Anne Hathaway: The $40K Babysitter

While Meryl Streep almost pays to drink alone.

Social Charlie Rose Returns

Ready for W.

The Norah Jones Nobody Knows

Jazz chanteuse secretly punk.

The Algonquin for ‘Page Six’

Siberian wasteland.

Wannabe Mayor On Aisle Three

Is Gristedes guy Mike-like?

Inherit the Wind

There was definitely something blowing in the wind here last week.

Charles in Charge

ABC’s newly appointed Katie Couric killer on reporting from Iraq, Diane Sawyer’s wrath, and why he’s not just a Schieffer-esque codger.

Bikini-Season Quick Fixes

Summer’s here! The latest in last-minute fat-fighting science.

A Very Late Checkout

New York’s last Katrina evacuees prepare to depart (under duress) from the JFK Airport Holiday Inn.

Project Runway

Is the East Hampton airport unsafe?

The Imperial City

Bush’s illogical, arbitrary puritanization of television has slipped under the radar.

Best Bets

Affordable vintage fountain pens, a tasting pack of under-the-radar Scotch, and more great buys.

Ask a Shop Clerk

Lucy O’Sullivan of A Détacher.

Shop News

Longchamp and more store openings this week.

Look Book

A Boston University student frustrated by college-town fashion.

The Restaurant Review

Quality Meats aims for a steakhouse vibe appropriate for mixed company.

In Season

Sorrel soup recipe from a Prune chef.

Insatiable Critic

Le Cirque old-timers will be relieved to find crispy pig’s feet, tête de veau vinaigrette, and unabashedly retro quenelles de brochet.

Restaurant Openings & Buzz

Penzeys Spices, Centovini, Zip Burger, and Chinatown Brasserie.

The Farm Girl’s Paradox

Battle of the farmers’ markets.

Blame It on Rio

From rodizio to hearts-of-palm pizza, New York suddenly seems beset by all things Brazilian.

Nice Doggies

The Nathan’s hot-dog-eating contest is only a few weeks away—time to start training.

Real Estate

It’s Not TV

What? You can meet those people you see on the television screen in real life?

Red Hook Lures Families

The bait is the circus.

Don’t Cover Your Ears

The innovative Bang on a Can Marathon of adventurous new music is back, and this year it’s free.

An Hour in Chelsea

A pair of noteworthy double-solos.

Three Tall Women

The Clubbed Thumb theater company’s annual festival returns with three new dramas by female playwrights.

Rabbit Is Radical

John Updike investigates terrorism from the sociopath’s point of view.

The Movie Review

A harrowing depiction of Iraq shot by the soldiers themselves; Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston make an implausible onscreen couple.

Summer, Without the Multiplex

Thank Jesus (and maybe his wife) that you live in New York, where there’s always life beyond the multiplex.

Sleeper Hit Man

Breakout Broadway star Bob Martin gracefully navigates success that was a long time coming.

The Book Review

Curtis Sittenfeld’s flawed protagonist is a little too flawed in a novel of love gone wrong.

In the People’s Court

A Q&A with the author of Indefensible, a new book that makes the Bronx Criminal Court look like Kafka’s Castle.

Show & Tell

Vivid surfing scene from a Cousteau colleague.

The Art Review

The Met features Girodet, the most erotic painter of the French Revolution era.

Clarification

Lauded video artist or delicious cocktail?

The TV Review

Summer on the small screen—a season for going way.

New York Brand: ‘Rescue Me’

Who did Denis Leary cast when he needed an older woman to play a love interest? Susan Sarandon, naturally.

The Approval Matrix

Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.

Letters to the Editor