Today’s wake for a beloved New York institution is being held in honor of Mei Lai Wah Coffee House in Chinatown. It seems the Times’s Eric Asimov, who usually writes about wine, doesn’t subsist on vino alone; he needs his coffee and steamed pork buns as well. And ever since Mei Lai Wah closed last week after a long, losing struggle with the Health Department, Asimov has been in mourning: Mei Lai Wah was indeed......

These grits are spicy, boldly flavored, creamy, meaty from the pork stock, and just an all-around success. The idea of making it with kimchi broth was inspired by Aki and Alex of Ideas in Food, who cooked barley in kimchi broth for another tasty-looking dish. The kimchi grits pair well with stir-fried shredded brussel sprouts, which are crispy and meaty from bacon grease. And just to balance out that meaty pickle fun, the shrimp......

Chanukah may not be the holiest of days on the Jewish calendar, but we don't think eating pork products is allowed. Still, NancyKay Shapiro found that Balducci's is touting the deliciousness of various hams for the Festival of Lights. She writes that the gesture seems to be from the "the Monumental Cluelessness, Well-Meaning Division." If you're celebrating Chanukah, what are you eating? We're planning on eating pounds of greasy latkes with equal amounts of......

It's the not the first time the government has wasted lots of money and it won't be the last, but the Daily News special investigation into former Governor Pataki's never-built Museum of Women is great proof of how bureaucracy sucks. Originally conceived to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca, the museum would have been at the south end of Battery Park City. Various grants were directed to the commission (chaired......