New York Chews

	Caption: Downtown Dining (clockwise): Large Cup of Coffee, 1999; King Kong Battles a Jelly Doughnut, 1998; Hotdog in the Harbour, 1997; and artist Kevin Berlin.

With hot dogs, warm pretzels and egg creams at every corner, it’s hard to judge what’s more memorable about New York City: the sights or the bites. Combining the two, pop artist Kevin Berlin turns "the city that never sleeps" into the city that always eats in his new exhibit Snacks Over Manhattan, at the Empire State Building’s Lobby Gallery (212) 219-0078, through March 15. Pairing culinary slices of the Big Apple ranging from doughnuts to kosher pickles with landmarks such as the Chrysler Building and the Brooklyn Bridge, Berlin creates oil paintings that capture the funky food trends that have defined Manhattan dining since the ‘30s and ‘40s.

The show features the paintings, limited-edition prints and neon wood cutouts that have made the SoHo artist and Yale alum a favorite with such celebs as Kim Basinger, David Letterman and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. In fact, Berlin’s Hotdog in the Harbour was such a tasty dish that it was snapped up by the owner of Nathan’s Famous, Inc., Howard Lorber, five minutes after being placed in the window of a gallery in Southampton.

Here’s the digs: Berlin can cook up short order requests. For art lovers hungry to see Lady Liberty go to town on a cannoli, Berlin does accept commissions. But like the masters of old–think Van Gogh, Degas and Rembrandt–Berlin has moved on to his next painting period: a series devoted to women in black. Nevertheless, don’t expect him to give up drawing junk food cold turkey. "I’ll never give up snacks," he says. "They are a lifetime commitment. The whole city runs on them: it’s the fuel that keeps everyone going."