Dardanel: Salt crusted fish is the star of the reasonably priced seafood menu at this new midtown east restaurant (pictured), named for the strait that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. As such, the high number of seafood dishes are complemented by Turkish classics like halvah pie. The fish is imported daily from the Mediterranean, and entrees include Brook Trout Casserole with grilled vegetables ($19); brick oven baked Black Sea anchovies with rice, pine......

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Now that Barack Obama has won the election, his terrorist pal William Ayers has agreed to accept the highly coveted post of Secretary of Flag Burning! Also too, Ayers was on Good Morning America today to plug a new edition of his book, Fugitive Days—and hey, who could blame the guy for cashing in on his renewed notoriety? Unlike his previous New York appearance, Ayers talked plenty his seditious relationship with Obama, while also......

With New York's obscene real estate market starting to look ever so slightly less obscene, real estate brokers are panicking like jocks on prom night stuck with dates who won't neck. The crack trend spotters at the Times report that brokers are plying their clients with hard liquor and expensive wine so as to wear down their resistance. "Alcohol brings everyone together," declared broker Kipton Davis while showing a group of bankers and traders around......

Look, we're not trying to scam anybody here, man, but Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt, two urban achievers from Louisville, are throwing their fourth NYC Lebowski Fest this weekend and, well, they'd love it if you would come and give them notes. (Also, tomorrow's already the tenth.) If any of what you just read was confusing, don't worry, it just means you need to rent the Coen brothers' masterpiece The Big Lebowski again. Released ten......

This week Frank Bruni reviews Market Table (pictured), the market-and-dining venue that now only focuses on dining from chef Mikey Price (who is a principal owner along with Joey Campanaro of Little Owl). And Bruni is taken by its "warm," "soothing," "humble," "unambiguous," and "generous" cooking, attitude and style and gives it two stars. He delights in discovering how "There’s bacon with the skate wing and bacon with the brussels sprouts and pancetta with......

The Hanger Bar was a beloved dive on East Third Street with a pool table, DJ booth and a vintage clothes for sale up front. It closed some months ago, and owners Jay Schneider and Natalka Burian have given the place a serious face lift while keeping the drinking/clothing consumption combo. Bespoke men's suits will now be sold, but even more eye-catching is the antique sewing machine they've turned into a beer tap. For the......

More on Tim Robbins Voter-gate! City Room has a thorough exposé on what went wrong for the Tapeheads star on Election Day, when he showed up to vote at the YMCA on West 14th Street and was told that his name was not in the Poll List Book. His misadventures got a lot of media attention after he refused to fill out a provisional ballot, accused poll workers of trying to "intimidate" him, and finally......

Photographer William Eggleston got famous in 1976 when his photographs—derided by art snobs for their bold departure from black and white—were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. According to the Times, the controversial show, with its emphasis on the lifestyles of everyday Southern folk, was received with such dismissive comments as "Perfectly banal, perfectly boring." Now, of course, his work is considered iconic, and the photos' abiding popularity is due in no small part......

Senator Charles Schumer is wasting no time: He tells the Daily News, "Washington can't do what it did in Herbert Hoover's time and twiddle its thumbs." Noting how Obama said that states must be helped during this economic downturn, the senior Senator from NY says Obama should help New York with money for "affordable housing, transportation and help hiring for cops." City Council member John Liu, chair of the Council's transportation committee, added that a......

Today the rabble-rousing Post is reveling in allegations that the IRS is investigating the Yale Club for violating a requirement that 70% of its guest rooms be reserved for members in order to maintain tax-exempt status. While the IRS won't verify the claim, one pissy club member has blabbed about the brewing brouhaha. "In recent years, the club has become more like a hotel than the private club it is chartered to be," the unidentified......

Indian Express: Dubbed "an expedition to Spiceland," this new Tribeca restaurant boasts two chefs as your tour guides: Alfred Durga Prasad and Alexander Xalxo, of Tamarind and Earthen Oven. (Alfred is regarded at a "Master Chef" of Indian Cuisine, so there's bound to be a some jealousy in the kitchen.) The press materials warn: "Don't let the name fool you...this is anything BUT fast food." Dishes served in the 65 seat restaurant include such items......

Famed restaurateur and one-time blogger Jeffrey Chodorow has just opened up Center Cut in the Empire Hotel, and if for some reason a vegan had to eat a steak—say, to win a million dollars or get Fugazi back together—this would be the place to force it down. The theatrical 190 seat restaurant, complete with bar and lounge, is serving "steakhouse classics" using naturally-raised meats, free-range fowl and sustainable seafood. Their catchphrase is "where style and......

If you think John McCain's defeat Tuesday means you no longer have to hear the word "maverick" every five minutes, think again! The Associated Press reports that "four maverick New York City lawmakers" are refusing to back a member of their own party, Malcolm A. Smith, for majority leader, after over four decades of Republican control of the State Senate. Three of the four holdouts are Latino legislators who feel Latinos have been underrepresented in......

The Dow and the S&P; 500 both closed down about 5% today in a day of heavy losses. The Dow was down 443 points and closed below 9,000 amidst fears of a prolonged recession that even superhero President-elect Obama may be not be able to turn around. "Everything is so dismal right now, it's just an endless flow of bad news and no one wants to buy," despaired equity trader Dave Rovelli, who could really......

