Union Square

Birdbath Green Bakery Closes on First Avenue

City Bakery announced on Sunday it would close its First Avenue location of Birdbath Green Bakery, a 240-square-foot outpost with no signage and just stacks of cookies in the window. Its kitchen had been the home of dough mixing and baking for the entire mini-chain since 2005. But all the baking tha ... More >>

Bien Cuit Pops Up in Williamsburg, Uri Scheft Opens Breads Bakery in Union Square

Bakeries-cum-cafes have become a New York staple in recent years. Forget about Belgian chain Le Pain Quotidien. Spots like Runner & Stone, and Bien Cuit have been leading the pack with zucchini sandwiches and plates of duck pastrami. The trend continues as Bien Cuit readies to open a pop up in Willi ... More >>

Our 10 Best Upper East Side Restaurants

The Upper East Side has had some work done. A culinary facelift? It sure seems that way, judging by the neighborhood's growing tally of inventive new food spots that have emerged over the last few years. At the same time, old favorites have continued to increase their followings. Sure, those with pl ... More >>

Rao Dines at Atera; Sietsema Revisits Union Square Cafe

The Voice's Tejal Rao scored a coveted counter seat at Atera, Chef Matthew Lightner's avant garde Tribeca restaurant. The 25 or so courses include sweetbreads with "a barbecue-flavored coating so powerfully sticky that it slows down time, lengthening its gentle flavors, hushing conversation." The V ... More >>

How to Make the Lemony Shrimp Salad from LuLu & Me

Here's a recipe from LuLu & Me, a charming neighborhood restaurant in Flatiron with a focus on seasonal ingredients. This simple shrimp salad works magic with produce straight from the Union Square Greenmarket. [See More Recipes: Tasty Tailgate Treats | Grilled Cheese Sandwich From The Delicatessen ... More >>

Where Was I Eating? Grey Dog

Congratulations to temz. Not only did you get the restaurant name right, but you got the location as well. I was eating at the Grey Dog on University Street over at Union Square. [See Where Else I Ate: Penny Farthing | Babbo Restaurant | Spice Market]

Our Best Posts of the Week!

In case you missed it, our week in review: We find New York's largest burger in the form of a pljeskavica with lamb meat at Bosna Express. Speaking of meat, there's two big meat festivals coming up and it has been confirmed that Alinea and Eleven Madison will be trading places for a couple of days ... More >>

Where Was I Eating? Union Square Cafe

[See Where Else I Ate: Ai Fiori | Caracas Arepa Bar | Momofuku Noodle Bar] Congrats to lr3 who guessed Union Square Cafe. This is the yellowfin tuna burger with oozing ginger glaze on a toasted poppyseed bun.

Aji de Gallina at Morocho, Dish #83

Welcome to 100 Dishes to Eat Now, the tasty countdown leading up to our "Best of 2012" issue. Tune in each day (weekends too!) for a new dish from the Fork in the Road team. [See More 100 Dishes: Summer Squash at Fort Defiance, Dish #84 | Saba Pressed Sushi at Ootoya, Dish #85]

How To Stay Safe in New York City: Tips for Women

Yesterday, the Voice reported that a tourist was raped in her Bronx hotel room. Cops say the perp talked to the victim on train departing from East 14th Street and Union Square. Around 4 a.m., after she had returned to her East Tremont hotel, the alleged assailant knocked on her door. When she open ... More >>

Union Square

First Corn Appears in Farmers' Markets

Even the chalkboard is excited. The first ears of corn rolled into area farmers' markets today, and the silk-clad beauties showed up at both Abingdon Square and Union Square Greenmarkets. The first corn of the year flaunts big white kernels (no bi-color or yellow yet), and is surpassingly sweet, w ... More >>

Occupy Wall Street Dreams Of A Giant Jam Session May 1

"Band seeking 1000 guitar players. Other instruments also welcome. Influences include Woody Guthrie, Tom Morello, Willie Nile, and Sergio Ortega." Occupy Wall Street is raising a "Guitarmy." For months, activists have been preparing for May Day, laying plans for teach-ins, bank blockades, marches ... More >>

Occupy Spring

The protests are back and building to a May Day to remember

Where Was I Eating? Tortaria

​It looks like we have a winner for this round of Where Am I Eating?--someone who pays attention to bathroom decoration as much as I do, perhaps? I was at Tortaria, the Mexican semi-fast food joint near Union Square that serves up pretty solid tortas and tacos. (If you're a spice monster, though, ... More >>

Students Rally Against DOE's Proposal to Shut Down Legacy High School

Yesterday, four electeds who hope to be mayor in 2013 rallied on the steps of City Hall to criticize the current mayor for his policies of closing failing public schools. And last week, a group of electeds -- alongside angry parents and students -- rallied around a new report that says Mike Bloomber ... More >>

Man Killed By L Train This Morning

via @evgrieve​ A 22-year-old man was hit and killed by an L train heading to Brooklyn at around 8:25 a.m. this morning, the New York Post reported.

