Direct Flight

With thousands of restaurants to choose from in NYC — 24,000, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene — narrowing down that spot for a special date or brunch with friends can feel a bit overwhelming. Add to that where to grab a drink or see the sights and the poor brain is in quite a quandary.

Foursquare has attempted to squash the chatter on social media, and in our heads,...

The movies may have wrapped, but the Harry Potter phenomenon continues to soar like Buckbeak the Hippogriff. Proof abounds, from the studio tour in London to "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at Universal Orlando, but you need not travel quite so far to scratch that fan itch.

The touring "Harry Potter: The Exhibition," which premiered in April 2009, returns to New York,...

A recent Hotels.com survey gave New York City a No. 2 ranking among the world's best taxis. With 1,600 participants polled across 28 countries, the survey took place in July, the site announced Thursday in a news release.

London taxis were found to be the best of the best, with the Top Five filled out by Tokyo (No. 3), Shanghai (4) and Bangkok (5).

Of the seven categories folks voted...

As the weather turns cooler and we push our iced cocktails aside, it's time to go straight. Straight for neat whiskey (or, whiskey, if you're talking Scottish), and the timing couldn't be better.

We have a wealth of whiskey/whiskey tastings this fall on into the winter, everything from informal yet educational sippers with Brooklyn's new Camp Whiskey to the indulgence that is the Whisky Advocate's...

You had the poster on your dorm-room wall, and soon you can see the real thing in person.

One of the world's best-known artworks, Edvard Munch's "The Scream" (1895), will be on display at New York's MoMA, the museum announced Tuesday.

The pastel-on-board work -- one of four versions Munch created of "The Scream" -- will be on loan from a private collector Oct. 24...

It's Off-Broadway Week, and that means two-for-one tickets to shows. And proving how "off" it is, the sale lasts Sept. 17 to 30.

Get the deals on more than 25 shows, including "Avenue Q," "Bullet for Adolf," "Forbidden Broadway" and "The Awesome 80s Prom."

For the full list of plays and to book tickets, head to nycgo.com/offbroadwayweek.

Photo:...

TMZ, known for scooping celebrity gossip practically as it occurs, has been offering its version of star tours in Los Angeles for more than a year. Get ready for a more local version: The New York Times, quoting TMZ founder Harvey Levin, has reported that the tours are coming to New York, possibly by early next year.

How this might play out remains to be seen, but if we use the L.A. tours...

The Labor Day long weekend signifies the end of the summer, in a way. Kids are heading back to school, the nights are turning cooler the next vacation days likely aren't until Thanksgiving. Somehow, this time of year always feels like our last chance to cut loose.

So do it.

Here are five day trips that are different enough from the everyday to feel like getaways but close enough to have...

As artists increasingly look to bust outside the museum, conceptual artist Tatzu Nishi is pushing us to see history from a new vantage point.

His "Discovering Columbus," for New York City's Public Art Fund, envisions a living room setting surrounding the Christopher Columbus statue in Manhattan's Columbus Circle. Opening Sept. 20, the free exhibit allows visitors to climb stairs...

Friday

JAZZ LEGENDS: CHARLIE PARKER TRIBUTE

Celebrating its 20th year, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is taking place at various New York City venues during the next couple of weeks. Some events are free, some aren't, but all aim to pay homage to the saxophonist known as Bird as well as the larger jazz scene he grew out of. The Sugar Hill Quartet performs 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Whole...