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10 Crazy Meat Dishes I Ate At New York's 'Carnivore's Ball'

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meatopia

This past Sunday, on a pier on Manhattan's West Side Highway, the so called "Woodstock of Edible Animals" celebrated its tenth year. Founded by food writer Josh Ozersky and presented by Creekstone Farms, Meatopia (which is perfectly named) is a celebration of all things carnivorous.

More than 30 restaurants and chefs from all over the US came to cook, assemble, and handout unique and delicious dishes, all heavily featuring a wide variety of animal meat and flesh. Mmmmmm. 

With tickets starting at $200, the event was truly for the die-hard meat eater. But boy, were they in for a treat. Everyone had a great time, getting their money's worth of meat and beer, and dancing surprisingly enthusiastically to the DJ spinning wedding jams.

I was lucky enough to score a press pass and figured this was an event I couldn't pass up. It lived up to the hype and then some, and while I am absolutely no food critic or expert, here are some of the tastiest and strangest meat dishes I've had in a long time.

Garam Masala Quail, Orange Marmalade, Cultured Butter, Pickled Squash and Quinoa Salad, from Chef Francis Derby, The Cannibal, NYC

meatopia

The verdict: I didn't think I'd be eating quail today, let alone twice (see below). Basically, it tasted like a smaller, pinker chicken with more tiny bones. The quinoa salad was delicious, though.

Morcilla y Callos: Tripe and Yellow-eyed Pea Stew with Blood Sausage, from Chef Jamie Bissonnette, Toro, NYC

meatopia

The verdict: This is the kind of meal I would want to eat if I was coming down with some mild black plague, stuck inside my cabin on a snowy day on some tundra, while my eight red-faced children played with wooden toys and sang folk songs by the fire. It was hardy, smokey, and really good. 

Wood-Grilled Spitted Quail “Spiedini,” Fall Bean Ragout, from Chef Michael White, Altamarea Group, NYC

meatopia

The verdict: More quail. I now consider myself a quail connoisseur. This meat was a bit more tender and juicy, and was definitely easier to eat than my previous experience. The vegetables were good, too. I think it was a bit dainty for some of the carnivores around me, but I liked it. Plus, I got a free pointed wooden stick to fight through the lines that were forming.

Pomegranate-Marinated Beef Heart, Anson Mills Grits, from Chef Richard Brown, New York Hilton Midtown, NYC

meatopia

The verdict: Before eating this, I was already feeling a bit full and was worried that I might have to bow out of my odyssey of meat. Then I ate some beef heart. Now that I had the power and stamina of a full grown steer, I felt like I could tackle the rest of the offerings with even more zeal. This dish was actually quite light and tender and the beef heart had an interesting texture, soft but not gross.

Root beer and Tabasco-Glazed Lamb Ribs, from Chef Tim Rattray, The Granary, San Antonio, Texas

meatopia

The verdict: Ah, here's what I came for — some good old fashioned ribs, glazed with things you can buy at a gas station and served to me with a pickle spear. Though I can't say I really tasted the root beer and Tabasco, the meat was tender and delicious and I enjoyed getting my hands messy, a rite of passage I was expecting from Meatopia.

Chirashi: Japanese-Style Marinated Creekstone Ribeye Tartare, Japanese Rice & Pickles, from Chef Harold Moore, Commerce NYC

meatopia

The verdict: You may not believe it from my previous review, but this refined, elegant bite was my favorite of the day. Call me an aesthete, but this gorgeous bite had refreshing Asian flavors and light textures that were a pretty welcome respite from all of the grease-soaked cow parts piling up in my stomach.

Dr. Brown’s Cream-Soda Brined Smoked Short Rib Pastrami with Homemade Rye, Vegetable Pickles, and Mustard Horseradish Sauce, Kale Slaw, from Chef Alex Lee, Glen Oaks Country Club , Old Westbury, NY

meatopia

The verdict: OK, this sandwich ruled. The pastrami was some of the best I've ever had and the mustard horseradish sauce was perfect. If this sandwich is available at the Glen Oaks Country Club all the time, I might just have to take up golf.

