Belgium

Blame It on Magritte

The artist's entertaining perversity veils his broad influence

BrisketTown Is Serving Lunch and The General's Got Doughnuts

ISA in Williamsburg is now open for lunch from noon to 4 p.m. The Mediterranean restaurant has turned some of their dinner entree options into smaller dishes divided into snacks, pizzas, soups, and salads. Some items, like the Tuscan kale Caesar salad garnished with sourdough croutons, are available ... More >>

Q&A;: Night Birds On Pizza And Bagel Snobbery, Being Fed Steak In Belgium, And Their Favorite NYC Venues

New Jersey-via-Brooklyn-DIY-periphery act Night Birds have been hovering since about 2009, but they recently soared into a higher atmosphere, packing shows here and on the West Coast and garnering slobbering reviews for their debut LP The Other Side of Darkness (Grave Mistake) and recent singles (co ... More >>

The Chilean Building

Top 10 Eurovision Song Contest Winners* of All Time

In a couple of weeks, the biggest, gaudiest, gayest and easily the most-watched televised music event in the world will unfold, this year from Baku, Azerbaijan, and once again Americans will be almost completely oblivious to it. We're talking, of course, about the Eurovision Song Contest, which sta ... More >>

Europeans Are the World's Biggest Boozers

Is it really a surprise that the World Health Organization and the European Commission found that Europeans drink more than anyone else in the world? No, but the numbers, as reported by Reuters, are still pretty intriguing: the consumption of alcohol in the European Union is double the world average ... More >>

Paulette Cooper, With Help From the Voice, Discovers Her Heartrending Past

In December, I finally got the chance to meet Paulette Cooper when we had breakfast near the offices of the Voice. For many of us who toil in this business of reporting on Scientology, we have no greater hero. Paulette's 1971 book, The Scandal of Scientology, was one of the first exposes of the chur ... More >>

What Gals Really Want for Valentine's Day: Luxury Chocolates

Williamsburg's taciturn Mast Brothers know just what I'm talking about. This time of year always presents a dilemma for straight boys and gay girls: how to celebrate Valentine's Day -- the only holiday focused on carnal love and desire -- with your significant other? Taking her out to dinner is t ... More >>

Chilaquiles Migrate North to New York Menus

Lauren BloombergDon't you want to bathe in El Parador's cheesy crock of chilaquiles?​Belgium boasts its waffles. Japan's sushi customs have spread the world over, and French fries are in every happy meal across the globe. So, what foodstuff to we credit Mexico with exporting? You could say it's ta ... More >>

We Predict the Top 10 Stories of 2012

After compiling our list of the most-read Village Voice stories of 2011, we got to thinking about what the new year will bring. While it's impossible to accurately foresee the coming news cycle, we've used complex algorithms and web-based analytics to predict ten stories that will rock the world thi ... More >>

Happy Hour at Burp Castle

Don't try this at home.​On a street lined with loud pubs, at least one tucked away bar promises quiet respite. That place is Burp Castle. Though the name suggests boozy, bro-laden belchfests, the locale -- which boasts an impressive beer menu -- has a calm, low-key vibe.

The AKC Names Brooklyn the 'Dachshund' of Neighborhoods

Brooklyn plus bun.​As they gear up for their big Meet the Breeds event on November 19th and 20th at the Javits Center, the American Kennel Club and the International Cat Association have been doing some thinking about what breeds "match" which of New York City's neighborhoods. Jessica Rice of ... More >>

Restos Return from Summer Vacation; Wendy's Redesigns Its Signature Burger

​A Staten Island couple stole some $2.5 million meant for healthy meals for preschoolers by skimming money over five years from accounts at the nonprofit Red Apple Child Development Center. [NY Times] A roundup of cooking classes in the city includes pasta making at The Brooklyn Kitchen, beer ... More >>

The Bowery Diner's Mathieu Palombino on the Qualities Needed to Be a Good Cook: Interview Part 2