This is Houndstooth Pub, a big new bar and restaurant at West 37th Street that's located in 6,800 square feet of space formerly occupied by a Chock full o' Nuts coffee shop. It's run by the guys behind popular after-work bar Stitch, and, for what it's worth, a couple of blokes from Snow Patrol have sunk some money into it. The bi-level space has three bars; one on the ground floor and two downstairs. Depending......

For the first time since 1965, Democrats have taken control of the New York State Senate, sweeping into the majority last night on President-elect Barack Obama's coattails. All the incumbent Democrats held on to their seats, and two longtime GOP incumbents lost: Queens Republican Serphin Maltese lost to Democratic City Councilman Joseph Addabbo and Suffolk County's Caesar Trunzo lost to Democratic challenger Brian Foley. Maltese blamed his defeat on "the Obama craze" and said he......

On this historic night where Barack Obama was elected the next president of the United States, New Yorkers celebrated in some organized and some spontaneous gatherings. There was a planned gathering at Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and 125th in Harlem--and thousands were there, cheering and celebrating (one reporter said sanitation workers were joining in the revelry). We're hearing about large crowds up by Columbia University (Broadway & 115th), Times Square (47th & Broadway), and the......

Yay, another massive cruise ship to fill our oceans with sewage and sludge so that bored pensioners can distract themselves from their impending deaths is being built in Finland, and this one's going to be the biggest one yet! Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas has a 1,200-foot-long hull that rises 213 feet above the waterline and displaces 220,000 gross register tons. That's 42 percent grosser than the Independence of the Seas, which was......

Tim Robbins made a big stink at the YMCA on West 14th Street this morning when he was told that his name was not on the voter list. According to City Room, Robbins has been voting at the same polling place since 1997, but for some unknown reason, his name was nowhere to be found when he went in this morning. The Times happened upon him sitting in a folding chair looking dejected and annoyed:......

NY Magazine threw their 10th Annual tasting frenzy last night at Skylight, with chefs from dozens of the city's best restaurants corralled to raise money for City Harvest. Some of the bolder-faced names included April Bloomfield from The Spotted Pig and, supposedly, Tom Colicchio, but he was nowhere to be seen at the Craft table when we were there. As for the food, the big standouts of the night were definitely L'Ecole's Smoked Arctic Char......

After hours of hearing from the public, Mayor Bloomberg signed the controversial term limits extension bill. The bill was passed by the City Council a week and a half ago, in a vote of 29 to 22. It allows elected officials, including himself and City Council members, to run for a third term. Most of the unhappiness about the bill is due to the fact there was no opportunity--aside from two days of hearings--for the......

The polls open at 6 a.m. statewide tomorrow, and given the recent concern about whether the NYC Board of Elections is prepared for an anticipated massive voter turnout, you might want to consider voting early. Polls close at 9 p.m., and you can check your voting location here or by calling 1-866-VOTE-NYC. In New Jersey, polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m; you can look up your polling place here. Polls in......

Photo courtesy Vero Midtown. Vero Midtown: The little amber-hued nook seen here is nestled inside this warm and inviting wine bar on East 53rd Street that boasts a 2,200-bottle wine cellar. This is the second Vero location, and while the uptown original emphasizes panini, this iteration has a full kitchen serving dishes such as short rib tacos, gnocchi with foie gras and truffle sauce, and pan-roasted quail. The romantic scene is set by raw wood......

Whether they were flocking to the Village Halloween Parade, a party or a zombie crawl, New Yorkers were dressed to the nines and tens in terrific costumes. Here are just a few photographs of the evening--and hope you had a fun and safe Halloween!......

Woah, can you believe the election is only four days away? And even though that Obama has been busy making sure the drapes match the carpet in the Oval Office, a Fox News poll shows the two candidates almost tied! So if you want to volunteer to support the candidate of your choice—whether it be the bitter old warmonger on death's door and his demagogic running mate, or the most inspiring, perspicacious American politician in......

As a child of Hollywood, Harry Shearer portrayed the original Eddie Haskell on Leave It To Beaver, appeared in Abbott & Costello Go To Mars, and after a stint at Harvard, eventually wound up on Saturday Night Live, where you can spot him in that legendary synchronized swimming sketch with Martin Short. Many know him as the bassist in Spinal Tap; others recognize his voice from The Simpsons, where he portrays characters such as Montgomery......

Award-winning architectural firm Bentel & Bentel has just unveiled Rouge Tomate, an ambitiously designed bi-level restaurant in midtown that's founded on the principal of S.P.E. (Sanitas Per Escam, Latin for Health Through Food). It's the first New York location of a Belgian chain started by a former Mercedes-Benz salesman. In keeping with the eco-friendly approach, executive chef Jeremy Bearman (L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas and db Bistro Moderne here in NYC) is committed......

A new study by the DOT [pdf] has revealed an unprecedented surge in the number of cyclists, increasing an estimated 35% in NYC between 2007 and 2008. In the past six years, cycling levels in the city have doubled, and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan says the numbers prove the department is "well on the way toward our goal of doubling the number of bike commuters." In particular, the cyclist volume on the Williamsburg Bridge has......

Forty of New York's "star chefs" anonymously shared their secrets in a survey for Time Out NY, dishing on a wide range of topics, from ingredients in their kitchens they'd never admit to using ("Chopped meat from SYSCO") to the dumbest Health Department rules ("The gloves thing. I use them all the time, but a fuckload of people don’t know how to use them correctly or change them enough. I’ve seen people do some fucked-up......