Most tourists don't realize this, but real New Yorkers don't hang out in Times Square. In fact, they avoid it whenever possible, giving a wide berth to the crowds packing Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. and the ESPN Zone in favor of more authentic hangouts downtown. But Times Square suddenly got a whole lot more palatable to natives this week with the introduction of several new pedestrian-only zones, where you can hang out and gawk at all the neon and plasma without worrying about being mowed down by a taxi. It was a move I never thought I'd see in a city that has seemingly favored drivers over walkers in recent years, so I had to check it out. Armed with a camera and a copy of The New Yorker, I explored the new car-free oasis of Times Square during my lunch hour on Thursday, and I've got to tell you: it's great. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-05-30T16:12:54-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/4/93516/89135

A car chase being filmed for a new Nicolas Cage movie last night in Times Square went a little off-track, crashing head-first into a Sbarro pizza restaurant at around 1am. The scene was being shot for the movie, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and yes, it's related to Mickey Mouse.

Since the accident happened in Times Square, the crash was witnessed by several tourists who told The NY Post what they saw:

Mark Watkins, a tourist from Birmingham, England, watched the live action chase from the top of the new TKTS booth. "A black Ferrari and a silver Mercedes were chasing each other," he said. "The Ferrari took a route down the center of the road, swerving between cars. The Mercedes took the outside lanes. "The Ferrari took a sharp right to the left and lost it, swerving across the lanes, taking out a lamppost and a news stand.

]]> juliana 2009-05-04T09:48:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/21/163342/564

One of the many misconceptions travelers have of New York City is that Midtown Manhattan in general - and Times Square in particular - is the best place to go to get a true sense of the city. This is incorrect. Real New Yorkers spend time in Midtown because they have to. That's where their jobs are located, and certain business and schmoozing simply must be conducted between 34th and 57th Streets. But when the workday is over, most of my friends and colleagues instinctively head downtown, or to Brooklyn, to hang out, hook up, shop, eat, and drink.

There are exceptions. Two weekends ago, we wound up in Times Square to meet a couple of friends who had ridden the bus in from New Haven. They had taken their young daughter to see the Little Mermaid on Broadway, and had only a couple of hours to kill before catching the bus home. We decided to press the easy button and met them at Ruby Foo's on Broadway and 49th. You know what? It was pretty good. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-03-21T16:33:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/2/16/165312/996

Daisy May's is probably the most over-covered of all the NYC BBQ joints, but even though Oprah, Rachel Ray and the Today Show have already visited chef Adam Perry Lang's Hell's Kitchen cafeteria, no serious Barbecue lover could leave this one off the list.

Leaving aside the food for a moment, Daisy May's has one of our favorite restaurant creation stories. A few years back, a venerable institution called the Penthouse Club decided to open an establishment in the Times Square West area. But this is the new Times Square, not the old one, so that meant the new strip club had to include a ritzy steakhouse, and of course a hot young chef.]]> BS 2009-02-19T15:16:06-05:00 40.7633770 -73.996779 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/8/05824/7231

OK, so maybe we're a little bit in denial about how there was no new "Gossip Girl" this week. Maybe a hair "scratching the walls in frustration." Can you blame us?

Luckily the show has kept New York residents busy by continuing to shoot all over town. Blogger Lauren Farmer was lucky enough to run into a big ol' spoiler alert last week in Times Square--after the jump, her photo of Serena and her new flame...]]> egw 2008-10-08T09:15:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/5/17100/53880

A video of the Mindfreak's escape on A&E's live television coverage, how meta of you tipsters.

First, is that Paul Shaffer or Gilbert Godfrey counting down and yelling "C'mon Chris" around the 1:15 mark?

Second, isn't this the exact same trick that baffled Hugh Jackman in The Prestige?

Someone search the crowd for a drunk double--no a twin brother, that's it. Criss Angel has a twin brother and he is dating Cameron Diaz.

Here's hoping all the tourists and gawkers on 46th and 8th enjoyed the show.

Related Stories:
· Criss Angel's Cement Escape Stunt in Times Square [Jaunted]
· Criss Angel Cement Box Escape Photos [Jaunted]]]> markj 2007-06-05T17:32:09-05:00 40.759783 -73.987901 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/6/5/91126/83579

On Friday, we told you about illusionist Criss Angel's latest stunt--24 hours in box full of wet cement hanging above Times Square. Last night blogger asktherelic was looking for a good excuse to test out his new Blackberry phone camera, so he sauntered over to Angelville and had this to say:

Walked by and did the tourist thing myself. There were lots of annoying kids and loud Drum n Bass music playing and of course a smoke machine going off every 5 mins. They were giving out lots of DVDs and stuff, a loud promoter on a microphone.

Angel was scheduled to escape the box at around 7 AM this morning. If anyone woke up early and witnessed the escape attempt, let us know about it in comments.

The cement box stunt is hoping to draw attention to the third season of Criss Angel's show Mindfreak.

MORE CRISS ANGEL CEMENT BOX STUNT PHOTOS HERE]]> markj 2007-06-05T09:16:52-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/