We haven't heard much from mysterious Malaysian party boy Taek Jho Low in a while, but just because the paparazzi hasn't snapped him pouring Cristal down Lindsay Lohan's throat lately doesn't mean he's been off his game—he was just saving up for his new $31 million penthouse in the Time Warner Center, bros! more ›

Stop fondling Adam's worn down man parts for a sec, and the next time you're in the Time Warner Center you may notice a new Salvador Dali exhibit. The exhibit opens tomorrow and will be on view through April 2011; the collection consists of 16 museum-size bronze sculptures, including ones of "Toreador Hallucinogene" and "Profile of Time." It's like Dali in IMAX 3-D! The exhibition will also include "a collection of over 40 original drawings, watercolors, collages and studies for important paintings on show for the first time ever in New York City." more ›

According to the NY Times, Botero's sculpture of Adam in the lobby of the mall at the Time Warner Center (next to Williams-Sonoma, and not far from the Eve sculpture) is a deep, dark shade of brown. Adam's penis, however, is worn golden, due to all the... handling. more ›

Yesterday, a contingent of the undead wandered around Manhattan, searching for fresh brains and taking up midterm election issues. And because New Yorkers will grab any opportunity to dress up, yesterday's sixth annual all-day Zombiecon was a cornucopia of fake blood, disembodied brains, and paler-than-normal skin. This year's more ›

Uh-oh: At the same time that it was reported there were bed bugs at the Brooklyn DA's office, a memo from TBS's human resources department was sent out to staffers working out of the Time Warner Center in Manhattan about a situation there. TVNewser reprinted the memo, "The Time Warner Center Facilities Department advises that bed bugs have been detected in Time Warner Center. This determination was made after testing was conducted on several floors of the building." more ›

At an appearance last night at the Time Warner Center, actor Alec Baldwin held forth on nuclear power, family law, and politics. The event, sponsored by Fordham University and moderated by novelist Thane Rosenbaum, focused mainly on Baldwin's history playing lawyers in films and his activism. Baldwin responded to a question about whether he might run for public office with "maybe," while conceding, "If I did that, it would be a whole other chapter in my life." He also revealed that he almost went into law instead of acting. Then Rosenbaum asked if his brothers would have followed him into law had he become a lawyer, and Baldwin replied: ''God, no. I would be representing them.'' more ›

We received a press release last night that said, "Internet Week New York 2009 and The New York Media Information Exchange Group are expecting Tuesday, June 2 in the morning, a 'very special surprise high-profile guest' from Chicago who now moved with his whole family to Washington DC and just spent date night with his wife at a Broadway show." Who could that be? Considering that President Obama is leaving for the Middle East tonight, we're skeptical he's heading to NYC again—but perhaps this is a web simulcast "visit." Then again, one of this morning's panelists is Obama Girl, so maybe they'll be joining forces at last? Or it could be he just wants to watch the RNC hyperventilate a little more with another Big Apple trip. At any rate, the Observer has details on some Internet Week events. more ›

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is in charge of construction on the new 1 World Trade Center – AKA the Freedom Tower – is now seeking developers to design, build and operate a 34,000-square-foot restaurant on the 100th and 101st floors; whoever wins the bid may also win rights to operate the observation deck planned for the 102nd floor. The Authority is gazing into its crystal construction ball and seeing a Grand Opening in 2013. more ›

The last sentence uttered before all hell breaks loose is, “Forget about the rest of the world and hold onto the ones you care about.” Though probably unintentional, those words of brotherly advice – spoken to a lovesick young yuppie named Rob – perfectly sum up the prevalent attitude in fin de siècle New York: the world’s spinning into a cataclysm of total war and catastrophic climate change, but fuck it; let’s party and get ours. And in Cloverfield, the well-connected young Manhattanites at the story’s center do indeed get theirs, just not the way Gossip Girl said they would. more ›

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Earlier this week, the NY Times had an article about how Apple's retail stores were uncommonly successful. The Apple Stores contribute to 20% of revenue, unlike other big brands whose brick-and-mortar offerings tend to be more about brand presence than actual ringing of cash registers (example: the Samsung Experience store at the Time Warner Center doesn't actually sell Samsung products). more ›

October 11: Restaurant Reviewing in New York City more ›

The Michelin Guide announced selections today for its third New York Edition, which officially goes on sale Wednesday. more ›

In time for next week’s Columbus Day festivities, the Post’s Steve Cuozzo lets his Ital flag fly with two gushing columns on Italian cuisine. He points out that Italian restaurants outnumber all other kinds of restaurants in New York by a big margin (and that’s not because of the ever-metastasizing Olive Gardens.) He cites seven “marvelous” eateries – Del Posto, A Voce, Abbocatto, Insieme, Fiamma, L'Impero and Alto – that “establish Italian as the cuisine to beat.” Nobu can sleep with the fishes. more ›

