New York

There's no sign on the door, but if you're at 394 Broadway in South Williamsburg, you're in the right place. Moto sells some seriously good beers such as Corsendonk from Belgium and Guinness from Ireland.

The museum will house exhibitions and host workshops focused on the history of crime in Manhattan. Located in a former speakeasy, the Gangster Museum's goal is to present the role the underworld has played in shaping the culture of New York City.

"Age does not protect you from love. But love protects you from age." — Anaïs Nin. She was the lover of such literary greats as Henry Miller, Antonin Artaud and Edmund Wilson. So, in the spirit of ageless love, let's go looking for romance.

A popular myth is that New York is unfriendly. Mark Malkoff decide to challenge it by attempting to transport himself from the southern tip of Manhattan to its northern end, asking people on the street to carry him along the way.

Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti created Afrobeat, a hard-driving African funk sound, in the 1970s. It absorbed genres like benga and jùjú, and groups such as Orchestra Baobab made it a success outside Africa. Fela! is now a hit show in New York.

Shabu-shabu is the original Japanese comfort food. Everything is fresh and the dish is cooked in real time while you and your friends sit around the table. There's shabu-shabu for vegetarians, seafood-lovers and meat-eaters.

To accompany Claudia Hellman's article "Shop and save in New York City" in the January issue of Spotlight, we've prepared an online Big Apple experience that uses video, old and new, to convey the magic, myth and drama of this extraordinary place.

Debate
6. Is President Obama keeping his promises? (see pp. 28-29)

Travel
7. Shop and save in New York City (excerpt; p. 32)