Salinas: Some Spain, Some Pain

The ups and downs of a new Chelsea spot

Aloe Blacc

Francesco Tristano & Bruce Brubaker

Belgium Brings the Avant-Garde, Probably No Waffles

Needcompany's The Deer House herds itself into BAM; Les Ballets C de la B experiments at the Joyce

Live: Super-Metalheads Destroyer 666 Finally Tear Down Europa

Summoning forth "Satan's Hammer." Pic by Daniel.​Destroyer 666/Enthroned/Mutant Supremacy/Immolith Club Europa Tuesday, August 31 For those of us who endured the utter tease that was Destroyer 666's last-minute cancellation of their August 4th show at Club Europa, last night's make-up gig was ... More >>

The Most Annoying People in Tarnation

The Annoying Orange is not a person, and sadly, cannot make the list.​"People who spend all day in front of an ATM. Read. Push. Insert. Collect. It's not brain surgery, sweetheart. "People who proudly proclaim their 'pro-life' position except in cases of war, capital punishment, and after a c ... More >>

Where Can Gays Marry and Adopt?

​Watchdog reporter Rex Wockner knows, and he's put it all down in one handy list for future husbears and bear-ents: "Same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Mexico City, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts ... More >>

Winery Dogs Abound; Beer Cocktails Thrive

​ Bedell Cellars is one of the many New York wineries with dogs, with nearly a dozen of its employee's dogs roaming around. Wineries and dogs are such a good match that there has even been a book, Winery Dogs of New York, published and a website, winerydogs.com. [NY Daily News] Wine lists can ... More >>

From France, the Waffsicle

Triangular ConceptBlame the French, not the Belgians.​Not content with mere waffle cones, somebody has decided that what the world needs now is waffles shaped like popsicles.

2009 Darwin Awards: Crime Down? Criminal Stupidity is Up.

Crime is reportedly down, so does that mean there are fewer criminals? Maybe criminals are just getting more stupid. Two co-winners of the just-announced 2009 Darwin Awards — "Honoring those who improve the species . . . by accidentally removing themselves from it!" — are evidence. U ... More >>

2009 Darwin Award Winners Blew Up ATM, Building, Themselves

​The 2009 Darwin Awards have been announced, and we would like to congratulate the grand prize winners, though they are deceased. Back in September, two robbers in Dinant, Belgium attempted to open an ATM with dynamite, but succeeded in blowing up much of the bank in which the ATM was house ... More >>

Our 10 Best Beers

​ When we got the idea to do Our 10 Best Beers, little did we realize what a shark tank we were jumping into. While wine drinkers, cocktail swillers, and those that drink their spirits neat are a very vocal and cantankerous bunch, the vast majority of beer fanciers just sit back, foamy quaff i ... More >>

What's Up With Brussels Sprouts? Are They Really From Brussels?

​ One of the stranger sights to appear in October in area farmers' markets are brussels sprouts still on the stalk. Brussels sprouts look like tiny cabbages. That's because they are tiny cabbages. A similar farm product was cultivated by the Romans, but the modern version didn't appear until ... More >>

La promesse

Eldorado Upends Low Expectations of an Often Trite Genre

Pol Bury at Chelsea Art Museum

The Self-Reflexive Mockery of JCVD

Van Damme gets emotional

Ben X the Best Teen Movie Since Donnie Darko

Ale-ing Tiger Prevails

Fully Stacked

Go Big Green

Under a storied tent, Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder

For Konono No. 1 and neighbors, groove is in the likembe

Fashionistas and Soul Men Highlight Diverse Festival

'Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death'

Two New Compilations Document a São Paulo Scene You Never Knew Existed

Death-Defying Dance and Dancers Baptize Montclair's New House

Workers' Compensation: Welcoming the Tired and Thirsty

Werewolves of Norway

Los Lobos Tienen Mucho Frio

French Kiss

A Pro-Weasel Shopping Survey

Wearing the Melancholy

This Dungeon's for Hire, Even If We're Just Dancing in the Darkwave

Luminous Motion

Theater

The Year In Pot

Twelve Months in the Life of Marijuana Prohibition

Wail Like an Egyptian

International Male

John Jasperse Aces the Competition

Pared Down