New York City

Huff Po – The Disney Channel has pulled an episode of “Jessie” from their regular programming in response to backlash from parents. The complaints about the show were formalized in a petition, claiming that storyline was insensitive towards children with food allergies. In the episode, a young character named Stuart, who is sensitive to gluten, is made out to be annoying and high-maintenance. For example, when another character throws pancakes in his face, the in-studio audience laughs at him along with everyone else in the scene. (You can see the offending clips captured by blogger Gluten Dude in the video above.) When mom Amy Raslevich saw the episode with her two children who both have Celiac disease, she was appalled and her kids were very upset. “There were tears in my daughter’s eyes, and my son’s fist was clenched,” she told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Raslevich started a petition on Change.org on Thursday in an attempt to convince Disney to pull the episode titled “Quitting Cold Koala.” She explained how her kids are often ostracized because of their condition that limits their diets and how Disney poorly portrayed the issue. She wrote: They will often feel excluded or different, because they have to be to avoid serious illness.Yet Disney gave children permission, and an example, to further isolate my children and others like them because of their medical conditions. Their characters made it okay to characterize a real illness as an annoyance that is justification for the ‘cool kids’ to make fun of the ‘others’. This isn’t acceptable for anyone. It is the definition of bullying. My two favorite hot button issues of today. 1) When people call “making fun of” something “shaming” and 2) Allergies. “Shaming” is the newest buzzword used by all the pussies in the world. Lets get one thing clear – I’m not “shaming” fat people. I’m making fun of them because I think they are gross. I’m not “shaming” sluts. I’m making fun of them because they give up the pussy to easily. I don’t care if they are “ashamed” or if its a “shame” they are fat or big whores. To be honest, I don’t even really understand the term. All I know is I am fucking making fun of them. Don’t make me sound like some bitch by saying I “shame” people. Now for allergies. Fucking allergies. What a bunch of fucking babies the world is with allergies. Oh you’re allergic to pollen? Guess what? The whole fucking world is. Dust irritates your eyes? No fucking kidding pal. And I’m sorry that you can’t even look at a fucking peanut without your throat closing up, but guess what? Peanut butter and jelly is ridiculous and thats what kids are gonna eat in the cafeteria. We’re not gonna tell the whole school to stop eating PB&J because one dickhead can’t smell peanuts without dying like a pussy. Oh and as far as the Gluten thing. Listen kids – if you’re allergic to gluten you might as well find some gluten-free bullets and put one right in your head. Because theres gluten in just about every fucking thing in the world. So you better be able to sack up and deal with the goddam Disney Channel cracking some jokes about you, because trust me – your life is gonna be a LOT worse than that.

An NYPD detective was arrested this morning by federal agents for allegedly using his work computer to hack into the email accounts and cell phones of former and current officers. According to the FBI, 42-year-old Edwin Vargas paid $4,050 to email hacking companies for usernames and passwords of at least 30 people, 21 of them current or former NYPD employees. Vargas also allegedly accessed the National Crime Information Center to research two current NYPD officers without authorization. [ more › ]

Hugh Mangum, the man behind Mighty Quinn's is one of the pioneers of what Josh Ozersky is calling "The New 'Cue." Barbecue, Ozersky says, was only invented as a way to use up cheap meat and "break down tough, gnarly cuts via long, slow cooking." But now chefs like Magnum have come along and started using heirloom Berkshire pigs for their pulled pork, changing the state of barbecue as we know it. [WSJ]

The first NYC Style slice, so promising... [Photographs: Kelly Bone] Clover Takeaway 8384 West 3rd St West Los Angeles, CA 90048 (Map); 213-763-6123; the-churchill.com www.cloverjuice.com Pizza type: NY-Style Oven type:Wood-fired The Skinny:Great ingredients that sometimes yield a good slice, but usually fall short. Price:$2 for a slice, +$1 per topping In March, an odd and unused window on the side of The Churchill took on new life as the food and cold-pressed juice purveyor, Clover Takeaway, set up shop. Tucked away at the bottom of their menu is the NYC Cheese Pizza Slice, at a tempting $2.00—a steal given the talent and ingredients on hand in The Churchill's kitchen. For another dollar, you can add a topping of pepperoni, mushrooms, or extra cheese. And while the up-charge is on the steep side for a single slice, it's still one of the best deals in town. That is, if you get one of the good slices. My very first slice of "NYC Style pizza" was fantastic. It's not quite NY-style—the sponge-started, overnight-fermented crust has more finesse than your average New York doughs, and the simple DiNapoli tomato sauce is free of dried herbs. But tucked under a blanket of bubbling aged mozzarella, covered in a light oily sheen, the slice hits an even balance of crispness, sweet acidity and oil. The bottom of the slice didn't droop, folding easily into a that classic New York pose. Even better, Clover Takeway is cooking up these pies in The Churchill's wood-fired oven. I slipped on my shades and leaned back on the hood of my car, casually enjoying my NY-style slice in the California sun. It was a perfect moment of cultural fusion. Sadly, my next visit told a completely different story. For starters, my order was clearly forgotten. Left standing on the sidewalk for 40 minutes, I sustained myself on apologetic Clover juice samples until someone finally slapped together some dough, sauce and cheese into a pizza-like blob. It felt like the kitchen was giving the Clover Takeaway window the shaft. They generously offered me the entire pizza, but the pale, misshapen slices were completely off balance. Worse, the lava-like flow of extra cheese—which, to be fair, I did request on one of my slices—turned out to be a nauseating sight. If my prior visit hadn't been so promising, I would have cut my losses and walked away. But I was determined to relive that first wonderful slice, so I kept on trying. Thinking that perhaps a $1 topping would improve the pizza, I got a slice of pepperoni and a slice of mushroom. The Zoe's pepperoni delivers some decent heat, once you plod through the puddles of paprika-colored oil. But if you're going to spend the extra money on a topping, the wild mushrooms are far and away the best choice. Tender chanterelles, generously applied, offer a delicate flavor that helps cut through the blubber of cheese. But on the topped slices, the moisture and oil caused the sauce and cheese to meld into a glossy pink base. It still tasted good, but it was a wholly unappetizing sight. When the pies are on point, Clover Takeaway's NYC Slice is one of the best pizza bargains in town. The crisp-tender crust holds up to gently sweet tomato sauce and a smattering of mozzarella. But when the execution flounders, the pizza is quickly downgraded to a sloppy if affordable lunch. If you have the time—and enjoy a good gamble—it's worth your $2. But if you want guaranteed success, you'll have better luck dining at The Churchill and ordering a whole pie. About the author: Los Angeles native, Kelly Bone writes The Vegetarian Foodie and spends the rest of her time designing office cubicles... you might be sitting in one right now! Follow her on Twitter at @TheVegFoodie