Smoked Pork Cheeks with Coriander Chutney and Apple Achar, from Chef Hugh Mangum, Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque NYC

meatopia

The verdict: Coming off my previous pastrami high, I crashed and burned into this thing. Apologies to Chef Hugh and Mighty Quinn, but this was my least favorite dish of the day. Beef cheeks, which I've never had and doubt if I ever will again, are sort of slimy and mushy and the green sauce tasted like thick, bitter beer. The apples were pickled, which I'm not sure apples ever should be, and the little cracker thing tasted like someone has left a church communion wafer in the toaster too long. I dropped most of this in the garbage can.

New England Charcuterie Wood-Smoked, Wood-Grilled “Butcher Bacon,” New England Charcuterie Sampler, from Chef Josh Smith, Moody’s Delicatessen & Provisions Waltham, MA

meatopia

The verdict: Oh, pork belly, you frustrating prince. You taste so delicious, yet as I eat even just one bite of you, I can feel my face growing pudgy, my stomach doubling, and my butt yearning for the couch. This spread, a very carnivoresque version of a charcuterie, was delicious and also included some sausage and sliced meats, as well.

Prosciutto and Cherry Ice Cream, from Sam Mason, Mohan Kumar, and Holiday Kumar of OddFellows Ice Cream Co., NYC

meatopia

The verdict: To round out my afternoon of pure indulgence, I headed to the Odd Fellow's table, where they were serving up Prosciutto and Cherry Ice Cream, salt optional. Imagine vanilla ice cream with a few pieces of prosciutto laid on top, and you pretty much know what this tastes like. It was not bad at all, as both elements were tasty, but the flavors didn't create much fireworks when mixed together. 

Overall, I had a fantastic time at Meatopia. As I waddled home, full of various and intriguing bits of meat, I remembered how much I like my job. I'll be back next year, Meatopia, if you'll have me.

Meatopia

SEE ALSO:  Step Inside New York's Fancy Denny's, Where You Can Get A $300 Grand Slam With Champagne

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Why Coffee Tastes So Good

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espresso machine coffee cup

Most of what we taste we actually smell. The only sensations that we pick up in our mouth are sweet, sour, bitter, umami and salty.

Without its smell, coffee would have only a sour or bitter taste due to the organic acids. Try it with your next cup of coffee — hold your nose as you take your first sip.

The rich satisfying sensation of coffee is almost entirely due to the volatile compounds produced when we roast coffee beans.

The compounds that are formed in the roasting process are very similar to any other compound that is formed in the cooking process. The smell of baking bread is from compounds produced when a sugar reacts with a protein in what is called a Maillard reaction.

Not every scent is as welcoming as freshly baked bread, though. Our sense of smell has developed over millennia to detect dangerous compounds.

Cadaverine and putracine, produced in rotting meat, can be detected by our nose at very low concentrations. The same can be said of sulphur-containing compounds such as hydrogen sulphide — rotten egg gas — which is detected by our nose at levels of parts per billion.

The upshot of this is that we do not detect all compounds in our surroundings to the same extent. For example, to us water is completely odourless although it may be very concentrated in the atmosphere.

Odour chemists have developed a system called odour activity values which show how we respond to particular compounds. This has an influence on how we experience a complex mixture of stimuli.

Flavourists and perfumists have developed a series of descriptors, or words that are used to describe a particular smell. Using gas chromatography equipped with a sniffer port, chemists are able to smell individual compounds as they come off the gas chromatography column and apply a description to what they experience.

Words such as fruity, earthy, flowery, caramel-like, spicy and meaty are used to describe the odour of individual compounds. It is this complex mixture of volatile organic compounds that we can identify with a particular food. The smell of baking bread can easily be distinguished from the smell of cooking cabbage; a lamb roast from a pork roast.

Yet it is not one compound that is responsible for the odour that we experience, but a complex mixture of hundreds of different compounds.

What we smell in coffee

Approximately 800 different compounds are produced in the coffee-roasting process. These thermal degradation reactions decompose sugars and proteins to form the volatile compounds that we smell.

Most of these reactions take place within the thick walls of coffee bean cells, which act as tiny pressure chambers. Not all of these 800 compounds cause the same response in the olfactory membrane in your nose, though.

Green (unroasted) coffee tastes very grassy when brewed. You still get the organic acids and caffeine in the brew but it lacks the full sensation because there are few volatile compounds due to the lack of roasting.

The profile of roast coffee includes only 20 major compounds, but it is the influences of some of the minor compounds that determine the overall taste that we experience.