No Pants Subway Ride Is Over, Put Your Pants Back On

Of Improv Everywhere's many pranks in public places, perhaps the most well-known repeat prank is the one that brings humanity into the subway, around the world, to remove its pants. The No Pants Subway Ride has been happening since 2002, and we've been taking photos of it since 2006! It happened aga ... More >>

Our 10 Best Things to Eat at the Union Square Holiday Market

Lauren ShockeyA super cheesy pretzel makes for fine snacking while shopping​Well, we've saved the best for last. After visiting several of the bigger, non-pop-up holiday markets that have cropped up this season, we can say that the most varied and delicious culinary options can be found at th ... More >>

Tomorrow: Our 10 Best Things to Eat at the Union Square Holiday Market

Lauren ShockeyBreezy Hill Orchard sure makes some cute looking gingerbread men (and women!), but are they tasty enough to make it into the top 10?​Throughout the week we've canvassed the city's holiday markets, looking for edible gifts and tasty snacks. Some have been duds and others have offe ... More >>

SlutWalk Rally Against Sexual Violence Draws Huge Crowd of Feminists

Rebecca Nathanson​Yesterday, as Occupy Wall Street prepared for a late afternoon protest that would result in mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge, over a thousand people gathered in Union Square for a few hours of marching and rallying at SlutWalk NYC. The event drew a diverse crowd of mostly- ... More >>

Chelsea Elliott, Occupy Wall Street Protester Sprayed by Cop, Tells Us What Happened

Earlier today we posted the video above from USLaw, in which an NYPD officer appears to walk up to a group of cordoned-off Occupy Wall Street protesters (most of them young women) near Union Square and spray them without warning with a can of pepper spray or possibly mace. They drop to the ground s ... More >>

Michael Sailstorfer's Tornado Coming to Central Park Through February

Steven ThrasherSailstorfer's 30 foot sculpture being installed​ Joining that newly installed elephant in Union Square in the city's gallery of public art, there's a similarly scaled sculpture we noticed being erected in the south part of Central Park over the weekend, just across the street fr ... More >>

How You Can Help Upstate NY, NJ, and Vermont Farmers Now

​Lots of people have asked me how they can help farmers whose acreage has been damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irene. In the coming months there will doubtlessly be a host of benefits for farms at restaurants, concert halls, and other venues, but there is something you can do more immediatel ... More >>

As Irene's Devastation Continues to Play Out, Consider Helping a Farmer

Amy Colyer Fogerty​As we reported earlier this week, Hurricane Irene wreaked devastation upon numerous upstate farms, causing massive destruction to cropland and in many cases irreversible damage.

What Color Is Your Carrot?

​Purple carrots? But do they taste any different? August is the month that heirloom varieties and modern hybrids cavort in the farmers' markets around town. Heirlooms are persnickety, and take longer to grow, and, as for the hybrids, canny farmers know that customers are tired of the same o ... More >>

Dish No. 73, Ma Po Tofu at Ennju

​What happens when a Japanese cook reinterprets a Sichuan standard? Go to Ennju to find out. Spicy food has lately become more popular in Japan, where not too long ago, chili heat was limited to green shisito peppers or the red flakes in togarashi. But gradually, spiciness has been worming i ... More >>

Berrying in the Far Northern Catskills

​A brief bout of picking yields over four quarts of berries. July is peak berry season in the valley of Schoharie Creek, which runs north from Great Gorge to the town of Schoharie, New York, a distance of about 20 miles. As the rocky creek meanders and burbles through the valley between two ... More >>

A New Report Says Cops Really Like Ticketing the Forsyth Street Produce Vendors

Urban Justice Center​If you thought the city was giving food-truck drivers a hard time, consider the plight of Forsyth Street's fruit and vegetable vendors.

Carmen Quagliata of the Union Square Cafe on American Food and the Great Hamburger-Hot Dog Debate

Photo courtesy Carmen QuagliataCarmen Quagliata: Loves pasta, hates snails​New York City isn't short on American restaurants, so figuring out who to interview for Americana Week was tricky. But the Union Square Cafe, Danny Meyer's first venture, fits the bill, having witnessed changes in the ... More >>

City Farm Café Chosen to Run Union Square Restaurant; How Drilling For Gas Can Poison Food

​Starbucks is being sued for firing an employee who is a dwarf after she asked for a stool or small stepladder to perform her job. [Reuters] The City Parks Department has selected City Farm Café as the new operator of the seasonal café in Union Square Park. [Broadway World] Nutrition advoc ... More >>

Oh, Happy Day: You Can Now Buy Beer at the Greenmarket

apol3/FlickrBeer: a golden halo around your Greenmarket experience​ Wonderful as the arrival of ramps and asparagus to the farmers' market may be, the sad fact remains that they will not make you drunk. So there is reason to rejoice: Tomorrow, for the first time ever, you will be able to buy b ... More >>

Half a Heritage Steer Is Coming to 11 NYC Restaurants

​Next Wednesday, 11 of New York's restaurants will have one thing in common, and it's not HACCP compliance. They'll be splitting a side of Black Angus steer provided by the folks at Heritage Foods USA. The animal, or technically half of it, comes from Kansas' Good Farm, where Craig and Amy Goo ... More >>

