Vanishing New York Backup

I'm happy to add an unusual new addition to my ongoing Guide to Egg Creams . Julius' Bar has recently added the egg cream to their menu. Not your uncle Morty's egg creams, these are spiked with Bailey's, Kahlua, or vanilla vodka. I opted for the vanilla, which seemed more true to the form. Though my $10 vodka egg cream was made with the correct ingredients--Fox's U-Bet syrup and fountain seltzer-- it is obviously not for egg cream purists . Uncharacteristically served in a Bud Light pint glass, it's all foam and the taste takes some getting used to. After a few sips of this very strong, boozy mix, however, and you'll be too tipsy to taste it anyway. I recommend it just for the experience of drinking an egg cream at Julius' wonderful bar. Guide to Lower East Side Egg Creams More NYC Egg Creams

In May 2009, Mr. Brainwash bombed the Meatpacking District with paste-ups, including these large side-by-side portraits of Madonna and Angelina Jolie. May 2009, my flickr Not everybody in the graffiti/street art world cares for Mr. Brainwash. By September, the faces were faded and torn. They were also doodled on, mustached, and dickchickened. September 2009, my flickr Brainwash replaced them with fresh faces--this time double Madonnas. By December, the material girls were sprayed with splashes of pink paint and declared "FAKE." December 2009, my flickr Today, they serve as the foundation for a chaotic collage--a revolutionary clown, a starling , a quote from Elbow Toe... And the Brainwash bits were torn to shreds. And then?

Luxury real-estate developer hires Knitting Factory to "help attract affluent young tenants." [ NYT ] Behind the scenes of East Fifth Bliss . [ EVG ] No Longer Empty seeks an empty space on the LES. [ TLD ] How did I miss " Sewerama "? [ FIB ] Reading the history of 171 Ave. A . [ Blah ] Get your Cambridge Companion to the literature of NYC . [ P&W ] Brooklyn Bowl seeks interns. Bowling alley interns? [ GP ] 97-year-old Vaudevillian with great name, June Havoc, dies. [ NYT ]

I don't walk on East First Street very often, so it surprised me when, on a recent stroll, I found it has turned into an arm of the Hamptons , filled with precious cafes decorated with distressed wood, shabby-chic benches, and fresh flowers; along with a smattering of gleaming condo buildings. One new addition is 47 East First. Grieve wrote about it here and when I walked by the Open House, I saw smiling, fresh-faced young couples moseying in and out, inquiring about the marble baths, granite kitchens, etc. But something, I noticed, was missing. Namely, the painted food of Market Purveyor, Co., Inc. , a wholesale meat distributor that used to be, I later realized, in #47. It still exists in the ghost of Google Maps (above). And in these photos I took over a year ago, knowing these painted sausages and chickens would not last much longer. I like painted food on storefronts . Especially crudely painted food. It's a dying art. And these rare examples are now gone.

In Times Square, girls kiss, lick, pet, and stroke wax figure of movie star. How many do you think made a grab for the package? [ MTV ] "Times Square is representative of a basic dilemma New York (and many other cities) faced with de-industrialization--namely, what do you do after you stop making things? " [ COS ] Remembering when street art was " furtively spreading like some mysterious guerilla-styled phenomenon with the slight air of menace" and without tie-in merch. [ FP ] " High-end bikes " get slashed at StuyTown. [ STLL ] 1986: "a Beverly Hills person’s idea of what conceptual artists were doing in subterranean performance spaces in Manhattan’s East Village." [ DK ] On a Village street: " Not an Idol ."

Since the landlord raised the rent , what's coming to the landmark space once occupied by the Old Homestead's dining room ? A chain. Le Pain Quotidien is coming and offering "authenticity": You've got to love the way the no-cell policy is implemented at Soy Cafe on Greenwich Ave: Take two glorious rides on the Third Avenue El of the 1950s. [ Cyn ] Save our souls-- Martha is on the Bowery. [ BB ] Life above Cabin Down Below is pretty annoying. [ EVG ] Looking back at the Gas House District and its demolition for StuyTown. [ Blah ] Bedford Ave. businesses want the trendy food trucks gone. [ BP ] Is the Glove Factory loft building also a part-time hostel? [ NYS ] Meet the Characters of the Gowanus ! [ FIB ]

Why is Cafe Colonial closing? It's the McNally Effect . [ Grub ] Best bars for babies , aka, "some of the best places to raise a glass while you’re raising your kids." Really? [ Eater ] Shiny, happy, plastic people. [ NYT ] Faux traffic signs in the EV welcome you to Hell and watch out for golfers. [ EVG ] Record Store Day is almost upon us. [ Stupefaction ]