Subject: New York

• In the Beginning ...

  May 19, 1999

• Lottery Winner

  January 6, 1999

• Buyer Beware: Bush and Confessions agree: Go shopping! (Wait, don't.)

  February 11, 2009

• The Egg Man

  October 3, 2007

• The New Pornographers

  September 12, 2007

• The River of Dreams

  April 18, 2007

• St. Louie Chop Suey

  November 15, 2006

• Dance, Piano Man!

  Twyla Tharp plays a stunning game of Twister with the Billy Joel songbook

  May 5, 2004

• Cowboy Him

  A hometown boy's skills on the open range could win him $25K, Mariano Favazza offers a money-back guarantee, and Unreal gets to the seat of the issue at the new ballpark; plus, won't someone from the STL break the marathon-bowling record?

  January 21, 2004

• Fighting the Power

  April 3, 2002

• Letters

  January 31, 2001

• The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 9.1

  ​ Sheila Lukins, co-author of "The Silver Palate" cookbooks, has died. (Epicurious.com)Velveeta thief charged with DWI. (Buffalo News)New York's Major League Baseball stadiums add fresh fruit to their concession stands. (New York Times)Brain sandwich wins Indiana bar "Manliest Restaurant in America" award. (WBBH)American Airlines joins ReCORK America. (Earth911)

  September 1, 2009

• Local Harvest: For the first time ever, Farm Aid comes to St. Louis.

  October 7, 2009

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  October 7, 2009

• Haute Times in the City

  October 7, 2009

• Love Kills: Charlie Starkweather as Hopeless Romantic

  Photo: Jill RitterBroken, bloody and a murderer -- what's not to love?​Kyle Jarrow's Love Kills is a different sort of musical. Set in a 1958 Nebraska jail, the plot matches two sets of lovers -- middle-age Gertrude and Merle, teen-age Charlie and Caril -- and their attempt to understand what the other couple has done with their lives. Charlie and Caril have been apprehended at the end of their state-wide killing spree, and Merle, the town sheriff, uses his wife as a pawn to wring a confession

  October 8, 2009

• Post-Season Throwdown: What They're Saying in New York, Denver, Minneapolis

  ​Coming off the three-hour, 54-minute letdown last night in Los Angeles, there's nothing we want more than to look ahead to this afternoon's Game 2 start time of 5:07 p.m. and put Matt Holliday's plate failures and Chris Carpenter's perplexing inability to find the outside of the plate behind us.To get your mind off all that -- if only for a few brief moments on this saturated Thursday afternoon -- here's what they're saying in other cities. Take comfort: that the nail-biting, cursing, nervous

  October 8, 2009

• Chef's Choice: Vito Racanelli, Onesto Pizza and Trattoria

  Robin WheelerVito Racanelli of Onesto Pizza & Trattoria​Vito Racanelli, owner and chef of Onesto Pizza and Trattoria (website), comes by his food roots honestly. Born in New York City to parents from Bari and Calabria, he moved with his family to St. Louis when he was thirteen years old.The Racanellis brought a lot of Old World ways with them: "I didn't have peanut butter and jelly and things like that. Breakfast at my house was a couple of raw egg yolks beat with sugar. More of a Europea

  October 8, 2009

• WTF? Obama Wins NHL's Lady Byng Trophy, Too?

  flickr.com/photos/brj_bringin_the_shit_up_in_here_bitchesThe Lady Byng Memorial Trophy would look swell on Unreal's desk, n'est-ce pas?​Unreal thinks we are just as worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize as President Obama. We have just as frequently expressed our support for world peace, though it's true, we've never really done it on the record in places like the New York Times.But now we really have to object. This Obama love has gone entirely too far. As blogger Con Chapman on Salon.com's Open Sa

  October 9, 2009

• Show Review: Maxwell, Common and Chrisette Michele at the Scottrade Center, Friday October 9

  Quite a crowd came out last night to watch Maxwell's return to the spotlight, some eight years after the release of his previous album. There was a "grown and sexy" vibe to the crowd -- the majority of the fans were over 30 and 'dressed to a T.' And although couples dominated the crowd, plenty of single ladies -- some of which hoping to score some face time with the headliner -- were also in attendance. Opener Chrisette Michele started off her set with the title track from her No. 1 album, Epip

  October 10, 2009

• The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 10.14

  ​ Dairy farmers file class action suit against four big milk corporations accused of monopolizing and price fixing. (Associated Press)New York chefs lose weight to raise money for hunger organization. (Reuters)All's not well in the worlds of sex and food. (The New York Times)Cheese consumption on the rise. This might not be as awesome as it seems. (Washington Post)The world's best beer gardens. (MSNBC)

  October 14, 2009

• Java Enabled: Lo Mejor de Monserrate

  Lo Mejor de Monserrate. It means, "the best of Monserrate." This perhaps presumptuous claim is the name of a tiny cooperative nestled high in the mountains of Colombia's Huila coffee region. Last month Tyler Zimmer and Mike Marquard of Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company visited Monserrate. This was a rare opportunity for a U.S. roasting company to get the chance to visit one of the farms where its coffee originates, so I was curious to hear about the trip. After returning from my own visit to Latin