Num Pang to Add a Second Location Next Month

Sarah DiGregorioThis is why Num Pang is expanding.​2010 was not the best year for Ratha Chaupoly: in August, he closed Kampuchea and replaced it with Bun & Co., only to close it four months later. But 2011 seems to have gotten off to a better start, as Chaupoly will open a second location of N ... More >>

Bobby Flay On Becoming Famous; Jerry Della Femina Sells Resto Out of Fear of Democrats

​Yum! Brands, which owns fast-food chains KFC and Taco Bell, earned less than expected in the first quarter, while Chipotle beat expectations. [Forbes] Fabio Parasecoli, coordinator of the New School's Food Studies program, was in Union Square teaching a "pop up" college course on local and s ... More >>

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT

But not too hard, OK?

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck Is Back, Kind of

​ It looks like the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck is going to be on the Food Network, but while that's nice and all, what's more relevant to our appetites is that it's going to be parked at Union Square for a few blessed hours this afternoon. As a salve for the mid-week doldrums, it's hard to beat ... More >>

Libyan Rebels Take Control Near Tripoli; Tunisian Prime Minister Steps Down; Taxi Passenger Crashes Cab (Sunday Links)

via Gothamist​The Libyan uprising has "reached the capital's doorstep": anti-government forces have taken a town 30 miles from Tripoli, the capital. Yesterday, the U.N. approved sanctions against Libya and President Obama said that Moammar Qaddafi should step down. [NYT] Mohammed Ghannouchi, the ... More >>

Red Jacket Orchards' Tart Cherry Stomp

Rebecca Marx​True, pickings at the Greenmarket are relatively slim these days, unless you're a root vegetable fanatic or eat a lot of free-range, antibiotic-free turkey. But while fruit season may still be far, far away, Red Jacket Orchards is fortunately eternal, and their Tart Cherry Stomp i ... More >>

Top 10 White Stripes Songs To Get You Through Their Breakup

​So the White Stripes officially announced their breakup today. You are understandably depressed. Not shocked or devastated, probably -- they hadn't put out a record in four years, nor toured in about as long, nor generally much resembled an active band. And yet it's now time to regard the sta ... More >>

New York City Commuters Are Getting Existential

Subway Art Blog via Blake Martz​It's been a while since our last post applauding awesome New York signage, but here we are again! We especially like this one -- posted on Subway Art Blog today after being noticed by an observant city dweller at Union Square -- for its literary origins. Recogni ... More >>

We're SO Over This Whole "Winter" Thing

This funny "attack ad" on winter made by AOL conveys how we're probably all feeling. Winter is so last season to us already.

Souvlaki GR Will Open a Restaurant in the LES

newyorkstreetfood.comSoon you'll get seating with your souvlaki​Souvlaki GR, arguably the best Greek mobile food purveyor around (and 2010 Vendy winner for Best Rookie Truck) will soon be expanding its stomping grounds from Midtown, Union Square, and SoHo to the Lower East Side with its first ... More >>

The Best Thing I Ate Yesterday

Welcome to The Best Thing I Ate Yesterday, where we endeavor to remember the very best thing we stuffed down our gullets over the past 24 hours. Why? Because the only thing better than enjoying a meal is wallowing in the memory of one savored in the recent past. Today's fond reminiscences ... Vict ... More >>

The Union Square Holiday Market's Edible Delights

Hansel and Gretel Would Approve​ Now that Thanksgiving is officially over, it's time to start holiday shopping, and what better place for gifts than at the Union Square Holiday Market. Yes, it's just as crowded as Wal-Mart come five a.m. on Black Friday, but hey, at least the snacking options ... More >>

The Best Thing I Ate Yesterday

Welcome to The Best Thing I Ate Yesterday, where we endeavor to remember the very best thing we stuffed down our gullets over the past 24 hours. Why? Because the only thing better than enjoying a meal is wallowing in the memory of one savored in the recent past. Today's fond reminiscences ... Robe ... More >>

The Best Thing I Ate Yesterday

Welcome to The Best Thing I Ate Yesterday, where we endeavor to remember the very best thing we stuffed down our gullets over the past 24 hours. Why? Because the only thing better than enjoying a meal is wallowing in the memory of one savored in the recent past. Today's fond reminiscences ... Rebe ... More >>

This Protesting Vietnam Thing Is Getting Serious

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. December 30, 1965, Vol. XI, No. 11 Four Indicted for Burning Draft Cards Four young draft-card burners were indicted last week for violating a Federal statute that makes it illegal to mutilate a draft card. They face a maximum of five ... More >>

Get Yer Soup Bones Here

Get an opaque market bag so no one thinks you're an axe-murderer​ Attention, fellow soup-lovers: Arcadian Pastures, a farm that raises cattle, pigs, lamb, and chicken in Sloansville, New York, peddles meaty marrow and neck bones perfect for stock at the Wednesday Union Square Greenmarket. Alt ... More >>