Features

Muhammad Comes to Manhattan

The imbroglio over the ground-zero mosque, like all New York stories, is about the clashing dreams of ordinary folks—and, of course, real estate.

The Billionaire and the Book Lover

Are Barnes & Noble founder Len Riggio and his nemesis Ron Burkle the only people in America who still want to own a mega-bookstore?

Coach McEnroe

The former enfant terrible is out to save U.S. tennis, beat his brother at his own game (again), and, maybe this time, cool it with the tantrums.

Intelligencer

Everything’s Cool

How Con Ed has managed—as of press time!—to keep us juiced.

Wishful Testing

Downgrading the too-easy grading of city schools, and what that means for Bloomberg’s reform.

The Good With the Bad

Why try to edit Obama?

The Neighborhood News

Our roundup of news from around the city.

Learning From John Lindsay

The failed mayor who gave rise to Bloomberg’s success.

128 Minutes With Barry Levine

The editor of the National Enquirer has little use for the fake celebrity world of Us Weekly and OK!

Strategist

Soul Food From Andrew Carmellini

Next up for the classically trained chef: American food without boundaries.

Mega Mario

Eataly promises New Yorkers the most exciting, delicious, illuminating food-shopping experience.

Michael White Defines His Terms

What’s an osteria? We’re about to find out.

Where the Underground Gourmet Will Be Eating

Cheapish eats we’ve got our eyes on.

New Fall Finds

Browse 100 retailers’ top picks of the season.

There Goes Your Saturday

Barneys takes Brooklyn, Moncler plants a flagship, and nineteen more promising new shops.

The Pop-up Planner

When and where to find the season’s transient storefronts.

Culture

Tough Guy

Josh Brolin takes off his shirt and breaks Woody Allen’s contractions.

Hong Kong’s Hit Girl

Maggie Q, star of the CW’s Nikita, is about to knock your socks off.

Luckiest Boy in the World

Pee-wee Herman comes to Broadway, and Paul Reubens moves (cautiously) back into the spotlight.

Of Thee He Sings

Historian Sean Wilentz claims Bob Dylan as one of his own.

The Great American Pessimist

Don’t be fooled by the veneer of friendly nostalgia. Edward Hopper was ahead of his—and our—time.

Divide and Conquer

Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes finds true happiness as a soul-singing tranny.

Pump Up the Valkyries

The Met’s new high-tech production is almost as monumental as Wagner’s Ring cycle itself.

Agenda

Out of the Shadows: New Freemans Diner Gets a Name

Its new offshoot, the lighter, brighter Peels, will debut on a highly visible Bowery corner.

Departments

Comments: Week of August 30, 2010

Readers sound off on Katie Holmes, Johnny Weir, and more.

The Approval Matrix: Week of August 30, 2010

Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.