NYC before Urban Outfitters, Duane Readegreens and Starbucks popped up on every block? Here's a look back to the '80s for nostalgia-heads, courtesy of photographer David Vega. Instead of focusing on CBGB, however, what about the Lone Star Cafe (1976-1989)? It was on East 13th Street and Fifth Avenue, and brought in mostly country acts, from Willie Nelson to Roy Orbison—though James Brown and the Blues Brothers also took the stage there. more ›

A man who's committed a string of armed robberies at cafes, shops and boutiques in the Village reminded a victim of someone—with a thin, pale face, sunken cheeks and piercing eyes, he was the spitting image of Beat writer and classy junkie William S. Burroughs. more ›

With venues closing down left and right, it's nice to see some opening as well -- especially in Manhattan where most are getting priced out. "(Le) Poisson Rouge is "an 800-capacity multimedia art cabaret founded by musicians on the site of the historic Village Gate." The space, located at 158 Bleecker, will be opening once their ongoing major remodeling work is complete. Right now there are some events booked for June, but they tell us they'll be officially opening in September. more ›

The Village Voice has taken a page from MTV and begun to invade the cribs of rock stars. Okay, indie rock stars...who haven't quite broken out of their downtown bubble yet. more ›

Today the Times’s chief food critic Frank Bruni revisits WD-50 (pictured) and elevates the Lower East Side avant-garde restaurant to three stars (a 2003 Times review by another critic had awarded it two). Chef Wylie Dufresne has made WD-50 a destination with his experimental, transgressive menu, and Bruni concedes that in the past “too many of his creations were gratuitously perverse… many visitors understandably feel that what they’ve experienced isn’t so much a meal as a prank.” But now most of the dishes are “knockouts” and Bruni extols “the tidiest Benedict the egg-loving world has ever known.” more ›

The only way to save Harlem for the benefit of its longtime residents is to economically cripple the neighborhood. So says Dr. James Manning of the ATLAH World Ministry church. He's proposing an economic boycott of the area in Manhattan between 110th St. and 155th St., from the Harlem River to the Hudson River. The plan is that once interloper businesses have been driven out via bankruptcy, Harlem will become a less desirable place to live for people like whites, rising rents will decline, and Harlem will have been purged of the problems that have been driving people out of their homes. more ›

The new NYC Condom campaign carries a secret Canadian tourism message: One of the ads features Toronto's Flatiron Building. Darn those confusing stock image searches using "Flatiron Building"! more ›

more ›

Last October, on the heels of 6-year-old Natalie Shea getting slapped on the wrist for her chalk graffiti, Ellis Gallagher was jailed for his own chalk art. more ›

When They Might Be Giants released their twelfth album, The Else, over the summer, The Village Voice called it “as tuneful and rockin' as all the rest, from the withering ‘I'm Impressed’ to the female-empowerment anthem ‘Take Out the Trash.’” Keeping it fresh is no small feat for a band with such an impressive body of work, accumulated over the course of the past 25-plus years. But a listen to The Else or, even better, a couple hours spent at one of their live shows is proof enough that the Johns remain as creatively resilient as ever. They spent most of the fall 2007 on the road and have since been putting the finishing touches on their next project for Disney, “Here Come the 123s.” Oriented for children, the CD/DVD package will feature a mix of animation and music like their previous “Here Come the ABCs”. On Saturday February 2nd they play a grown-up rock show at The Beacon Theater, with horns. [Tickets.] more ›

Mayor Bloomberg may be finding that coy flirtation can be cute at first, but quickly becomes old and aggravating if carried on for too long. The New York Times has a story today describing a growing backlash against a Mayor who seems preoccupied with something big, but it's something big that he won't discuss, or even acknowledge. more ›

MOVIES: A lavishly restored print of Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s visionary film The Holy Mountain has been making the rounds this year; it’s back again this weekend at IFC Center for a pair of midnight screenings. First released in 1973, The Holy Mountain has grown into a cult classic for its surreal, psychedelic imagery and a serpentine, metaphysical storyline, which takes as inspiration, among other things, "The Ascent of Mt. Carmel" by St. John of the Cross and the idea of a mountain uniting heaven and earth. more ›

Over the weekend yet another production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic, Cats, closed. This hipster-ized version of the legendary musical used American Apparel styling for their look, and it all went down on Broadway...that's 1100 Broadway in the 11211 zip code. ArtCal points out that because the original Cats "ran parallel with corporate and municipal efforts to 'clean up Broadway' for big business," these hipster cats may be trying to make a point. Though they add they may not know what, exactly, as the troupe operates "in a mode of an ironic traipsing around social issues while remaining politically invested in... something." more ›

Jaded gourmands looking to spice up their New Year’s Eve dining experience might be interested in the Dark Dining event at the West Village French bistro Camaje. The four course dinner is designed to accommodate a small gathering of guests who, upon arrival, don featherweight blindfolds for the duration of the prix fixe meal, which features wine pairings and mysterious performances between courses. While you surrender to the dark side, a team of attentive servers... more ›

Todd P is known around town as one of the hardest working men in D.I.Y. show biz. He created a scene out of avant garde bands, old buildings and some plywood -- and has given plenty of music lovers a place to hear good music for cheap, while sipping on a $2 beers and sweating in barely ventilated (or legal) venues. But what's this...Todd P is going on hiatus? To work on a print 'zine?... more ›

