collagen ingredients promoting healthy and delicious texture and taste." Yum. Sides include saucy rice cakes and grilled corn. Beer and sake are available in the financial district and should be coming to midtown soon, according to The Feed. more ›

This week's openings include more tapas from Ñ, the first in a four part Cuban series with Carteles, Tom Colicchio's latest Colicchio & Sons, boardwalk goodness from Led Zeppole, No Plates in Williamsburg, RBC coffee in Tribeca, and some "smoked meat" all the way from Montreal, courtesy of Mile End.
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Brooklyn's first ever Arby's is thisclose to opening. The fast food chain has taken over the landmark Gage and Tollner building on Fulton Street — where a classy eatery once operated, even serving starlets like Mae West. But those days are over, and the roast beef peddler will be filling bellies in the borough starting tomorrow. Lost City got a sneak peek; check out more photos here. The historic gas light fixtures have been kept intact, so this isn't a complete sacrilege. more ›

Click on the film stills for details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include The Book of Eli, The Spy Next Door, Fish Tank, Carmel, Our Daily Bread, Hausu,Labyrinth, and Showgirls. more ›

Click on the film stills for details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include Youth in Revolt, Daybreakers, Leap Year, Wonderful World, Bitch Slap, A Year Ago In Winter, Crazy on the Outside, em>Garbage Dreams, Waiting for Armageddon, Sweetgrass, Flooding With Love for the Kid, Stray Dog, and The Thing. more ›

Did you know the Manhattan Bridge has been known, to some, as the Rodney Dangerfield of our city's bridges since the 1980s? Today, 100 years after it officially opened, the NY Times profiles why the structure gets no respect. more ›

Click on the film stills for details and reviews of this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include Avatar, Crazy Heart, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Nine, A Town Called Panic, Ricky, The Young Victoria, Ball of Fire, His Girl Friday, Black Dynamite, and Bad Santa. more ›

Shake Shack, Danny Meyer's insanely popular upscale burger joint, is expanding, with new Manhattan locations planned for the theater district and the Upper East Side (as well as the previously announced Nolita outpost, plus Miami Beach and Kuwait). In all, five new Shake Shacks will open in 2010, and Meyer's not stopping there. In an adulatory Times profile, he says "in five years we could have 20, mostly up and down the East Coast." And why not? These shacks make bank. more ›

New York's newest Apple Store, at West 67th and Broadway, is officially opening up its doors this Saturday at 10 a.m. (we're told they will be giving out t-shirts). We're about to head inside for a special sneak peek, and will be updating with more images over the course of the day. First impression: that's a lot of glass! And the roof is glass, too. And this is their fourth glass staircase. more ›

Click on the images here for more details on The Vanderbilt in Prospect Heights, Bill's Burger in the Meatpacking District, Corsino in the West Village, and Giano in the East Village. more ›