"new york" news and stories

New Yorkers, beware. The latest victim in the state's string of foodstuffs to come under tax (soda, pizza, junk food) is perhaps the most irksome and perhaps the most innocent: the city's iconic, beloved bagel.

It seems that if you simply order your bagel unadulterated (not sliced, not toasted, not schmeared with anything) and scram, you're in the clear. But if you order yours sliced open or topped -- with cream cheese, lox, you name it -- or eat it inside the establishment, a tax, dear New Yorkers, may soon ensue.

While the State of New York has yet to formally announce this new tax in code, an old stand-by bagel franchise, Bruegger's, has already been tapped, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company faced the surprise during an audit this summer when owner Kenneth Greene was charged with a lump sum for past bagels and was ordered to implement the tax immediately, adding about eight cents to each sliced/toasted/topped order.

While we'll all be cozying up to our TV's on Sunday night to watch the Mad Men premiere, sipping on either scotch, some Heinekens or a few dirty martinis (what? we like to have options), some dedicated fans might want to spend their weekend enjoying a more authentic "Mad Men" experience.

Eater has rounded up the bars and restaurants the [now former] Sterling Cooper employees visited in seasons 1 through 3. Though many of the establishments are long-gone ghosts of NYC past, there are still several existing bars, markets and restaurants die-hards can visit in anticipation of the expansion of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. (This would all culminate, naturally, in the official Mad Men premiere party in Times Square.) Happy drinking...er...watching!

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

As the mid-Atlantic region gets buried under its second major snowstorm in the past week, people have been tossing around words like "snowmageddon" and "snowpocalypse," but in parts of New York state a foot of snow or more a day is just business as usual. So for this week's What's On Tap, we took the opportunity to explore America's second snowiest city (according to NSIDC.org): Rochester, N.Y.

For the past 20 years, the Old Toad has been a mainstay in the Rochester area and even has a regional claim to fame as the first bar in the eastern U.S. to serve cask ale. "We're a British-inspired pub," says bar manager Kevin Roman, explaining the reason for selling beer the way they do across the pond. "The Rochester community has taken to it. We see a lot of demand for cask."

But what do Rochesterians drink in snowy weather? The rest of the East Coast wants to know!

"During this time of year people are really interested in porters and stouts," Roman explains. "Maltier, heavier beers. Darker stuff." Turns out in cold weather, patrons demand a little more oomph from their brews. Stouts seem to be the logical selection, but IPAs are also popular, with their added hoppy bite.

See what the Old Toad keeps on draft for their snow-fairing drinkers after the jump...

Photo: Zagat

On the heels of the release of the Michelin Guide's roundup of New York's best eateries, Zagat has unveiled its diner-chosen picks for the best of Gotham eats.

Zagat compiles its listings through surveys submitted by diners in New York. This year, the guide found New Yorkers dining out less because of the current economic climate (about 3.0 times per week now versus 3.3 to 3.4 times a week last year).

See the newcomers after the jump.

New York City isn't about to forget its cocktail roots.

The wild popularity of New Orleans' Tales of the Cocktail has prompted imbibing New Yorkers to get into the cocktail conference game. Enter the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, which held a preview session over the weekend in anticipation of a full-blown, five-day cocktail conference next May 14-18. Lucky attendees to the preview seminars were taught cocktail lessons from behind the bar at swank locales throughout the city.

The cap to the weekend was a wild party at the main branch of the New York Public Library on Oct. 4, complete with a Prohibition-style "Free Lunch," cocktails from more than two dozen bartenders and a live band that made the place jump in "Great Gatsby"-like fashion. Check out Slashfood's photos after the jump.