  October 14, 2009

• By the Boards: Dennis Brown on the STL Theater Scene October 15-18

  ​Unity Theatre Ensemble is this area's stealth company -- except when they're performing. Then it's everything they can do to keep the roof nailed down. But publicity is not their strong suit. Music is. Until their Cotton Club Revue got nominated for four Kevin Kline awards earlier this year, many people had not even heard of them. But we sure heard them at the Kevins; their Cotton Club excerpt rocked the Loretto Hilton. This week and next they're back doing what they do best, playing the Ivor

  October 15, 2009

• Chef's Choice: Jeffrey Constance, Hanley's Grille and Tap

  Robin WheelerChef Jeffrey Constance of Hanley's Grille and Tap​What do you mean, you haven't heard of Hanley's Grille and Tap? Chef Jeff Constance took over the former J.Buck's locations at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Illinois, and West County Center in Des Peres a few months ago. Though brand new, Hanely's is already providing Euro-inspired comfort food and excellent service like an old pro. For the 42-year-old Belleville, Illinois, native, it's the culmination of many years in the

  October 15, 2009

• Interview Outtakes: Tom Russell, Playing at Off Broadway on Friday, Turner Hall on Saturday

  This week in the RFT, freelance writer Roy Kasten interviewed Tom Russell about his creative process, especially for the new album Blood and Candle Smoke, which prominently features the sounds of Calexico, and some of his strongest compositions after over 30 years of songwriting. He'll be in the St. Louis area this weekend, with a show at Off Broadway Friday night and at Turner Hall in Mount Olive, Illinois on Saturday. Outtakes from the interview below. Roy Kasten: Tell me about the recording

  October 16, 2009

• Get Your Very Own Expense Report, Right Here

  Unreal loves a business trip as much as anybody. Oh, the fun we've had on long drives out to the O'Fallons, Lake of the Ozarks and Ste. Genevieve! The best part, though, comes after we get home, when that little expense check magically shows up in our pigeonhole. How wonderful life would be, we've often thought, if we could just disappear for a few days and then get that expense check without, you know, actually doing any work.  Daily life, especially in these times, does get expensive and

  October 19, 2009

• Tommy Ramone explores bluegrass and honky-tonk with Uncle Monk, while we catch up with all things Ludo

  October 21, 2009

• Dinner and a Show: Why do Mexicans whoop it up for mariachi bands?

  October 21, 2009

• A Place to Bury Strangers

  October 21, 2009

• Catch This!

  October 21, 2009

• The Joy of Company

  October 21, 2009

• Eero Saarinen in the Big Apple

  ​The Eero Saarinen exhibit "Shaping the Future" on display earlier this year at Wash. U's Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum is now headed to New York. While St. Louisan like to lay claim to Saarinen for his design of the iconic Gateway Arch, New Yorkers also consider the Finnish architect their own for his creation of the swirling TWA terminal (image below) at JFK Airport. If you missed the Saarinen exhibit in St. Louis and plan to be in the Big Apple this fall and/or winter, make it a point to c

  October 21, 2009

• Chef's Choice: Josh Galliano, Monarch

  Robin WheelerJosh Galliano, executive chef at Monarch​In the summer of 2005, Monarch executive chef Josh Galliano was working at New York's Restaurant Daniel when his girlfriend, Audra, paid him a visit. She wasn't happy with what she saw."She said, 'Okay, A, you look anorexic. You're working too much and not eating anything. B, you're broke. I can't believe you're paying for this apartment. C, your subletter just bailed on you.' August 17th, she said to pack my bags, we were going back. Got b

  October 22, 2009

• Cuts Like a Knife: Lita Ford hasn't lost her edge — metal or otherwise — since stepping away from the spotlight

  October 28, 2009

• Stuffed Up: Readers consider a life without Sudafed and ponder St. Louis' dismal rankings in national polls

  October 28, 2009

• Physician, Heal ... Something

  October 28, 2009

• Book Review: Neil Diamond is Forever by Jon Bream

  Voyageur Press​As Jon Bream emphasizes repeatedly throughout Neil Diamond is Forever: The Illustrated Story of the Man and His Music, Neil Diamond is not hip. That's probably why my parents liked him. Actually that's probably why most people's parents liked him, except for people whose parents ran off to Woodstock and lived on communes and never got over talking about how hip they were. My parents were so unhip, they referred to joints as "marijuana cigarettes" and left the one party they ever

  October 28, 2009

• By the Boards: Dennis Brown on the STL Theater Scene October 29-November 1

  ​This week the Rep opens its Studio Series with Secret Order, a fictional drama that lifts the veil on behind-the-scenes maneuverings at a prestigious Manhattan cancer clinic. In the tradition of the best studio offerings, Bob Clyman's play deals with a series of thought-provoking ethical issues. Our protagonist is a brilliant young cell researcher -- and how often do you see that in the theater these days? For those in search of substantive drama, the three-play Rep Studio Series tends to be