Chumley’s owner Steve Shlopak recently poured his heart out to The Observer, admitting that the former speakeasy is now “just a dirt hole” with only two walls still up! The 1831 West Village landmark was closed in April when a chimney collapsed during repairs on an interior wall. Shlopak went into further disheartening detail:The rest of the building is held up with construction scaffolding. There is no ceiling and there is no floor... It’s almost... more ›

The Mermaid Inn, that inviting East Village bistro beloved for its rich seafood entrees, has moved on up to the west side with a mostly new menu. Their second Manhattan outpost is appointed with old nautical maps, dark wainscoting and roll-up doors that will surely suck in the crowds during warmer months. (Alec Baldwin must be pleased about the eatery boosting Amsterdam Avenue’s cachet.) The Inn’s famous lobster sandwich survived the move, but there’s now... more ›

ART: Duke Riley brings his latest exhibit, After the Battle of Brooklyn: East River Incognita II, to Magnan Projects. Starting tonight and showing through December 22nd, the works imagine New York during the Revolutionary War and "interweave historical and contemporary events with elements of fiction and myth to create allegorical histories. His re-imagined narratives comment on a range of issues from the cultural impact of overdevelopment and gentrification of waterfront communities to contradictions within political ideologies as well as commerce and the role of the artist in society and at war." more ›

Whether or not you're going to the annual Village Halloween Parade this evening, it'll probably effect your day in some way if you live or work in the area. If you want to avoid the mayhem, don't be anywhere in the vicinity of 6th Avenue between Spring and 22nd Steets. The streets intersecting the route will be closed off at 5pm sharp! more ›

If you’ve got time-pressed guests from out of town who can’t decide between seeing a show or taking a tour, Accomplice: New York is a great solution. Described as “an adventure in organized crime”, the show is part mystery/scavenger hunt and part walking tour through downtown Manhattan, orchestrated by a gang of seasoned improv actors. It is never exactly clear who’s part of the production and who’s just part of the woodwork, which makes the whole mystery more intriguing. The production has been so successful that a second version, Accomplice: The Village now runs year round in the West Village. Gothamist recently shook some answers out of Tom Salamon, the wise guy behind the operation. more ›

The Village Voice is questioning the merits of some top designers suing Forever 21 for "ripping off" their style. Over 20 designers in all are calling the store out for their fashion faux-pas, and they're led by Diane Von Furstenberg, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, who has brought the case to Washington "attempting to get federal legislation passed that would make clothes-copying clothes a criminal offence." This isn't the first time she's taken issue with the store, and now she claims they have knocked off her famous wrap dress and more than one of her prints, one of which the Voice adds "actually looks a lot like an old Marimekko design." more ›

FILM: BAM features the work of Al Santana tonight. The Brooklyn filmmaker "has been a fixture on the independent film and video scene for years and his work ranges from documentaries about the transatlantic slave trade to coping with 9/11." Santana will be on hand for a Q&A tonight as well. more ›

What’s worth watching on food-related TV this week? more ›

Jesse Eisenberg was still in high school when he struck indie-film gold with his performance alongside Campbell Scott in Roger Dodger, one of 2003’s funniest and most affecting films. He’s since gone on to pull his weight in Noah Baumbach’s Park Slope rhapsody The Squid and the Whale, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village and, currently in theaters, The Hunting Party – to name a few. (He’ll soon enjoy an even higher profile thanks to his starring role in Adventureland, the next movie by Superbad director Greg Mottola.) You can currently catch Eisenberg onstage at The Atlantic Theater Company’s production of Scarcity, a gritty black comedy about low-class domestic strife in moneyed Western Massachusetts. After repeated attempts to interview Eisenberg were stymied by his malfunctioning cell phone, we said the hell with it and e-mailed him our questions. (Happy ending: after telling Verizon they were jeopardizing his Gothamist interview, Eisenberg got a new phone for free.) more ›

Yesterday we headed to the 3rd Annual Art Parade, an event that manages to make West Broadway a little more colorful for an hour each year. The scene is one of surrealism and modern day statements. more ›

AARON: To that extent, I'd say Benten is a sort of fan-based promotion. more ›

, "Showcases the talent of one of the more promising short story writers in America today." And a boy who Rebecca had a crush on at 18 said, after being poisoned by her, " This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me." Let's see if Curtis, who certainly is as talented and witty as the reviewers say, can talk her way out of that one! more ›

EVENT: "Home Buying for Hipsters" would like to help out all of you "creative non-traditional wage earners" during your quest to own a home. Buying property is an art, after all, so creatives may even have a head start! They "aim to specifically address your concerns and break down the process into steps you can understand." Their classes are free and open to everyone ("hipsters, non-hipsters, art stars, rock stars, designers, freelancers, sculptors, poets, part-time geniuses, business moguls, cheapskates, high rollers, nerds, players, winners, losers=whoever is ready to own a home!") More info at their MySpace page, of course. more ›

July 19: Summer Wine Tasting more ›

Our conversation with Stanley is here, and below is more from the inside (including a dizzying minute of what it looks like to walk from the roof to the ground floor down the hotel's art-drenched stairwell)... more ›