Holiday Season

HAPPY TOGETHER

Where Mahjong meets Dreidel

Get Super Drunk and Play a Power Dreidel Drinking Game Before Hanukkah is Over

Tonight marks the seventh night of Hanukkah and, if you've been observing the holidays, you're probably ready to do something other than marvel at lights and pretend like you wanted those socks. But it's Friday! And before you pack up the menorah, make like a Maccabee and play Power Dreidel. Here's ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Sephardic Dish #7

Sephardic-Uzbek shish kebabs, top to bottom: chicken hearts, ground-beef lulya, lamb, and marinated chicken Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunse ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Sephardic Dish #6

The name of this Sephardic dish could be a nickname for Shaquille O'Neill. Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven days of Hanuk ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Sephardic Dish #5

Begin the Tajine! Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven days of Hanukkah - and presenting a wrap-up as the sun goes down on th ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Ashkenazi Dish #5

Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven days of Hanukkah - and presenting a wrap-up as the sun goes down on the eighth day. Whose ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Sephardic Dish #4

Is that just a newfangled matzo? Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven days of Hanukkah - and presenting a wrap-up as the sun ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Ashkenazi Dish #4

Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven days of Hanukkah - and presenting a wrap-up as the sun goes down on the eighth day. Whose ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Sephardic Dish #3

Sephardic Jews are responsible for one of the world's greatest appetizers: fried baby artichokes. Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the f ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Ashkenazi Dish #2

Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven days of Hanukkah - and presenting a wrap-up as the sun goes down on the eighth day. Whose ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Sephardic Dish #2

Aash rechte is a hearty winter soup of the Persian Jews Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven days of Hanukkah - and presenti ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Ashkenazi Dish #1

Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven days of Hanukkah - and presenting a wrap-up as the sun goes down on the eighth day. Whose ... More >>

Hanukkah Face-Off: Sephardic Dish #1

A sumptuous selection of the cold salads and dips known to North African Jews as kemia Hanukkah is a time for enjoying Jewish culinary traditions with family and friends, and to that end we present a daily competition between Ashkenazi and Sephardic food, going up around sunset on the first seven ... More >>

10 Best Restaurants to Book for Christmas Eve Dinner

Walking around Lower Manhattan these past few nights, it is clear that something is in the air. Literally. Take a deep breath in and find your lungs greeted by wave of pine from the tightly wrapped trees that now seem to line every street corner. By next week, it will be impossible to dodge the ho ... More >>

A Christmas Tree Set a Car on Fire in the East Village

As Myles wrote on Monday, it's high time to throw away your old, dead Christmas tree. But while doing so, please dispose of it properly! According to the blog Strollerderby, a Christmas tree was seen in flames, in the East Village, the other night. It managed to set an entire minivan on fire. (EV Gr ... More >>

Handy Guide to FiTR Xmas Coverage, Including Last-Minute Gift Suggestions

​This year, Fork in the Road pulled out all the stops in our Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa coverage, given you hints on where to shop, what gifts to buy, and examining holiday rituals from a cynical point of view. Here is a guide to our coverage, in case you haven't had enough of the holidays al ... More >>

HARD NUT

Sugarplum fairies go underground

Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's Wine Pairings for Candy Canes and Gingerbread Houses

Scott Abelman / FlickrFancy some Moscato d'Asti with your candy canes?​Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year's are just around the corner, meaning holiday feasting is soon upon us. And with holiday eating comes holiday boozing. Now, some holiday celebrations call for downing whatever bo ... More >>

The Brooklyn (Hipster) Christmas Tree Gets a (Hipster) Time-Lapse Video

Brooklyn Christmas Tree from Chris Kirkinis on Vimeo.Everything good and decent in this world gets a time-lapse video, right? Right. Such is the case for the Brooklyn (Hipster) Christmas Tree, created by 26-year-old Aussie expat Julian Cole. Watch the stylized time-lapse of the making, by Chris Kirk ... More >>

We're Mad-off as Hell! There's a Site for Frustrated Mets Fans

​Are you as sick about the loss of Jose Reyes as I am? Have you had it with the bullshit excuses from the Mets front office about Reyes's injuries? (Didn't Mickey Mantle have a lot of injuries? Would you have signed Mickey at age 28, the age Jose is now?) Are you angry at the insult to the Me ... More >>

Seven Spots to Eat a Feast of the Seven Fishes

Andy Ciordia/FlickrExpect fish, fish, fish, and more fish.​ Christmas is a-coming, and while the kiddies might be all excited about Santa Claus's visit, the more food-focused will be looking forward to the Feast of the Seven Fishes, one of the most gluttonous culinary traditions of the season. ... More >>

Where Am I Eating?

