The NY Times takes a look at Smith Street and the corporate companies creeping into the area and setting up shop. The most recent big announcement is that Trader Joe's is taking over the old bank on Atlantic Avenue and Court Street. How long until more big fish come to feed? Urban Outfitters originally wanted the new Trader Joe's property, so we suppose they'll be hawking "Ski Cobble Hill" T-Shirts soon enough. Just last week......

June 21-23: NYC Food Film Festival, Part 2 See last week's calendar for the full description of the festival and the website for the schedule of events. This weekend's fim focus in on hot dogs and sausages, currywurst in particular, and even includes a hot dog eating competition, so get your gullets ready. At Water Taxi Beach. June 21-24: Staten Island Restaurant Week In their first ever restaurant week, over 50 of Staten Island's restaurants......

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.......

Yesterday afternoon, Steven Van Utrecht was shot to death on his Butler Street townhouse's front steps - and the suspect is his brother. The Daily News reports that William Van Utrecht allegedly said, "Call the police! I just shot my brother!" after the incident, but the 53-year-old then fled. His 46-year-old brother's body was left on the steps of 109 Butler Street for hours as police investigated, and neighbors were shocked by the grisly scene.......

Sample is small. But not like Minibar small, or even Tini, where what you see is what you get. It is long and especially narrow, and feels like it has more to show. We kept expecting to find another room, or a little cove behind some tables. But even the back garden only has enough room for two tiny tables. If you have the misfortune to sit in the middle of the bar you’ll have......

Just when you thought that you might have put some distance between you and your folks, the Brooklyn Paper stirs things up with "the invasion of the suburban grandparents!" Now it makes total sense why developers are selling condos and buildings in up-and-coming neighborhoods at crazy prices: Not only will parents buy apartments for their kids, heck, they might leave their homes and move to the Big Apple too! The Brooklyn Paper makes an examples......

With all the craziness going on in South Brooklyn recently -- Jason Neroni leaving Porchetta (law suits, arrests, excitement!), and with recent news that the Brooklyn Inn may be closing (converting into a bistro?) -- it'd be easy to miss the little slip about Vegas. During a short message on the Brooklyn Record, a commentator "confirmed" that the rumors about the Brooklyn Inn were true and then added that "Vegas, on Smith st. is also......

It’s a common phenomenon in Brooklyn: a chef creates an ambitious restaurant only to later downscale it to a more casual place in hopes of better capturing the neighborhood market. We’ve seen it happen at Cucina/Tempo, Minnow/Bar Minnow, and Luce/Bar Toto. This scenario recently played out again on Smith Street, along Boerum Hill’s restaurant row. The space used to be a somewhat far-reaching (for the area) Japanese restaurant called Taku, under chef Adam Shepard. But......

As summer conjures up visions of backyard gardens and long afternoons lounging outdoors, Boerum Hill's Pacifico, a Tex-Mex style self-labled "glorified taco stand" offers a double whammy: a front yard deck & a big backyard. Strung with colored Christmas lights year-round, umbrellas shelter diners on a large front-porch like dining ground while inside, dim lighting and candles accentuate tiled countertops and large, colorful murals. Gothamist recommends starting off with the Queso Fundido, a hot......

A few things to think about on a warm Saturday night: -The icy man, bringer of shaved ice and sugar syrup on hot sticky days, is an urban staple. Mr. Softee is nice and all but he just doesn't have the same charm as the icy man (though he does have that fun truck). With that in mind we were interested to read about the strange legal troubles that can befall an unlicensed icy man.......

Some bands struggle for years and always come up short. Elkland, a youthful band from Horseheads in western New York, formed in early 2003 and had a manager and offers from major labels before they ever played in their own town. By the end of the year they had a six-album, ten-year deal with Columbia Records. Not too shabby. Singer Jon Pierce and his younger brother, Jesse David Pierce, who plays drums, are joined......

The new Zagat rankings for New York restaurants are out and the top restaurant is again Union Square Cafe, which had reigned as New Yorkers' favorite restaurant as tallied by Tim and Nina for 6 straight years (1997-2002) except last year, when sister restaurant Gramercy Tavern took over. The Le Coze fish shrine, Le Bernardin, is number one in food quality. The Times takes a look at the surprising inclusion of Brooklyn's Grocery in the......

Tonight, the Municipal Art Society is taking one of NY's favorite debates to the East River: Discussion "The Better Borough: Brooklyn or Manhattan" will be held on a boat. Areas of discussion will include "the G and the V trains, Bleecker St. vs. Bedford Ave., Washington Heights and Crown Heights, SoHo boutiques vs. Smith St. boutiques, Central Park and Prospect Park, architecture, fashion, PBR, BAM, NYPL, the BQE and the FDR." Kurt Andersen and Steve......