  October 29, 2009

• Planet Walk Goes Up with a Big Bang in the Delmar Loop

  Courtesy of Stephen WalkerWanna know where Saturn stands in relation to the sun, kiddies? Do your astronomy homework in the Delmar Loop!​On a scale of one to 5 billion, where does Uranus stand in relation to the sun? Well, if the sun is the Moonrise Hotel, and "5 billion" is Cicero's Restaurant, Uranus would be parked right at Brandt's Cafe. That's the gist of the new Delmar Loop Planet Walk opening on November 8 with a "Big Bang" party and ribbon-cutting. The interactive walk - a la the Loop'

  October 29, 2009

• One on One: Outtakes from the RFT Interview with John Oates

  In this week's issue, I spoke with Hall & Oates' guitarist and songwriter, John Oates. Oates will be in town on Friday night to play the annual American Mustache Institute 'Stache Bash at the Roberts Orpheum. Mark Maglio​ Despite being clean-shaven for almost 20 years, Oates took some time to reflect on his old hirsute image as well as his band's contribution to the American musical landscape. Unfortunately the dead-tree version of the RFT couldn't contain all the history, wisdom and reco

  October 29, 2009

• Perform Like the SLSO in Your Very Own Bathtub

  Over the weekend, the Saint Louis Symphony gave a preview of Powerful Percussion, the concert it will be performing at Carnegie Hall in New York this season. The highlight of the show was undoubtedly the second number, Tan Dun's Water Concerto for Water Percussion and Orchestra, in which percussionist Colin Currie did some amazing things with water with some surprisingly homely pieces of equipment.colincurrie.netCurrie percussing.​Currie's performance engendered a couple of collective epiphany

  November 2, 2009

• Too Soon: Holiday Music On the Station Formerly Known as The Beat

  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xmas_tree.svg​Well, at least the 24-7 Christmas music didn't start in St. Louis this year until November 1. (Last year, if you remember, it started on October 10, after Movin' 101.1 prepared to flip to sports talk from upbeat music.) But yes, after hip-hop stalwart The Beat (100.3 FM) announced on Friday that it was switching formats, the constant holiday music began in earnest yesterday. Heck, the Halloween candy is still on sale, and we already can't es

  November 2, 2009

• Photos: Best 2009 Halloween Costumes in the USA

  Our sister paper, the Village Voice, has compiled nearly 50 of the best Halloween costumes in the country, comprised of photos shot and published in cities from New York to Seattle, Dallas to Minneapolis. They've been nice enough to share this costume compilation, and you'll find that a few St. Louis costumes made the cut. See photos here.Photo: Calibree PhotographyAt the Exotic Erotic Ball in San Francisco. See more of the best Halloween costumes spotted around the U.S. ​There are horse-fucke

  November 2, 2009

• Former Webster University President in Millionaire Academics Club, Sort Of

  The New York Times reported yesterday that salaries among college presidents rose 5.5 percent in 2007-08 fiscal year. (Hold your rage, for now; they stopped calculating before the beginning of the Great Recession.)  The median compensation for a college president is $627,750, but naturally, some earn more. Much, much more.Near the top of the rankings, at number four, is former Webster University president Richard S. Meyers, who earned $1,429,738 in 2007-08. That's more than $150,000 less th

  November 3, 2009

• There S/he Is! The Miss Gay America Pageant prances into St. Louis — and Unreal drinks it all in like a camel at Hoover Dam

  November 4, 2009

• Ho-Hum's the Word: Secret Order will tax your brain but not your heart

  November 4, 2009

• (City)Garden Spot: Downtown's new cultural gem gets a restaurant to match

  November 4, 2009

• Former BETonSPORTS Executives Will Be Staying Home for Awhile

  ​Gary Kaplan's brother and sister have each been sentenced to house arrest for helping to make the now-defunct BETonSPORTS a billion-dollar offshore sports book.U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson yesterday ordered Neil Kaplan and Lori Kaplan-Multz each to spend ten months on house arrest. Both Kaplans reside on the East Coast, and originally hail from New York. That's where their big brother, Gary Kaplan, got his start in book-making, according to court records, before heading offshore to warme

  November 4, 2009

• Mystery of Forest Park Cannon Solved; Spanish Gun Arrived in St. Louis in 1900

  Ruhrwein and the Spanish cannon.​For the past year, Fred Ruhrwien has waged a lonely crusade to discover the origins of a Spanish cannon in Forest Park. The 80-year-old Ruhrwien works as a volunteer guide at the park, giving walking tours to hundreds of visitors each year. Until last month, Ruhrwien never had much to say about one particular landmark: the copper, green cannon  near Lindell Avenue. Etchings on the gun in Spanish reveal the word "Examinador" and tell that it was forged in 1

  November 4, 2009

• Israeli Locksmith Ring Charged with Fraud; Group Operated in Missouri and Florida

  Question is: Can you keep a locksmith in prison if he doesn't want to be there?​Here's a curious tale coming out of the U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis. Last week federal investigators charged Eliyahu Barhanun of Creve Coeur and two other men from Florida on federal charges involving a scam of overcharging customers for locksmith services. According to an affidavit (viewable at the end of this post), the men operated and/or worked with Dependable Lock, a company registered in New York but

  November 5, 2009