When chemists are analysing the volatile compounds in coffee a huge range of different odour qualities are experienced.

Some of the nitrogen-containing compounds such as pyridine can actually smell quite foul, while others can smell quite fruity.

Other compounds have descriptors such as putrid or rancid. One compound, 5- methyl furfural, is described only as coffee-like. But it is the rich mixture of hundreds of different volatile compounds that, when we smell it, can only be described as "coffee."

The Conversation

Don Brushett does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

SEE ALSO: 13 Scientific Reasons To Drink Coffee

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The Hottest Pet Halloween Costumes This Year

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It's time to start prepping Fido for trick-or-treating.

The pet Halloween costume business is booming, with consumers expected to spend some $350 million to dress up their pets, according to the NRF.

Earlier this year, we stopped by the trendy James Hotel in SoHo, New York for a dog Halloween fashion show put on by PetSmart.

From caterpillars to bats, cowboys to hamburgers, these are the hottest pet costumes this Halloween.

This golden retriever opted for the banana split costume. While we liked the theme of 'retro dessert,' we think she should have picked something that didn't wash her coat out so much. 

PetSmart fashion showMeanwhile, this smaller pooch got flashy in a bright caterpillar rider.

PetSmart Halloween A tiny Pomeranian exhibited some diva-like behavior in her Martha Stewart tutu and hair feathers. 

PetSmart HalloweenBut wasn't all fun and games. The Golden Retriever returned in a no-nonsense shark costume...

PetSmart fashion show...and there seemed to be a bit of drama when this dog put on a Miss Piggy wig. She was NOT having it.

PetSmart HalloweenMeanwhile, this guinea pig loved its pumpkin-themed costume. PetSmart confided that guinea pig outfits "exploded" last year, prompting them to make a ton more.

PetSmart fashion showBearded Dragons got in on the fun too. This guy looked radiant in his ethereal purple wings. 

PetSmart fashion showIf you've ever seen behind-the-scenes of the fashion show, you know styling isn't a one-man job. Here, concerned handlers helped a dog transform into Eeyore.

PetSmart fashion showAnd we'd say the finished product was well worth it.

PetSmart fashion showThis year's PetSmart costumes range from $12.99 to $26.99, and come in sizes XS to XXL.

SEE ALSO: A 17-Year-Old Yo-Yo Genius Won The World Title With These Incredible Tricks

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Now You Can Wear Candy Crush-Themed Leggings

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Zara Terez

Candy Crush parent company King has collaborated with fashion-forward Zara Terez to create Candy Crush-themed leggings and skirts, apparel that launch today, October 21. 

The clothing is inspired by the candies from Candy Crush Saga, "including Odus the Owl, Swedish Fish, and Lollipop Hammer."

This isn't the first time the brand has dipped into the internet world. 

They created a line of emoji-themed apparel last year, including an emoji tote bag and emoji leggings. 

Check out some of these photos.

Emoji Tote

 Here are the leggings:

Emoji Leggings

The Candy Crush leggings look pretty cool. The pieces will be sold on ZaraTerez.com from $28.50 - $75.00 each. 

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Japanese-Designed Vertical House Is Built For Crowded City Living

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MujiAs popular cities have become overrun with inhabitants, many are forced to give up the basic comfort of space to live in a cultural hub. 

But Muji, the Japanese retail company known for it's minimalistic products, has designed a spacious home specifically for urban dwellers living in tight spaces — by building up. MujiThe home employs many strategies for making a space looking bigger than it actually is: there are no internal walls or doors, a large open stairwell runs through the entire house, and it has plenty of bright windows that let in natural sunlight.  MujiThe prefabricated ‘Vertical House’ prototype is located in the notoriously overcrowded Tokyo. It occupies a small plot of land that is spread across three stories. MujiThe home has a “split-level system” where all functions and programs are placed side-by-side, so that the space has a more connected environment. MujiThe home has a simplistic style, and is minimally decorated with Muji products.MujiMuji

It will be available in Japan in seven different variations for about 20 million yen ($180,116), according to QuartzMuji

SEE ALSO: This Design Studio Is Partnering With IKEA To Sell Prefab Homes For $86,500

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Wealthy Older Women Are Hiring Men In Kenya To Romance Them

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Romance_Tourism_020

In 2009, Sofie Amalie Klougart traveled to Mombasa, Kenya with the nonprofit ActionAid. Her day job was to document ActionAid’s numerous efforts to alleviate poverty in the country. Fascinated by the country, Klougart spent her nights and weekends traveling the country in search of stories.