The building housing legendary Greenwich Village club Café Wha?, which has seen Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan take the stage, is for sale. This probably doesn't mean much for the club, at least not immediately, as the listing states that everything in the building except Café Wha? can be vacated quickly. [Curbed NY, Massey Knakal]

Music mega-mogul Irving Azoff, who was recently named No. 1 on the Billboard Power 100 list, has just dropped $16M on a five-bedroom in L.A.'s Holmby Hills. The manse is mighty good-looking, too, so let's hope Christina Aguilera, who once had Azoff as her manager, doesn't impart too much design advice on the guy. Anyway, Trulia Luxe Living has photos. [Trulia Luxe Living]

WILLIAMSBURG — Bridge-and-tunnel traffic has been reversed as less-than-hip Manhattanites now flock to Williamsburg, ruining the scene for locals, residents complain. Ever since he moved to North Williamsburg a few years ago, Michael Chandler has lost some of his favorite undiscovered bars to hordes of weekend “flipsters.” “They’re poser hipsters. They come from the city or from New Jersey to come play hipster for the weekend,” said Chandler, 26, of the term. “There’s some weird touristy draw… All the cool bars that used to be not crowded are now crowded by weekenders.” The explosive popularity of bars on the Williamsburg waterfront and near McCarren Park — and the opening of higher-end spots targeting tourists and visitors from outside Brooklyn — have spurred such a nightlife shift that many local partiers are avoiding certain blocks altogether when Friday night rolls around. “You know how it is here — once places become too cool and popular, you ditch them and try to find the next place,” laughed Chandler of the local mindset, adding that prices had gone up with the influx of outsiders. “I just like cheap beer.”  ”The people who actually live on this block don’t go to these places. I don’t go to the Wythe, I don’t go to Output,” said Wythe Avenue resident Kate, 26, who declined to give her last name but said she’d lived on the stretch for the past two years and was dismayed by the changes. “I have friends who come in from Manhattan to walk around or go to the Brooklyn Flea,” she said of the weekly waterfront market. “And I’m like, ‘Just because you want your touristy fix one day doesn’t mean I can hang out [with you].’ I live here all the time.” Here is the hierarchy of hipster assholes I hate: 3. Hipsters 2. Poser Hipsters 1. Hipsters who complain about Poser Hipsters Now please understand I hate all three of these categories with the fire of a thousand suns. All a bunch of fucking assholes. But I have a shred of respect for your average hipster who lives out in Brooklyn and dresses like an idiot and listens to weird music and shit.  To each his own. They probably hate me for being an Upper East Side bro type. But anyone who travels into Brooklyn to pretend to be a doofus is 1,000 times worse than your average hipster. And the only thing worse than that are the hipsters who get furious over it. Like you can only listen to certain types of music or dress a certain way or live in a certain part of the city if you’ve been some non-conformist asshole for an extended period of time. You listen to Lana Del Ray and Foster the People which isn’t really hipster so you’re fake hipster! Christ almighty thats the douchiest thing I’ve ever heard. Absolutely mind boggling that these Williamsburg assholes are so concerned with other people and how they act and what they do for fun. Newsflash to all the hipsters and poser hipsters – nobody who’s normal likes you. At all. You’re the only dickheads who worry about how other people dress and what they listen to and where they go and what the eat and what they drink. You should all join forces and be friends because the rest of the natural world hates your fucking guts.

Hours after hundreds of protesters marched in the West Village to protest a spike in violent hate crimes, more gay men were assaulted in two separate attacks in SoHo and the East Village. Dan Contarino was jumped on East 4th Street and Avenue D last night; a Facebook photo shows his bruised and beaten face. According to Nightlifegay.com, witnesses say "the assailant was yelling 'f*ggot' as he was kicking and beating Dan." [ more › ]

In the 1950s, LOOK Magazine documented the Art Students Leagues' Dream Balls, held at places like Hotel Commodore and the Waldorf-Astoria. But it looked more like a high society gala held inside Warhol's Factory. The annual costume ball included the presentation of the queen of the ball (actress Deborah Kerr was crowned in 1954), costumes and props galore, and plenty of booze. [ more › ]

Attorneys made their final summations in the landmark federal stop-and-frisk trial yesterday, and in addition to voicing skepticism of the practice's effectiveness, the judge expressed interest in the NYPD adopting body-mounted cameras to monitor officers' encounters with citizens. "It struck me…that if the officer knew it was being recorded on video it would solve a lot of problems. Everybody would know exactly what occurred," Judge Shira Scheindlin said. "It would be easy to review it. The officer would be aware he's on tape. Everybody would know." [ more › ]