​Holiday shopping got you all tied down? Well, we've got cookbooks galore to give away, and they make excellent presents this holiday season. All you've got to do is play our weekly guessing game, Where Am I Eating? Simply look at the photo below and name the restaurant where I'm eating, le ... More >>

THE DRIVING FORCE

Holidays are about giving, remember?

Busta Rhymes Drags "The Little Drummer Boy" Into The Twitter Age

​"Drummer Boy," another song from the forthcoming Justin Bieber Yuletide album Under The Mistletoe, has made its way online; a rework of the classic hymn "The Little Drummer Boy," it's been retrofitted with sharper drums and rap verses to make it sound like it could be dropped into top-40 stat ... More >>

An October 18 Warning: Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe" Will Be Everywhere This Holiday Season

​This year's crop of holiday-themed records includes albums by the likes of She & Him, Tony Bennett, and Scott Weiland. But the one that will probably emerge as sales champ (or at least get mentioned by a lot of people on Twitter) is Under The Mistletoe, the first seasonally minded release fro ... More >>

Newsweek's Julian Assange Christmas Photos Are Really Quite Magical

One of the many faces of possibly being extradited, via Robert King/Newsweek​Did anyone ever watch the sentimental, autobiographical Truman Capote short called "A Christmas Memory"? In it, an orphaned boy lives with a group of elderly relatives, one of whom is his best friend, an eccentric, ch ... More >>

Exorcising This Year's 10 Most Distrubing Christmas Images [NSFW]

bwog.com​10. Come to think of it, wouldn't it be nice if Santa were a sheep instead of a drunk? You're probably expunging Christmas from your domicile by dismantling the tree, vacuuming up the damned needles from every corner, and trying to find a place to stash the new presents in your impo ... More >>

Five Curious Culinary Christmas Customs

​How about some eels for Christmas dinner? Get 'em on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. You think fruitcake and eggnog are strange? You think houses made of gingerbread are weird? Read on about some even more off-the-wall Christmas dining habits.

Dirty and Offensive Christmas Songs!

​The only way I can deal with the annual onslaught of cheery and/or solemn Christmas songs is to make up filthy, raucous versions of them and make those the official hymns of the season. It's painfully immature, for sure, but it helps cut through the cheap sentiment and relentless faux glee t ... More >>

ON THE JOB

Three great comics have Xmas covered

The 2010 Rightblogger War on Christmas Special -- Featuring Abortion Gift Certificates!

Merry War on Christmas! This conflict has been dragging on for years, which is not entirely a bad thing, as it has produced a thriving War on Christmas industry, which our economy desperately needs. The opportunities for outrage this year are slim, but where there's a rightblogger, there's a way, w ... More >>

What's Happening This Week: A Winter Cocktail Class; A Fatty Christmas

As you may know, our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! Winter Cocktails Class The Brooklyn Kitchen Wednesday, December 15 at 6:30 p.m. Join Tom Chadwick of Dram in Williamsburg and Mayur Subbarro of Mayahuel in the East ... More >>

Virginia Kills Rudolph, and Possibly Christmas

Parents, shield your children from this horrifying sight: An inflatable Rudolph in a recent holiday parade in Virginia is felled, then destroyed most violently -- an unwitting casualty of human error and a too-short traffic light. Consider Christmas over. Still, the look on the poor reindeer's face, ... More >>

Santa Extra-Pushy This Year (or, the Christmas Creep Begins)

​It's November 3. It was just Halloween, and we're still clinging to the last vestiges of Daylight Savings Time (get ready to falllll baaaaack this Sunday!). But...have you done your Christmas shopping yet? 'Cause you have to get on that shit. As EV Grieve has noted, "Duane Reade Puts Out Its ... More >>

SNOWBIZ

Murray Hill . . . on ice!

SHOWBIZ LIVES ON

Not even a recession can stop Murray Hill from celebrating Christmas

Brick Theater's The Baby Jesus One-Act Jubilee: Second Coming

Horoscope

Dour Divas Douse Christmas Classics

Susan Sontag Hair Extensions, Anyone?

'Bust' and local artists rescue the ailing holiday craft fair

No Thanks for the Memories

Folkies Show How the Irish Saved Jesus's Birthday (This Year)

A Tale of Two Christmas Departments: Kmart and Bergdorf Goodman

NY Mirror

Film

Listings

Holiday Humbug

Yes, Virginia, there is a limit to Christmas pageantry

Hot for Santa

A brief but startling history of the chocolate Santa Claus

A Murray Murray Christmas!

People in Glass Houses

Holiday Windows in a Sad Season