New York City

Riveting. As the cuss- and shove-prone owners of Scottsdale's Amy's Baking Co. flub their way through a ballyhooed restaurant reboot and a spurious PR campaign to match following their disastrous turn on Gordon Ramsay's more-or-less staged Kitchen Nightmares, local media have done the impossible in coming up with a fresh angle on the story. It turns out that co-owner Samy Bouzaglo, an Israeli citizen, has been the subject of an ongoing immigration case and may face deportment. An unintentionally serious-hilarious NBC report quotes a "High-Ranking Law Enforcement Source" who says Bouzaglo is "banned" from France and Germany over something that maybe had to do with drugs that happened "30 years ago." Two more things: The immigration case, which is apparently important enough to make prime-time news, has been in court for more than two years; also, that whole thing about there being no such thing as bad publicity turns out to be patently untrue. [USAT, Earlier, Related] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: big scoop, amy bouzaglo, amy's baking company, kitchen nightmares, samy bouzaglo, tv

Building Blocks: A new exhibition, “Little Syria, N.Y.: An Immigrant Community’s Life and Legacy,” which runs through May 27, shows that Arab-Americans were once a vibrant presence downtown.

A commuter who regularly takes a bus in and out of lot was concerned about Santiago's sobriety, and complained to NJ Transit. When he never heard back, he took his story to NBC New York, who set up a sting with cameras showing Santiago pounding vodka while on the job. And when a reporter confronts Santiago, he makes no attempt to hide the boozing, even toasting God while taking a swig from the bottle. Eat your heart out Arnold Diaz: [ more › ]

Lucky Guy, Talks Broadway, Space Cowboys"/> Courtney B. Vance is currently starring on Broadway in the Nora Ephron play Lucky Guy, for which he's up for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor. The play is a love-letter, of sorts, to the tabloid papers that cover a corrupt and crime-ridden New York. Vance plays Hap Harrison, the long-time editor of Tom Hank's character Mike McAlary, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, in a story that follows the triumphs and turmoil of his life and career. [ more › ]

A collection of links from the reporters and editors of the Dining section.

CNBC – Chanel Preston knows not everyone approves of her chosen profession. That’s one of the risks that go with being one of the biggest stars in porn. But she never thought it would affect her ability to open a bank account. Preston recently opened a business account with City National Bank in Los Angeles. When she went to deposit checks into the account days later, however, she was told it had been shut down, due to “compliance issues.” She found the manager she had originally worked with and asked what had happened. The bank, she was told, was worried about the Webcam shows she had on her site and had revoked the account.Preston is hardly the only porn star who has had trouble with the banking industry. Several performers and porn insiders (who were afraid to go on the record due to possible repercussions from their banks) said they have been denied accounts from a variety of financial institutions. “The people within my [local] bank have urged me to downplay the nature of my business because corporate frowns on it,” said one long-time industry veteran.  Preston noted she, too, has been denied a loan because of her profession—though at a different bank. “[The loan officer] asked me ‘are you affiliated with the adult entertainment industry?’ When I said yes, she said ‘We will not give you a loan.’,” she said. The issue seems to be reaching a boiling point, though. Earlier this week, Marc Greenberg, founder of the soft porn studio MRG Entertainment, filed suit againstJPMorgan Chase in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging the bank violated fair lending laws and its own policy for refusing to underwrite a loan for “moral reasons”. Well this is just bullshit. Hey JP Morgan you know these bitches are making 1,000 to 5,000 dollars a day right? Green is green, baby! I should open a bank right fucking now for these whores. Spank Bank of America. Charge them all sorts of outrageous fees and offer absolutely garbage interest rates since I’m the only bank in town taking their cum soaked dollars. You think I give a fuck how that money was earned? I’ll take Naomi Russel’s AIDS dollars. I’ll accept Taylor Rain’s poo dollars. If its legal tender in this here US of A, you can deposit it in the Spank Bank of America. Theres a gaping hole in the market and I intend to penetrate and fill it.

