Results tagged “japan”

For the past four decades, Richard Foreman has challenged and fascinated audiences with a deeply idiosyncratic aesthetic incorporating traces of vaudeville, Jungian philosophy, slapstick, surrealism and myriad other disparate sources to create what he calls the Ontological-Hysteric theater. His newest “theatrical machine”, called Deep Trance Behavior in Potatoland, is the third in a series of works that heavily emphasize video projection, this time shot on location in Japan. more ›

Padre Figlio: In Italian, the name means father and son, so it’s no surprise that this new Italian steakhouse is run by Mario and Antonio Cerra, the father and son team behind Da Antonio. After ten years, they’ve sold that establishment and are joining forces again to focus on high-end Italian meats, such as rib eye and a porterhouse of Piemontese beef for two. more ›

The U.S. financial markets may have been closed due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, but stock markets around the world tumbled as worries over the U.S. economy took hold. Johan Stein, who manages about $14 billion at an asset management firm in Stockholm told Bloomberg, "It's the worst I've ever seen. The financial system is in terrible shape, and no one knows where this will end.'' more ›

Go! Go! Curry: This Japanese fast food hot spot had lines down the block when they opened in the Garment District last spring; now they’re building on the buzz and branching out in the East Village. We’ve become addicted to their belt-busting Grand Slam (pictured), “a monster platter that comes with fried chicken, pork sausages and a hard-boiled egg, among other things. The thick, sweet sauce has a tiny kick of heat and is served over rice with such toppings as slices of tonkatsu, fried pork cutlet.” Or for half the price and calories, you can keep it simple but savory with the curry rice sans toppings, a classic Japanese comfort food. more ›

Ever since we read about osechi-ryori in the Times last week we’ve become a tad obsessed with this traditional cuisine that the Japanese whip up for the New Year. Stacked jubako, a more elegant take on the bento box, are filled with delicacies deriving from an age-old taboo forbidding women from cooking during the first three days of the New Year. In addition to sweet potato and burdock root and bits of grilled meat or fish, the boxes often include kamabako, or fish cake, whose red and white color are synonymous with festivals in Japan and kuro-mame or black soybeans. Mame means "health," symbolizing a wish for health in the New Year. Although Julia Moskin’s piece included several recipes, Gothamist decided to purchase a premade jubako or go to a restaurant for this festive fare. We quickly ruled out Kai, the elegant Upper East Side kaiseki spot, which was offering a 30-item jubako for $350. Also out of the running was Hakubai's $80 brunch. more ›

It's been a busy month for NY Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. After tackling Jean Nouvel's skyscraper, Renzo Piano's Times building and the West Side Rail Yards designs, today he turns to the feverishly celebrated New Museum, previewed yesterday by Gothamist. Designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of Japan-based SANAA, the highly refined seven-story, 174-foot building succeeds, says Ouroussoff, on a "spectacular range of levels: as a hypnotic urban object, as a subtle... more ›

With so much buzz about the Brooklyn Apple Store lately, we nearly forgot about the almost-opened shop in the Meatpacking District. Still coyly covered up, the final reveal is just around the corner, as signs promise a December 7th opening -- just in time to spend your Christmas bonus on shiny new iThings. This location has two stories with a glass staircase connecting them, and it will be a circular staircase similar to the... more ›

MUJI is on the verge of opening its first store in the United States. The Japanese retailer, whose original name meant "No Brand Quality Goods", is opening up a 2,000 square foot location on Broadway. Since we visited last week, the store has taken the protective covering off and stocked its shelves. Gothamist stopped by this morning for a preview. We can already say that one of the biggest issues is going to be... more ›

It’s become quite fashionable for the “downtown” theater scene to inject their productions with live punk rock stylings. (Though the stated intentions vary, I can’t help but theorize that it’s got something to do with a terminally unhip theater geek’s longing for coolness.) The big problem with most of these wannabe rock shows is twofold: the music invariably sucks and the lyrics – ostensibly important for dramatic purposes – are unintelligible. (Essential Self Defense... more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an officer assaulted on Church Ave. and 53rd St. in Brooklyn, a car into a coffee shop in the area of Skillman and 50th in Queens, and two people shot on Park Ave. and 17th St. in Manhattan. An insurance broker pleaded guilty to idiotic target practice that launched arrows from his compound bow on the Upper East Side. Bono and Bloomberg's mutual admiration society. Brooklyn state Assemblyman Dov... more ›

Not making their way to the greenmarket this week are domestic matsutake, one of the most prized mushrooms in the world. Matsutake have a slight pine flavor and give off a wild, funky cinnamon aroma when cooked. This fragrance is said to do things to people, like instantly transport them to Xanadu or make choruses of ladybugs hail from the sky in intense, Busby Berkeley style formations. Hand foraged and scarce, matsutake are in fact like truffles, with whom they share a peak season and some frequent flyer miles: Just as a good number of Italian truffles are gussied up and shipped off the New York market each fall, most Pacific Northwest matsutake are flown overnight to Japan after collection, where the best ones are so expensive it’s not even funny. For the time being, and at least on the East Coast, matsutake are most likely to be found in restaurants. more ›

