Valentine's Day

25 Actors Who Turned Down Amazing Roles

Julia Roberts could have done Blind Side, but opted for Valentine's Day instead. Jack Nicholson was offered the role of Michael Corleone, but felt it was an offer he could refuse. Michelle Pfeiffer didn't want to be Clarice Starling, and Jeremy Irons pooh poohed the part of Hannibal Lecter, both t ... More >>

Japanese Brewery Revolutionizes Chocolate Stout -- With a Chocolate Glass

Rogue Ales makes one, and so do Brooklyn Brewery and Harpoon. In fact, it's hard to find a fashion-forward beer factory that hasn't made its own version of chocolate stout recently. Some ramp up the excitement by making double chocolate stouts and black chocolate stouts. But what is it? Chocolate st ... More >>

What Better Time For Free STD Tests Than Valentine's Day?

But seriously, though. Yesterday, DNAInfo reported that three hospitals in Brooklyn will open their clinics for completely, one-hundred-percent, scott-free STD testing. The hospitals include: East WIlliamsburg's CABS Health Center, Caribbean House Health Center and East New York's Dr. Betty Shabazz ... More >>

Meshuggah

The Best Food Gifts for Valentine's Day, No Edible Panties!

Did you leave it till the last minute? Well it's not too late to buy one of these gifts for the food lover(s) in your life, ranging from $20 to $50:

10 Best Romantic Wine Bars, for Valentine's Day Drinking That Won't Suck

If you haven't made a reservation for Valentine's Day by now, you're a failure. At least that's how it'll feel as you frantically scroll through OpenTable, only to find you can dine at 5 p.m., 11 p.m., or anytime you like at TGI Fridays. Instead of competing with every jerk in the city for a tabl ... More >>

What's Happening: Chocolate Week and Cochon 555

Monday, February 4 Chocolate Week Start the week off right with a healthy dose of chocolate. Keep the sweets coming all the week at restaurants participating in Chocolate Week. Bakeries, restaurants, and stores around the city will offer special Tea Gourmand, Coffee Gourmand, or Bubbly Gourmand menu ... More >>

The Best Metal Concerts in NYC This Month

These are the best metal shows in NYC this month. See also: The Ten Best Metal Albums of 2012

Blech! Spew! Things I Hate About Food!

40 dyspeptic reasons

Say Goodbye to Ellabess, Snack Box

​Whom did the restaurant gods not smile upon this week? Ellabess, the restaurant inside the Nolitan Hotel, closed after service on Valentine's Day and will reopen this spring with a new concept. [Eater]

Happy Anti-Valentine's Day! Here's What To Do-Do!

You're not actually going to celebrate today with a smile and a cuddle just because chocolate makers, florists, and greeting-card companies want you to, are you? Are you that much of a corprorate droog, that easily manipulated to feign some romance with someone you shouldn't have to turn it on with ... More >>

Where Was I Eating? Berimbau

And thus a quick end to this week's round of Where Am I Eating? Not many guesses, but it only takes one correct one to win! I was eating at Berimbau, the cozy restaurant on Carmine Street named for the Brazilian percussion instrument. If you want to get into the spirit of Rio's Carnival -- which is ... More >>

New Yorkers Love, Hate Everything

So, maybe Valentine's Day has you a little bit down about relationships. (Or not! We won't judge.) But either way, there should still be a little room left to celebrate what you love (and hate) about that city. To that end, the interactive mapping website MyBlockNYC compiled two separate videos, mad ... More >>

Penn Station Florists See a Goldmine in Desperate Commuters

Race through Penn Station today, and you're likely to find an assortment of insanely expensive wilted roses -- and thousands of desperate men willing to pay $45 for a bouquet that normally costs $18. For Fredo, a flower vendor who has set up shop next to an Auntie Anne's in the cavernous halls of P ... More >>

Occupy Valentine's Day: Tomorrow's Bed-In in Washington Square Park

Revolutionary GamesThe flyer for tomorrow's "Bed-In."​Valentine's Day, it is now well-established by crushingly overwhelming consensus, is more or less the worst, a vastly successful conspiracy by the Things-That-Are-Pink-Or-Made-Of-Chocolate Industrial complex to boost sales. Whether you a ... More >>

Uh-Oh: You Might Have an STD! The Whole World Might Know, Too

​Love is supposed to be everlasting. Unfortunately for many, the only permanent thing to come out of a relationship is an incurable sexually transmitted disease. And that's why Cyrus Sullivan, of Portland, Ore., claims that he runs STD Carriers Disease Control and Prevention Services, a webs ... More >>

Two Thirds of Single People Have Given Up on Sex (on Valentine's Day, at Least)

Only one third of singles expect to get laid on Valentine's Day -- about the same number that Facebook stalk their exes, a new study reveals. The survey of 515 self-identified singles, conducted by Facebook dating app Areyouinterested.com, finds that 33 percent plan on winding up in bed on what's m ... More >>

Tomorrow: Our 10 Most Romantic Restaurants

'Tis the season for Russell Stover chocolates and pink champagne love! With Valentine's Day quickly approaching next Tuesday, it's time to perk up the romance and take the lady or fella out to dinner. Didn't get around to planning anything? No sweat. Check back in tomorrow bright and early for Our ... More >>

Murray's Cheese Shop: The Spot for Valentine's Day Gifts for Cheese Lovers

​ Some ladies want chocolate and roses for Valentine's Day; others want cheese. Murray's Cheese Shop is now selling Swiss-style cooking utensils from a Dutch brand called Boska that you can use for a cheesy, romantic dinner for two.