While visiting the country’s numerous beautiful beaches, Ama was struck by the many older European women she saw carousing with young Kenyans. When she inquired with one of the women, she found that she was witnessing what many call “Romance tourism”— lonely men and women who travel to impoverished countries in search of companionship and locals who willingly oblige, in exchange for gifts, free meals, and, sometimes, cold hard cash.

Klougart began documenting the affairs of the many women she met on the beaches of Kenya who introduced her to the sometimes troubling and sometimes empowering world of women who go after exactly what they want and nothing more.

Klougart shared a number of the photos with us here, but you can see the rest at her website.

Klougart first came across "romance tourism" while she was walking along the beaches of Mombasa, Kenya. There she saw older, single, white women, who were often surrounded by young Kenyans. "It was very easy to spot," Klougart told Business Insider.



The hotels in Mombasa were full of European travelers, both male and female, traveling alone. Everyone at the hotels, from the receptionists to the help, was aware of relationships between those in the hotel and the locals, according to Klougart.



Klougart met her first subject, Louise, on the beach. She told Louise that she was doing a story about love. Louise laughed and said, "Love! That doesn't exist here!" Louise was in a relationship with two different Kenyan men and introduced Klougart to many of the women in the area.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






How Apple Pay Could Destroy The Credit Card

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Apple Pay has a chance at changing the mobile payments game completely. And experts in business and marketing are weighing in on Apple's strategy. 

Produced By Matt Johnston. Video courtesy of Associated Press.
 
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Why Young College-Educated People Are Flocking To Houston

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Houston skyline

The population of young, college educated people is surging more in Houston, Texas than anywhere else in the US.

A report released Monday by City Observatory showed that, between 2000 and 2012, Houston saw a 49% increase in its percentage of college graduates age 25 to 34.

This spike in young college-educated people may have something to do with the fact that Houston is the country's No. 1 job creator. Moreover, 26 Fortune 500 companies call it home, resulting in plenty of career opportunities for recent graduates. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from June 2013 to June 2014, Houston's local nonfarm employment rose 3.1% — well above the national increase of 1.9%. 

Houston is also dominant in one key industry: energy. With more students gaining degrees in science and engineering, the availability of jobs in the energy industry in Houston may be a significant draw. 

"There's always another job here," a 28-year-old college grad named Dena Washington told The Atlantic's City Lab publication last year. 

Houston also has an abundance of something else all penny-pinching young people can appreciate: affordable housing. According to MSN Now's compilation of the 10 best cities for recent college grads, rents average $1,311 in Houston, much lower than Boston and Washington, DC's averages of around $1,820. 

Houston residents are also allowed to keep more of their income: Texas is one of only seven US states with no state income tax, which lessens the burden on recent graduates strapped with student loans.  

More good news for broke millennials: a paycheck in Houston goes further than any other metropolitan area. When you adjust for cost of living, Houston has the highest pay in the country at $73,418. 

While Houston's growing economy and job prospects are what draw young college grads in, its abundance of other young people and great food that keeps them there. The median age of residents is just over 32, and New York Times food critic Pete Wells wrote last year that the city is becoming "one of the country's most exciting places to eat." 

Houston as a city is also benefiting from this influx of young college grads. As City Observatory reports, educated young adults are playing a key role in urban revitalization and economic growth. Cities such as Houston that do more to help millennials achieve financial stability and independence will ultimately reap the benefits of a young and talented workforce. 

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Take A Tour of America's Swankiest Denny's

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Denny'sEarlier this year, New York's pancake lovers rejoiced as the first Denny's, the restaurant famous for its delicious, quick, and affordable diner food options, finally opened in Manhattan's Financial District

But if you go to the restaurant expecting the usual Denny's dining experience — the kind you might get pulling off the road after a long road trip looking to fuel up on eggs and sausage  you're in for a surprise.

While the tasty food is certainly still available (and at Denny's signature affordable prices), Manhattan's Denny's is a more upscale version of the franchise, complete with a custom craft cocktail menu, swankier decor, and Dom Perignon champagne. 