Talk about joy -- over 300 sakes will be poured at the largest sake tasting in the United States, coming our way tonight. Over 100 of them are generally not available outside Japan and about 150 are silver and gold award winners in the National Sake Appraisal that takes place each year. Never fear, there will be appetizers to soak it all up, from the likes of Bao Noodles, Bond St, EN Japanese Brasserie, 15 East, Megu, Sakagura, Tocqueville, Woo Lae Oak, wd-50, and more. There's also a sake info desk where an expert will be able to answer all of your burning sake questions. 6 - 9 p.m., the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette between East Houston and Prince Streets. Tickets are $75 in advance and $90 at the door. For more info or to make reservations, call 212-799-7243, or visit joyofsake.com. more ›

, an engrossing and greatly entertaining account of not just Fillmore's presidency, but also his life, travels, and observations of 19th century politics and social moirés. Alone, Pendle's work amounts to only small bites out of this great injustice; the real change comes when you devour this book. more ›

BEER: This one is pretty simple...there will be lots (58!) of New York beers, and a few bands to soundtrack your drinking them, at the Seaport tonight. Go, imbibe, enjoy! more ›

This afternoon's temperature has been bouncing up and down as the sun struggles to come out behind the cruddy clouds. This morning's clouds were leftover from a bit of convective activity to our south last night. A line of showers is approaching the city from the west. Some of those showers may be intense, as they hit the city later this afternoon and into the evening. more ›

The new J.J. Abrams movie which is still listed as Untitled, but is unofficially being referred to as Cloverfield, was filming on the Lower East Side yesterday and last night. Did anyone catch it? The monster movie is due out January 18th, 2008 - and this past week Abrams spoke of the somewhat mysterious project at Comic-Con. more ›

• Royals 7 Yankees 0: Kei Igawa should buy a plane ticket back to Japan. Today’s ledger of 5.2 innings, seven hits and 2 walks while allowing five runs just reinforced the fact that Igawa is nothing more than a batting practice pitcher. The Yankees could have won seven-straight, but they didn’t, at least we know that Igawa is junk and Phil Hughes will be back in the rotation soon.
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A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

It's our favorite July 4th tradition, this side of smiley-face fireworks: The Annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at Nathan's in Coney Island. And this year's competition is particularly tantalizing: Current champion Takeru Kobayashi has been having jaw pains, while Joey Chestnut broke the hot dog eating record, by scarfing down 59.5 at a June event. So we shall begin our liveblogging, and Jen Chung and Tien Mao will be providing other commentary during the competition from time to time. more ›

IFC Center and Asia Society more ›

It's the ol' layover-and-flee move: Thirteen players from Haiti's under-17 national soccer team "deserted" their team during a layover at JFK Airport. Six players returned, but seven are still missing. The squad was headed to South Korea to prepare for the FIFA's U17 World Cup, but now it's unclear whether their team will be intact for its August 19 match against Japan. more ›

We arrived at the Japan Day festivities in Central Park last Sunday afternoon only to find that the food had run out. Nevertheless, we enjoyed an excellent jazz combo, but soon it started to rain. In order to salvage the day, and keep with the Japanese theme, Gothamist headed downtown to give Go!Go! Curry a try. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A stabbing at Canal and Broadway, a naked EDP in Brooklyn, and a car into scaffolding at 54th and 8th in Manhattan
• Interesting story about the state NOW endorsement for the Democratic candidate and the city NOW endorsement for the Republican candidate in today's special election for an Upper East Side Assembly seat
• The soaking NYC got from tropical storm Barry may have caused a wall collapse in Staten Island
• A twenty-something pair of designers (one from Japan, one from Brooklyn) won the competition for Gateway National Recreation Area's new design
• Would you pay $25,000 for Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver's fund-raiser?
• A new online magazine for the hip New Yorker who likes to fish (literally), aptly named This is Fly [Via Complex]
• A Brooklyn resident who recently graduated with honor from John Jay College has vanished in Florida
• Criss Angel emerged from his cement box in Times Square; eh, Blaine there, done that

TV star Matthew Fox went to his alma mater today to give the Class Day speech at Columbia College. Fox, class of 1989, was a controversial speaker choice amongst the Columbia community, given that other Columbia University schools had, er, Nobel Laureate and former Treasury Secretary types speaking. Just Jared has a partial transcript of his remarks:

“You may have an idea where you want to be in 20 years and some of you will get there. But if you do, I guarantee you won’t have let yourself take chances. Eighteen years ago sitting in these seats, as hung over as I was, I remember a sense of accomplishment & a sense of fear. In defining the future for yourselves, the safest choice may not be the best choice... more ›

May 12: Brooklyn Pigfest more ›

Nelson Blue -- billing itself as New York's first New Zealand pub, their menu features everything from New Zealand lamb and in skewer, chop, and curry formats, to Tasman Bay Paddle Crabcakes, to something known as Gado Gado Salad. Opens today. 233-235 Front Street, at Peck Slip. 212-346-9090. more ›

(directed by Alison Chernick) more ›

Ever since The Lab, the gallery at the Roger Smith Hotel, canceled an exhibit of a 6-foot, nude crucified Jesus carved out of chocolate after much furor, the question is now: When will My Sweet Lord (the name of the 200-pound sculpture) rise again? more ›

The Yankees begin their quest for the elusive 27th championship today when Carl Pavano takes the hill against the Devil Rays. more ›