"Times Square" news and stories

Grab a seat in the open-air restaurant, unfold your napkin and take a leisurely look at the specials on the menu the waiter has just handed you. But be careful not to get sideswiped by the M7 bus as it zips down Broadway on its way through Times Square. No kidding, folks, New York's famous Crossroads of the World-the scene of so many ball-dropping New Year's Eve parties-might sport a 100-seat restaurant by summer, complete with waiter service.

According the New York Daily News, the idea comes from the Times Square Alliance, an association of local businesses, and the plan is to seek out interested parties, perhaps from restaurants in the immediate neighborhood. If the idea sounds extreme at first, consider that much of Times Square-at least three full blocks-is now mostly closed to cars, thanks to efforts, not always popular (especially with cab drivers), by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is also pushing hard for more bike lanes in the city. By the time you're ready to dine, though, traffic won't be the major problem. But August heat and humidity might be, that is, if the plan gets off the ground by then. (Our advice? Don't hold your polluted breath.)

You're not likely to find gruyère in most fast-food burger joints, but now you will, at the crossroads of America, New York's Times Square. Just in time for the city's New Year's Eve bash, there's a new burger joint in town: The Counter, a nearly 8-year-old California-born chain specializing in custom-built burgers with uncharacteristically top-notch ingredients. The new outpost just opened in Times Square yesterday -- the chain's 26th U.S. location -- at 1451 Broadway.

Oprah has already named their "Build Your Own" burger one of the "20 Burgers You Must Eat Before You Die," and GQ's Alan Richman put it on his list of best burgers in the country. At least with more than 300,000 possible combinations you'll never get bored. There are four types of patty (Angus beef, grilled chicken, turkey, veggie), 12 types of cheese (like Greek feta, provolone and soft-ripened brie), 33 toppings (house-made guacamole, sautéed mushrooms, and even a fried egg) and 21 sauces (like basil pesto, chipotle aioli and ginger-soy glaze). Then, top it off with one of six different buns, such as honey wheat or ciabatta.

Unexpected starters round out the meal, from sweet-potato fries to turkey chili and fried dill pickle chips. New York City's location is also the first to have shakes, malts, floats and a full bar with spiked shakes, beer and wine. Plus, they say all their meat is humanely raised and hormone- and antibiotic-free. Especially cool? The promise that each outpost includes some locally sourced market ingredients. Happy National Burger Day!

Shake Shack -- the popular string of burger and frozen custard stands that launched in New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2004 -- is shaking it up with a new Times Square outpost and a new hot dog in honor of the Miami Heat's acquisition of NBA star LeBron James.

Miami's Shake Shack is offering the Le-BRAT James, a grilled bratwurst "bringing the Heat with Tabasco simmered onions," Eater reported.

The Le-BRAT was originally a one-day menu item in New York and was a culinary attempt to woo LeBron James to choose the New York Knicks. The Shake Shack Facebook page describes the hot dog as having the "taste of victory!" Oh well. It still looks delicious.

Meanwhile, Shake Shack is expanding in New York City with the opening of its first Times Square restaurant -- the Theater District Shake Shack, which is located at 8th Ave. and 44th St.

When I signed up for the Burns' Night dinner at St. Andrews Restaurant, I was pretty excited. Not only would I be able to enjoy haggis and other Scottish specialties, but I would also have a great post for Slashfood. Unfortunately, Monika Bartyzel got here ahead of me and did a pretty damned good job of talking up the wonders of the "Great chieftain o' the pudding race." Still, having spent an evening eating offal, sipping scotch, and listening to highland poetry, I'm not quite ready to give up...

My introduction to haggis came on a family trip to Scotland. My mother, who was Jewish and had never quite understood my father's extreme dislike of spices, bought A Feast of Scotland by Janet Warren. As we drove around the countryside, she tore through the tome, alternately giggling, gagging, and exclaiming "You're FREAKING joking!" At the end of all of this, she gazed upon my father and told him that she finally understood his problem. The cookbook featured exactly two spices: salt and pepper, and occasionally exhorted its readers to "add suet to taste." While there is a lot to be said for environment, it was clear that heredity had had at least some effect on my dad's palate.