Upper West Siders had a new store to flock to this weekend: Grom, a gelato shop that opened on Broadway between 76th and 77th Streets. There were lines, and our own Joe Schumacher braved the UWS foodies and sweet-toothed for a taste.

I ordered a small luna rosso, which was the flavor of the month. It was quite good --dense and creamy. It was also expensive --$4.75 plus tax for that a small cup. That cup, by the way, is made of biodegradable paper, unlike the plastic cups used by Il Laboratorio del Gelato on the Lower East Side.

Brooklyn residents are waiting with bated breath for the opening of the new 52,000 square foot Fairway on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. And Upper West Siders - and all other shoppers who visit the wonderful but migraine-inducing Broadway and 74th Street location - are beyond green with envy. Could it be, a location where you're not constantly being pinned in by seniors or children steering shopping carts haphazardly? A store where people aren't at each others' throats at the prepared food section? A market where getting into the elevator like playing "how many clowns can fit in a car"? A location where you're one false move away from knocking glass jars onto the floor because the line for checkout has stretched into the aisles? And a location with parking for 300 cars? Well, we're sure that the Red Hook Fairway will become a scene of grocery shopping bloodsport soon, but it should be . more ›

Read more about the detective work it took to find Aviles at Newsday. more ›

Gothamist loves food, so we were naturally riveted by New York magazine's great expose of sorts on the growing grocery store rivalries in the city last week. The players include web upstart Freshdirect, the do-gooder organic empire Whole Foods trying to make inroads all over the city and Upper West Side institution Fairway. The article is filled with some hilarious swipes between the owners and managers of the different of stores, but we most appreciated how reporter Chris Smith detailed the rise of the big supermarket in a city of small spaces. Plus the tip about the Red Hook Fairway, slated for summer 2005, with a ferry service to Manhattan - that's gold. more ›

Manhattan User's Guide has a nice roundup of some new and old places for a drink. Gothamist is most interested in Shebeen (202 Mott Street) - "Irish name, South African owners, in the middle of Chinatown and Little Italy, occasional African music played." more ›

Some might think being voted Zagat's Best Newcomer Restaurant would make the owners aware, with all the i's dotted and t's crossed. But, no, the restaurant Compass on West 70th was closed last night, for operating without a permit. A gaggle of Upper West Siders were dumbfounded at the closing, wondering if the closing was really due some suspicious meat or rodents. One man said incredulously, "Compass? Closed? Are you kidding me?" while his small son cried, "But I see people inside! There are people inside!" However, the only people inside were the pouting and sheepish staff members, who said Compass would be open today. Luckily for the hungry, neighborhood institution Cafe Luxembourg was brimming with business as usual next door. Hmm, owners & managing partners Lewis Pell and Leonard Schwartz better get their act together, because even Rocco's managed to have a permit. more ›