Dean’s: A third Dean’s Restaurant is now open in Tribeca. The Italian eatery has won fans with their signature thin crust brick oven pizza made with homemade mozzarella and a dozen potential toppings. But if amazing brick oven pizza isn’t your thing, Dean’s also has a full Italian menu with pasta dishes like Parpardella Toscana, a wide ribbon pasta with wild mushroom and sundried tomatoes in a light cream white wine sauce. There are also some big salads and an extensive wine list. And the new Tribeca location is inviting, with brick walls and a warmly lit bar. 349 Greenwich St., between Harrison and Jay. (212) 966-3200. more ›

May 12: Brooklyn Pigfest more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Esca, calls chef Dave Pasternack a "fish whisperer" (um, OK Frank) and awards the restaurant three stars. "In an era when too many restaurants try to be everything to everyone," he says, "Esca has a specific agenda: show what the sea can yield." The restaurant was previously awarded two stars by William Grimes in 2000. more ›

MOVIE: The 10th Annual New York International Children's Film Festival commences tonight, starting with the US premiere of the French animated film U (which includes unicorns!). A kid-friendly catered reception will take place after the film. more ›

Get your creepy crawly on with two potentially frightening movies out this weekend. Yet another '80s horror staple is getting the remake treatment with Dave Meyers' , that it's ill advised to piss off Sean Bean. That Brit is one menacing looking dude on screen. more ›

Everyone loves a good caprese salad. The Italian delicacy is genius in its simplicity. It can be nothing more than sliced tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella, garnished with basil and drizzled in olive oil. Anybody can make caprese as well as any Italian restaurant in town so long as anybody has access to high quality ingredients. Ay, there’s the rub: Where to find those ingredients. more ›

February 22: From Disaster to Dessert – the Fate of New Orleans Food more ›

Like many others, one of Gothamist's favorite books about turn-of-the-century New York City is The Alienist by Caleb Carr. A novel about finding a cruel serial killer, The Alienist also had wall-to-wall details about what life was like in the city, with a particular grittiness that escaped film depictions. And we always liked how Carr would discuss in interviews that while people fret and worry about New York being crime-ridden, the kinds of horrors happening during the turn-of-the-cenutry were even more depraved; of course, this started our Carr mini-obsession. So we were excited to see the NYT Home and Garden feature about Carr and his upstate NY house which had more details of Carr's youth in Manhattan:

He talks about his block, 14th Street between Second and Third. more ›

Just a couple blocks south of the much-coveted MTA railyards, two other rich dudes are fighting over the right to develop Pier 57. The Daily News calls it the "heavyweight real estate duel of the season" (we guess the DN thinks the Hudson Yards is the duel of the year), and gives some good background of the two developers, Roland Betts of Chelsea Piers (and Dubya crony) and Stephen Witkoff, a real estate developer, as well as which politicians they're tight with. The main difference between the two bids is the Betts would be expanding Chelsea Piers, while Witkoff's plan, "The Leonardo at Pier 57" would be putting in a ton of banquet space (hello, corporate holiday party; hello, bar mitzvah) as well as galleries and stores featuring Italian artists and retailers. The Italian theme goes further with accusations from the Betts team that the caterer Witkoff proposes has mob ties, which makes Gothamist eager to see what other mud will be slung/slinged. more ›

Priscilla Grim, Membership & Advocacy Director AIVF more ›

In what the advertising and film worlds consider a rather ballsy move, Miramax has asked various car manufacturers for $35 million to feature their car in the upcoming Green Hornet movie, scheduled for summer of 2005. Of course, the Green Hornet has been in development heck for a long time, has no script or director, etc. The money would goes towards marketing the film, and Lori Sale of Miramax tells AdAge, "It has to be a cool car. Minivans need not apply. It needs to be a new vehicle or a concept car." Gothamist remembers the part in the film version of Get Shorty, which shows Chili Palmer starting a new trend towards embracing minivans as the cool car. more ›