Earlier this week, StarChefs held its 2nd International Chef’s Congress on the top two floors of 7 World Trade Center. Open to industry professionals only, this annual event draws notable chefs from all over the world and provides the opportunity to honor its Rising Stars, an award the culinary organization gives to young professionals. A full list of this year’s winners, including Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, Chris Lee of Gilt, and Daniel Eardley of Brooklyn’s Chestnut can be found here. This year’s winners were celebrated during the Rising Stars Revue Tuesday night at The Mansion on West 28th Street, which capped off the proceedings. more ›

A look at some noteworthy televison this weel: more ›

Birch Shambaugh, NYC Marathon Entrant more ›

After all the comments on yesterday's post about books set in NYC, we got to thinking, has anyone bothered to come up with a list of all the movies set in the city? The answer, of course, is yes-- at Wikipedia, of course. What an amazing site-- it's like having a genie who's only job is to distract us with useless NYC trivia! They've probably missed a couple of movies here and there, but the list looks fairly comprehensive. Absolute, undisputable fact: the 1970s was far and away the most interesting time for NYC movies-- check these out: more ›

If you're feeling a bit unsatisfied with The Dukes of Hazzards or any other disappointing summer blockbuster, we strongly suggest heading to the Film Forum to catch Bertolucci's The Conformist. Set in 1938 Rome, the political/psychological thriller follows a disturbed young man with a scarred childhood whose obsession with "normalcy" leads him to extremes. From marrying a "petty bourgeoise" who's "all bed and kitchen" to combining his Paris honeymoon with a Fascist murder mission to kill his mentor, an exiled philosophy professor (which Bertolucci considers a metaphor for "killing" his own cinematic mentor – the legendary Jean-Luc Godard), he portrays the desperate attempt to achieve a "normal life." Tracing the rise and fall of Fascism, this beautifully directed and often humorous film boasts some gorgeous scenes as the protagonist reflects on his past – visiting his father in an insane asylum, embracing his newlywed on a train as the sun sets, and two seductive wives publicly dancing the tango (our personal favorite). more ›

We remember the hubbub about The Dukes of Hazzard not showing Bo and Luke buckling up as they got into the General Lee; the DOH has its first season on DVD. And after watching The Fog of War, it seems like Robert McNamara, during his time at Ford, helped make sure seat belts went into cars. But who knew that the first patent for the seat belt was issued in 1885?
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