Moon Walk

The MTA Wants to Know About Your Subway Crush

In preparation for a Valentine's Day event (a "Love-in-Transit Party," to be specific), at which the New York Times' Alan Feuer will read poems based on Missed Connections and Sophie Blackall of Missed Connections illustration fame will sign copies of her book, the gossip-hungry MTA is seeking tales ... More >>

Friendly Bikini Waxer Will Get You Drunk to Take the Edge Off

​Bikini wax: Two words synonymous with pain. Vodka: One word synonymous with staving off the pain, at least until the next day when the pain is worse than ever, depending on how much vodka is involved. However! A bikini wax is brief, and if you can get drunk beforehand, maybe it won't hurt so ... More >>

Cabbie Does Very Good Thing by Not Stealing $100,000

​Today the Internet is abuzz with news of the kindly cab driver who discovered a passenger had left $100,000 worth of jewelry and cash in the back of his cab and actually gave it back to said owner. What an act of generosity and honor! Because, you know, he really didn't have to, and some cabb ... More >>

A Meteor Zoomed Toward New York at 33,500 MPH Yesterday, By the Way

​A fireball was visible in the sky from at least four local states yesterday -- Valentine's Day, no less -- the American Meteor Society confirms today. The meteor was likely the size of a "small car" before it hit the upper atmosphere and deteriorated, saving us all sans Bruce Willis. "With it ... More >>

Happy Birthday, Mayor Bloomberg!

​Everybody knows that today is Valentine's Day. But did you know that it's also Mayor Bloomberg's birthday? Today he is 69 (Hey you, in the back of the class, what's so funny?). We contacted his press office to find out what 'ol Mikey will be doing, but they never got back to us. Don't worry, ... More >>

Where Am I Eating? The Mystery Grows...

Hello again, sleuthsome diners, and welcome to part deux of this week's "Where Am I Eating?" Nobody has guessed where they serve up this marvelous meal, pictured on the next page, so the prize -- a cookbook -- is still up for grabs. Besides: Valentine's Day looms ever-so-ominously around the corne ... More >>

What to Drink at Cienfuegos on Valentine's Day: Fuego de Pasion

Each week in The Daily Shot, we have ourselves a drink that we think you should try, too. Fuego de Pasion: hot, hot, hot!​​​​​The drink: Fuego de Pasion The bar: Cienfuegos, 95 Avenue A, East Village, 212-614-6818 The price: $38 for two people The ingredients: Banks 5-Island Rum, C ... More >>

The Week in Food Blogs: Restaurant Romance Gone Awry; Best V-Day Candy

This week in food blogs... Eater rounded up 12 of the city's most extreme pizzerias. And, yes, one of the Artichoke pies makes the list. Grub Street posted 14 tales of restaurant romance gone awry. And one involves a naked redhead (which might be hot if it weren't a man). Diner's Journal was shoc ... More >>

Hot Pot Culinary Events Teams Up With Traffic Bar & Restaurant

trafficbarnyc.comLooks like they could have a martini mashup, too.​Hot Pot Culinary Events, a company that puts together cooking classes for corporate events and private parties, has partnered with Midtown pub-fare hub Traffic Bar & Restaurant (986 Second Avenue, 212-813-1595) for a series of ... More >>

Paolo Szot

READY FOR THE TRENCHES

L.A. ladies strike hard and fast

Empire State Building Won't Light Up for Mother Teresa, then Lies, Which Mother Teresa Really Would Have Hated (But Forgiven)

​The Empire State Building is privately owned, and as such, they can do whatever the hell they want -- lighting themselves in pink and red for Valentine's Day, or honoring the Simpsons, or whatever. So, when they said no to lights honoring Mother Teresa's upcoming 100th birthday on August 26, ... More >>

NORWAY'S FINEST

If finest means 'most emo'

This Weekend! Justice, Harlem, Phantogram, Blank Dogs, The Magnetic Fields, Beach Fossils, The Beets, Suckers, Rain Machine, and Neon Indian

​While the city's alt-bros are locked up in Terminal 5 for a Justice DJ set and the subsequent Ed Banger 7th Anniversary Party, you can be crawling around in the cavernous Monster Island. There, the scuzzy (Frankie Rose and the Outs), the scuzzier (Harlem), and the scuzziest (Stupid Party) wil ... More >>

Naked On V-Day!

Screaming Females+Ian Svenonius

'An Evening of Sensual Machine Music'

Rack Focus

Where Owners of Lonely Hearts Go for Valentine's Day

Are You In Love?

Rock stars, dating experts, and cartoon characters talk about Valentine's Day

Where Is the Love

V-Day options from wine to Red Stripe

Oysters Are for Prudes

Real studs eat brisket

All Apologies

Our man humbly offers regrets to his lady

Sexy Gift Guide 5.0

Red Alert

Valentine's Day Gift Shopping

Horoscope

The Reflective Rudy

Mayor Savors His $3 Million Book of Dish: Celebrates Valentine's Day With Tina, Judi, and the Legion of Decency

Shirts

Two T's, One Buttondown, and a Plaid Flannel

Music

Home of the Moan

'The Vagina Monologues' Seizes the Means of Production