Since it's quite possibly the most unique Denny's in the world, we had to check it out for ourselves.

The Denny's is located at the corner of Nassau and Spruce Streets in Manhattan's Financial District, in a historical landmark building built by the American Tract Society in 1895. Prior to Denny's moving in, the space was a Taco Bell before sitting empty for 12 years. Franchisee Rahul Marwah searched for a location and designed the space for three years before opening.



When Marwah, whose family has been working with Denny's as franchisees for 25 years, heard that Manhattan had no Denny's, he realized what great potential such a location could have. He also knew that if it was in New York City, it needed to be something special.



Inside, the space is certainly not your average suburban Denny's. Marwah says he wanted the space to "look like it had been there forever," he told Business Insider. It features hardwood floors, brick walls, leather banquets, and pressed copper ceilings. He says that at first, corporate Denny's was a little hesitant, but now, they treat the space as one of their flagship restaurants.



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Historic Belvedere Manor With Jaw-Dropping Views Is On The Market For $49 Million

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440 Golden Gate

Locksley Hall, originally built in 1904 by banker C.O. Perry, sits on the southern crest of Belvedere Island, and is on the market for $49 million, according to Curbed.

The three-story, 9,235-square-foot estate has six bedrooms, a wraparound veranda, a quiet hydraulic elevator that serves every floor, a pool with imported stone, a rose garden, and a bronze gate designed by the famed architect Julia Morgan.  

Located on an Island about a half hour from San Francisco, the estate has stunning views that extend from Angel Island and the Raccoon Strait, to the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco city skyline.

The home has undergone massive restorations of around $30 million by previous owner and mining mogul Robert Friedland to retain its original architectural detail. The properly last appeared in 2009 for around $70, so the new listing price has be cut by $21 million, according to Curbed

Neal Ward has the listing. 

Welcome to 440 Golden Gate on Belvedere Island.



It sits on southern crest of the Island, which offers incredible unobstructed 270-degree views of San Francisco.



The home is a historical landmark and is covered under the ‘Mills Act,’ so there are significant reductions in property taxes.



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Banksy’s New Street Art In His Hometown Of Bristol Has Already Been Vandalized

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Girl With Pierced Eardrum

The British street artist Banksy has just published a rendition of Vermeer’s famous painting "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

He replaced the earring with an outdoor security alarm for a much more Banksy-esque piece he calls "Girl with a Pierced Eardrum."

The mural in Bristol, UK was vandalized within 24 hours of its first appearance. On Tuesday, the work was found with dark paint thrown across the woman’s face, according to BBC.   

The new street art proves that reports of Banksy’s arrest were a complete hoax.

A false story on Monday claimed that Banksy’s London art studio had been raided and thousands of dollars of counterfeit money and future vandalism projects had been found, according to The Independent

BanskyThis is also not the first time that Banksy’s work has appeared in his hometown of Bristol. His painting Mobile Lovers was seen there earlier this year, which sparked a debated over the ownership of the mural between the youth club whose door it was painted on and the city council. 

The secretive Banksy intervened and sent a letter to the owner of the youth club saying he could use it to raise money. The mural was sold for over over $650,000 to keep the youth club open.

 Banksy

For more of Banksy's work, head over to his artist's website where he posts updates and photos of his street art

SEE ALSO: Banksy Has Triggered A Beautiful And Witty Renaissance In London's Vandalism

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San Francisco's 2015 Michelin Ratings Are Out — And There Are 2 New 3-Star Restaurants

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benu

San Francisco has two new Michelin three-star restaurants, doubling its number of top-ranked restaurants.

They are Benu, an Asian fusion restaurant, and Saison, which serves French cuisine. Three stars is the highest possible Michelin rating, and is awarded to just a handful of restaurants around the globe.

Both the The French Laundry and The Restaurant at Meadowwood retained their three-star designations. Both of those restaurants are in Napa Valley. Benu and Saison, which previously had two Michelin stars, are both located in San Francisco's SoMa district.

Benu, helmed by Chef Corey Lee, offers a $195-per-head tasting menu and is famous for serving a faux version of shark fin soup. Saison, has a menu that changes daily and costs $248 per person, excluding wine. Its kitchen is run by Chef Joshua Skenes.

Michelin's ratings are determined by anonymous food inspectors.