Beatrice Inn's steak tastes like latex, says Wells. This week, Adam Platt gave Lafayette, a "big, spangled, category-killing brasserie," two stars. Stan Sagner gave the same rating on behalf of the New York Daily News, while Joshua David Stein praised what he called Andrew Carmellini's Great Gatsby of restaurants, an endeavor conducted in a "blessed" space. But despite the glowing reviews, a dark cloud hangs over the Other Critics this week: This is the second-to-last review from Robert Sietsema, and there will be no more from Tejal Rao, both of whom are no longer writing for the Village Voice. We will miss their weekly columns. Pete Wells ventured to the Beatrice Inn and found the steakhouse to be "satisfactory" but largely "unremarkable." He likened the "band of fat" around his steak to a "latex protective sheath," noting it was "shot through with gristle." Despite the "debilitating" noise level, this West Village restaurant is a place to "look and listen" — but don't you dare photograph any of the notable diners. The menu explicitly states that "photography is not permitted." He liked the food better when Brian Nasworthy was cooking, but he's since been dismissed. No stars. Joshua David Stein calls Lafayette the Great Gatsby of restaurants. The "blessed" space is the setting of "golden-glow maximalism" or a "magical first date." Yet, despite its "pageantry," the menu is surprisingly "sober," almost "cautious," and ultimately not "anything to write home about." He mentions the "perceptive" addition of raclette cheese to a brisket burger, the "tremendously undercooked" steak redeemed by good fries, and "excellent" foie gras terrine. Stan Sagner also ventured to the "nightly pandemonium" at Lafayette, calling the menu "inconsistent — sometimes wildy so," with many dishes "tasting like versions 1.0." He notes the "disconcertingly cold, raw centers" of the scallops à la plancha and the black fettucine, "likewise, prematurely snatched from the pot." Yet Sagner was impressed by the "marvelous" Fleur de Soleil pasta (a favorite of Platt as well), which he likens to "spring in a bowl." Lafayette is the place to go "if stargazing trumps food," though Sagner will be back "when the Carmellini-worthy restaurant that's trapped within emerges." Two stars. Robert Sietsema wrote his penultimate review for the Village Voice on the "iconic conjoinment" of chicken and waffles revived by Williamsburg's Sweet Chick. Sietsema calls the "thickish crust" and "pillowy flesh" of the fried chicken "perfect of its type" and the waffle "sweet without being too sweet" and "light in texture without floating off the plate." Though some of the apps (like a pickle plate and a kale BLT) are "remarkably good," Sietsema suggests avoiding non-chicken-and-waffle entrées and the cocktails "aimed at 12-year-olds," which don't pair well with the signature dish. The New Yorker's Nick Paumgarten filed on Carbone this week. He found even relatively lighter dishes like the bass Alison to be "hefty." Of the starters, he liked the garlic bread and "excellent" Caesar salad." But ultimately, Paumgarten declares the endeavor as "over-move-y," writing, "the portions and the prices are as formidable as the pretense and the patter." This is exemplified by his description of the tiramisu surrounded by lady fingers, a dessert which resembles a "Twinkie fort." Jordana Rothman callled Nightingale 9's atmosphere "awfully dour." The food isn't much prettier, but it is good. "You want to know about the pho," she says, as it's "herbaceous and bright." Rothman praises an "ugly" yet "funky" salad topped in papaya dressing "that might be the most interesting salad in Kings County." Like much of the menu, that papaya dressing includes nuoc cham, a condiment that chef Robert Newton has made about as ubiquitous in his restaurant as it is in Vietnam; its "recklessly potent aroma" mingle with that of street food and noodle dishes, "dashes of it enhanc

Here's a set of photos by Ian Ference, who captured the eerily beautiful interiors of an abandoned detention center on Staten Island. As with anything else empty and decaying—theaters, asylums, churches—the more peeling paint and chipped tile, the more beautiful. [The Kingston Lounge via Curbed NY]

int(180) [1]=> int(112) [2]=> int(2) [3]=> string(24) "width="180" height="112"" ["bits"]=> int(8) ["channels"]=> int(3) ["mime"]=> string(10) "image/jpeg" } --> Ai Weiwei will do whatever it takes to get the message out, which includes making a heavy metal video “Dumbass,” about his three month-long detention. Here’s something interesting: he draws a comparison between entrapment and being a woman, as he starts out in a suit and ends up in a dress and lipstick. The video’s dedicated to all those who’ve been suppressed by the government, he tells The Telegraph: This is dedicated to all those people who do not have the opportunity to raise their voice, who will never be able to raise their voices. This is not just one generation. In the past 60 years there have been innumerable amounts of people who have been killed or taken away from their homes, even tortured to death. He reminds us that his detainment “wasn’t because of economic or tax-related crimes. In fact, they were accusing me of trying to ‘overthrow the state power.’” It’s probably mentioning that the song is terrible (it’s by Beijing musician Zuoxiao Zuzhou) but that’s not to discount the message and the fact that he’s not trying to reach an art audience here. So, rock on.

The Whitney Museum has a new cheeseball logo. They’ve also redesigned the site. That much, is a considerable improvement. The site however, loads slow. [The Whitney] Museums for everybody! Abba gets one, so what the hell, Paula Deen Museum. [LA Times] Paul D’Agostino interviews the Bushwick Open Studios [BOS] organizers about what’s in store this year. Most of it reads like PR, but we weren’t aware of BOS’s CinemaSunday programming, so it’s worth a read regardless. Apparently there will be a screening for the “”The Pizzatrope,” a how-to guide for combining early animation techniques, gifs, and pizza.” [The L Mag] The IRS is unhappy with Glafira Rosales, the Long Island dealer who sold abstract expressionist paintings many now believe to be fake to Knoedler Gallery. Knoedler closed two years ago, when they received their first lawsuit over the authenticity of the paintings. Now Rosales is charged with falsifying tax returns and failing to disclose a foreign bank account to the IRS. [In the Air] BREAKING: Complex reports that Pratt’s giving its hundreds of resident cats the boot this week, prompting an outcry from nearly 1700 community cat lovers on Change.org– to no avail. Two cats have been granted amnesty. The hundreds of others will live with the school’s engineer Conrad Milster. Keep the cats. [Change.org, Complex] GIF inventor Steve Wilhite used his life time achievement award speech time at the Webby Awards to let the world know he’d like us to pronounce the file format as he intended, “JIF.” Us GIF nerds have known this for years—it’s on the Wikipedia page—but I don’t think even a high-profile speech is going to turn this boat around. “GIF” makes more sense. [Animal]