Earlier this afternoon, we watched Scholastic transform Mercer Street between Prince and Spring Streets in "Harry Potter Place" in anticipation of the 12:01AM release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - early reviews be damned! Not only was the Whomping Willow ready, there were owls (stuffed), messages on the Muggle Message Board, and a copy of the book signed by JK Rowling. more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to the new Landmarc in the Time Warner Center, awards the restaurant one star. “It’s three times the size of the original Landmarc in Tribeca,” he says, “whose menu and competent cooking it replicates but whose warmth it largely lacks.” He compares the food to what you’d find at a Midwestern Marriot, but says that perhaps it’s just what the overly self-conscious Time Warner Center needs. more ›

">Bruni goes to Gramercy Tavern, awards the restaurant--now helmed by chef Michael Anthony--three stars. It was last reviewed by William Grimes, when Tom Colicchio was cooking and when it also received three stars. Bruni says the restaurant delivers what diners want: “a kind of unstrained graciousness and unlabored sophistication.” Nearly everything he tasted was “exquisitely cooked,” and while the desserts aren’t the best ever, “there are some fine choices.” more ›

">Bruni two-stars Belgian Resto. Loves the beers, the fries and mussels, and the hint of Asian seasonings in some dishes: "Resto's version of Belgium is neither clichéd nor isolationist," he says. It’s not great for your arteries, either, he points out, but sometimes it's worth the health risk. more ›

Landmarc is the latest restaurant to open at the Time Warner Center, thankfully providing an affordable option to TWC visitors who want to sit down for a casual meal without waiting in line at the basement Whole Foods or the neighboring Bouchon Bakery. more ›

READINGS: Russell Simmons has written a self-help book and will be at Border's today promoting it (okay, now all of this recent noise he's making makes more sense)! It's called "Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success." None of the laws include any of these three words. 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 ›

Yesterday at the Time Warner Center, Chef Marc Murphy somewhat stealthily opened the doors to the uptown outpost of Landmarc, his 3 year-old, well-regarded Tribeca restaurant. Murphy began to look northward last year when he opened Ditch Plains in the West Village. With Landmarc firmly established as a neighborhood bright spot with serious food (like the $12 roasted marrow bones with onion marmalade and grilled bread, pictured), and with Ditch Plains going strong with its clam bar/set count aesthetic (the only thing better than its all-day breakfast is its bric-a-brac seafood add-on options- you can order Anson Mills grits with oysters and lobster if you want), many have wondered if the new version of Landmarc can possibly retain the charm of the original inside the glass and steel canyons of a giant mall. With the same Brasserie/New American menu and a big emphasis on straightforward kids' meals (from carrot sticks & peanut butter to orecchiette with plain butter sauce, and toothache-inducing cotton candy), as well as a thoughtful wine list, the new Landmarc stands to remedy the fine dining fatigue suffered by diners who aren’t really feeling another array of microscopic quail egg custards, or truffled whatever du jour (you know who you are). Additionally, Chef Murphy and crew seem to have a fully formed battle plan that includes delivery from Fifth to West End Avenue, from 55th to 66th, and 300 seats to work their magic. more ›

Today the NY Times introduces us to the man behind some of the city’s most boring buildings. more ›

Despite the warm winter weather, coat drives have not lost momentum this season in comparison to coat sales. more ›

Excellent - the New Yorker has updated its 2003 story on Bill Jones, the Whole Foods employee who became an institution at the Chelsea location for directing shoppers to available registers, providing comfort with his reassuring, "Number 5 is yours!" and a wonderful smile. When the Time Warner Center Whole Foods opened up at Columbus Circle, we suggested that they should clone him. But wouldn't you know, Bill Jones himself was working at the Columbus Circle location, greeting shoppers at the store's entrance. This is where an online-only New Yorker story picks up:

In February, 2004, a Whole Foods opened in the Time Warner Center, at Columbus Circle, and the company offered Jones a healthy raise and transferred him and his sonorous baritone uptown. The Columbus Circle store boasts almost twice as many checkout counters as in Chelsea, but Jones isn’t line-directing—the cashiers there take turns. Instead, five days a week, he stands at the base of the escalator that leads into the subterranean supermarket, to greet customers and offer directions. “When they come off that escalator, their mind is someplace else,” Jones says. “What I was doing in Chelsea was much more fun.”

- And if you were wondering why Bubba Sparxx, Rick Ross, and Dem Franchise Boyz were at the Time Warner Center today, it's because they got Gold/Platinum certification for their (duh!) - photographs from MGChan on Flickr more ›

They say that history repeats itself, but this is re-dunk-u-lous. Moynihan Station, the long-planned Penn Station expansion into the Farley Post Office that is intended to make up for the destruction of the late, great, original Penn Station (above) hasn't even been built yet but developers are already vying to build a new Madison Square Garden on top of and around it. And yes, this would be MSG number 5 for those of you keeping count at home. more ›

Although we didn't have much more than an iced coffee on our visit this time around, we wanted to share some pictures of the beautiful Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center. The pastries looked gorgeous, and we were quite tempted both by the macaroons (we were sent home with some after our visit to per se) and by something they were calling a nutter butter that appeared to be two large peanut butter cookies with peanut butter sandwiched between. Yum. We'll be back to taste next time we aren't headed to the gym. In addition to the takeout counter, there's a full-fledged cafe right nearby. more ›