Michelin announced its 2015 New York ratings at the end of September. Six of the seven restaurants that earned three stars in 2014 retained those rankings. They are Le Bernardin, Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, Eleven Madison Park , Jean Georges, Masa, and Per Se.

Chef Daniel Boulud's Daniel was downgraded to two stars. 

Here's the full list out of San Francisco, via EaterSF:

Three Stars

  • Benu (new)
  • The French Laundry
  • The Restaurant at Meadowood
  • Saison (new)

Two Stars

  • Acquerello (new)
  • Atelier Crenn
  • Baumé
  • Coi
  • Manresa
  • Quince

One Star

  • All Spice
  • Ame
  • Auberge du Soleil
  • Aziza
  • Bouchon
  • Boulevard
  • Campton Place
  • Chez TJ
  • Commis
  • Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant
  • Gary Danko
  • Keiko à Nob Hill
  • Kusakabe (new)
  • La Folie
  • La Toque
  • Luce
  • Madera
  • Madrona Manor
  • Maruya (new)
  • Michael Mina
  • Plumed Horse
  • Solbar
  • Sons & Daughters
  • SPQR
  • Spruce
  • State Bird Provisions
  • Terra
  • Terrapin Creek
  • The Village Pub
  • Wakuriya

SEE ALSO: The Best 'Cheap Eats' In San Francisco

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Zagat Reveals The Best Restaurants In New York City For 2015

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le bernardin dining room

Zagat has officially released its 2015 restaurant guide for New York City.

For the 13th year in the row, the honor of New York’s best restaurant went to Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin with a 29 out of 30 on Zagat’s food ranking. It also won for best service.

Zagat polled nearly 30,600 surveyors and covered more than 2,000 restaurants in its guide. That included 160 new openings and 613 restaurants with dinner for under $30, and 391 establishments with dinner for under $25.

Keep reading to see the best restaurants this year.

(Numbers indicate the restaurant’s ranking in the 2014 survey.)

Top Food

1 Le Bernardin | French/Seafood (1)

2 Bouley | French (2)

3 Jean Georges | French (6)

4. Gotham Bar & Grill | American (14)

5 Eleven Madison | French (5)

6 Daniel | French (4)

7 Sushi Yasuda | Japanese (8)

8 Gramercy Tavern | American (10)

9 Peter Luger | Steak (16)

10 La Grenouille | French (9)

Top Decor

1  Daniel (3) 

2  Asiate (1) 

3  Le Bernardin (7) 

4  La Grenouille (6) 

5  Eleven Madison Park(4) 

6  Bouley (8) 

7  Per Se (2) 

8  Four Seasons (5) 

9  Jean-Georges (14) 

10  Tao (10) 

Top Service

1 Le Bernardin (2)

2 Bouley (7)

3 Eleven Madison (3)

4 Daniel (4)

5 Jean-Georges (6)

6 La Grenouille (5)

7 Per Se (1)

8 Gramercy Tavern (8)

9 Gotham Bar & Grill (10)

10 Sea Fire Grill (-)

SEE ALSO: The 25 Best Restaurants In The World, According To Travelers

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The Best New York City Restaurant For Every Kind Of Cuisine

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mighty quinn's

New York City is known for its vast and intimidating food selection.

As part of its 2015 restaurant survey results, released Wednesday, Zagat created a list of the best restaurants in New York City for every type of cuisine.

Whether it's an authentic New York City deli or delicious Mexican food in Williamsburg, there's something here for everyone.

There were also a few repeats on the list this year, with Chinese restaurant RedFarm and Pearl Oyster Bar both making multiple appearances.

Food ratings are out of 30 on the Zagat scale.

AMERICAN: Gotham Bar & Grill

12 E. 12th St.

Food: 28

Since 1984, diners have been flocking to Gotham Bar & Grill for some of the best food in the city. The atmosphere is sophisticated with white tablecloths, outstanding service, and (of course) delicious food.

It might be pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for.



ASIAN: Asiate

80 Columbus Circle

Food: 26

In addition to its top-notch pan-Asian fare, Asiate is known for its flawless service and stunning decor.

It's on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel so it has stunning views of the surrounding NYC skyline, plus the prix fixe dinner is out of this world.



AUSTRIAN/GERMAN/SWISS: Wallsé

344 W. 11th St.

Food: 25

Wallsé is the flagship restaurant of Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, serving modern Austrian fare and an excellent schnitzel.

Also, save room for their amazing desserts — the hot Salzburger Nockerl and the chocolatey Mozart Kugel are customer favorites.



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5 Apps That Will Do Chores For You

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We all have annoying tasks to tackle during the day  – call the cable company and be on hold forever until you get someone on the phone, or look for parking in a busy neighborhood. Here are 5 great apps that can do the heavy lifting for you.

Produced by Matthew Stuart

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Unbelievable Wildlife Pictures From London's Photographer Competition Of The Year

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London's Natural History Museum named the winners of its 2014 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition on Wednesday.

A black-and-white photo of snoozing lions in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park took the top spot. American photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols followed the pride for six months before he was able to capture five female lions calmly sleeping with their cubs.

A selection of the winning images are below. Head over to the museum website to browse through the full gallery of winners and finalists.  

Grand title winner: "The Last Great Picture" by Michael "Nick" Nicholas from the US.

Wildlife

Grand title winner (10 years and under): "Stinger in the Sun" by Carlos Perez Naval from Spain.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner (11-14 years): "Angle Poise" by Marc Albiac from Spain. 

Wildlife

Winner (mammal category): "The Mouse, the Moon, and the Mosquito" by Alex Badyaev from Russia/US. 

Wildlife

Winner (world in our hands category): "The Price They Pay" by Bruno D'Amicis from Italy. (This 3-month old fennec fox was found in a den in the Sahara Desert, where catching or killing the animal is illegal.)

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner (birds category): "Herons in Time and Space" by Bence Mate from Hungary.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner (amphibians and reptiles category): "Divine Snake" by Raviprakash S S from India. 

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner (invertebrates category): "Night of the Deadly Lights" by Ary Bassous from Brazil.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner (plants and fungi category): "Glimpse of the Underworld" by Christian Vizl from Mexico.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner (underwater species category): "Passing Giants" by Indra Swari Wonowidjojo from Indonesia.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

SEE ALSO: Check out last year's winning wildlife images

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Most Of The World's Billionaires Made Their Money In These 5 Industries

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warren buffett

There are 2,325 billionaires on the earth.

And they control 4% of the world's wealth.

According to a new report from the research firm Wealth-X, about 13% of billionaires inherited their fortune, 27% became billionaires from re-investing inherited wealth, and a full 60% of billionaires made their money themselves.

Let's drill into how they made all that cash. 

"Opportunities for significant wealth gains can be found across most, if not all industries," the report reads, "but certain industries have been particularly important sources of billionaire wealth generation." 

Here are the top five: 

billionaire industries

Unsurprisingly, most billionaires make their dough in finance. 

The fascinating trend here is just how much wealth industrial conglomerates are creating, which Wealth-X chalks up to globalization. 

"Billionaires are increasingly gravitating towards diversified business ventures such as industrial conglomerates, especially in emerging markets," the reports says. "For Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, the largest proportion of new billionaires made their fortunes in industrial conglomerates." 

The takeaway: If you want to achieve ridiculous wealth, go to Wall Street — or the developing world. 

And attending one of these schools can't hurt, either. 


NOW WATCH: The Most Important Thing I Learned About Business From Hugh Hefner

 

SEE ALSO: The World's 2,325 Billionaires Have These 14 Traits In Common

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22 Mouthwatering Pictures Of Sushi At New York's Best New Restaurant

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Zagat has just unveiled its 2015 restaurant guide for New York, and Sushi Nakazawa is the city's best new restaurant.

Daisuke Nakazawa, the protégé of Jiro Ono (the subject of the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi"), opened his own West Village sushi restaurant last fall and has been receiving rave reviews ever since.

It even got a rare four-star review from New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells, who called the sushi "eye-opening."

And since reservations are going to be next-to-impossible to secure, at least you can look at some of the mouth-watering Instagram pictures from the lucky few who have tried Nakazawa's omakase meal ($150 at the sushi bar, $120 in the dining room).

Welcome to Sushi Nakazawa, the new four-star restaurant in New York City.

Let's take a look at the four-star sushi, shall we?

Sea urchins!

And here's that same sea urchin (uni) out of its spiky shell:

 

His signature tamago, or Japanese omelette.

One last glimpse of the assortment at Sushi Nakazawa:

And dessert — a yuzu sorbet with pomegranate.

SEE ALSO: The Best New York City Restaurant For Every Kind Of Cuisine

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An Entire Connecticut Ghost Town Is On Sale For $800,000

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Village Of Johnsonville 8

The village of Johnsonville, Connecticut, has been a theme park, a textile mill, a movie set, and a ghost town. Now, the entire town can be yours for $800,000.

Johnsonville's founding dates back to the 1830s, when it was a mill town for the twine industry in Connecticut. Fast forward to 1960, when, according to Curbedaerospace millionaire Ray Schmitt bought up all the buildings in town. He also brought his own buildings to Johnsonville, including a Victorian-era stable and a chapel from Massachusetts, opening a quaint theme park. 

By 1994, after a fight with local officials and a few fires, the park closed. Save for the movie "Freedom" being filmed there as well as a Billy Joel music video, the 64 acres have been left abandoned ever since. 

A hotel developer did purchase the property in 2008, but after trying to unload it last year for $2.9 million, the property is now being auctioned starting at a discounted $800,000.

Many of the original buildings from the 1800s are still standing, though they are in terrible shape.



The structures, though dilapidated, feature authentic and original colonial and Victorian design.



Fires destroyed some of the original structures, but at least eight still remain on the property.



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London’s Rich People Are Becoming Completely Unhinged About Their Mansions Being Taxed

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London mansionTwo of the UK's major political parties are proposing some version of a "Mansion Tax" on homes with extremely high value, and the owners of those homes are reacting about as well as you would expect.  

An amazing story in a London newspaper called Ham & High that was published Friday describes an anti-Mansion Tax campaign group.

The campaigners, most from leafy Hampstead, are opposing the tax proposed by Labour and the Liberal Democrats on "humanitarian" grounds. 

“It targets people who in many ways are not going to be in a position to pay such a tax,” a retired medical adviser leading the Stop the Mansion Tax campaign, told Ham & High. 

According to a different Ham & High article, Hampstead's NW3 postcode has the 10th-highest property wealth of any postcode in the UK (which has 3,108 postcode districts). The campaigners are "not ruling out a protest march," according to the article. 

There are actually a bunch of good arguments against the tax. It could be overly complicated, and the costs of administering it, not to mention any potential legal challenges, might make it a poor choice for the Treasury. But it's not a humanitarian issue.

There is some understandable concern from people who own expensive houses but do not have a regular income, like retired or widowed owners. But the people proposing the tax have tried to address this argument. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg suggested people could defer the payments until they die if they cannot afford it, and Labour economic spokesman Ed Balls says you will not have to pay it if you have an income of less than £42,000

London houses have gone up quite a bit in value — at least 229% in the past 40 years even after accounting for inflation. So even if these caveats did not exist, most owners could safely access a bit of equity to pay off the taxes and will still have some massive capital gains when they eventually sell.  

There is also another section of the Ham & High article that attracts a bit of attention: 

Last week, Labour peer Lord Melvyn Bragg joined Labour’s Hampstead and Kilburn MP Glenda Jackson in opposing the mansion tax, describing it as a 'crude weapon' and warning it could have 'wiped out Hampstead as a Labour seat.'

The name rings a bell because Glenda Jackson’s son, Dan Hodges, wrote against the Mansion Tax in The Telegraph on Tuesday. 

He is similarly outraged that the proposals have anointed him as "part of the landed gentry" for owning a house worth more than £2 million. Lots of people living in ordinary-looking houses in London might feel the same, but it's worth spelling out just how rare these houses are. 

Homes worth £2 million or more are roughly in the priciest 0.2% of the UK dwelling stock. Of about 27.8 million UK residential properties, property experts Knight Frank think about 55,000 are worth more than £2 million. It is hard to calculate exactly, but it is likely that Hodges is way up in the top half of the top 1% the UK in terms of property wealth.

Hodges also says the tax is "politically toxic" in London, which seems more like wishful thinking than anything else. Polling suggests that taxes on properties worth more than £2 million are very popular in the UK and has more than twice as many supporters than opponents in London


NOW WATCH: 9 Animated Maps That Will Change The Way You See The World

 

SEE ALSO: MAPS: More Properties In London's Mayfair Will Be Hit By The 'Mansion Tax' Than In The Whole Of Scotland

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