• The critics: Sam Sifton of the Times shows no love for Le Caprice, giving the Brit import a zero-star review; New York's Adam Platt reports on the Breslin and gives it two stars; Time Out's Jay Cheshes gives Danny Meyer's Maialino four stars out of five; and GQ's Alan Richman weighs in on Casa Lever.
• Scott Conant has a name for his new restaurant at the Cooper Square Hotel: It's called Faustina and it will open for friends and family on Friday. [NYT]
• Expansion plans: Five Napkin Burger is opening its second location on the UWS; and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is planning locations in Brooklyn and Queens.
• The Post's Steve Cuozzo has a few choice words for Alain Ducasse. [NYP]
• Ted's Montana Grill, owned by Ted Turner, has been closed by the DoH. [P6]
• Famed Spanish chef Ferran Adrià is closing El Bulli for two years. [AP, WSJ]
• Growlers are the "beer accessory of the moment," apparently. [NYT]
• Who's benefiting from long lines at airports? Airport eateries, obvs. [NYDN]
• Silliest trend of the week: yoga studios for foodies. [NYT]
• Whole Foods rewards its skinny employees, punishes its fat ones. [NYDN]

• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times gives Danny Meyer's Maialino two stars; Steve Cuozzo of the Post heads to Maialino, too, giving it three stars; Gael Greene also covers Mayer's latest creation; Time Out's Jay Cheshes hits the Breslin; Alan Richman of GQ shares his passion for César Ramirez's work at Brooklyn Kitchen; and Danyelle Freeman reviews Rye in Williamsburg.
• New/upcoming: Soho tapas spot Ñ has opened a second location in Dumbo; Scott Conant is turning the Cooper Square Hotel bar into a casual cafe and plans to open it next month; and a Hooters may be coming to Brooklyn.
• Offal is all the rage right now, in case you weren't aware. [NYO]
• There were lots of leftovers following last week's Tavern on the Green auction, so a "last-chance bargain sale" is now scheduled for next week. [NYT]
• Some Valentine's Day dining suggestions if you're planning ahead. [Zagat]
• Pizzeria Uno has filed for chapter undici bankruptcy protection. [Eater]
• Can you picture Daniel Boulud and Alain Ducasse serving eats out of a food truck? The opportunity to see them slum it together arrives on Feb. 8. [GS]

• Star chef Alain Ducasse weighs in on New York's best french fries. [GS]
• Daniel Boulud is planning to open an outpost in Singapore next year. [NYDN]
• More on the city's lawsuit against Tavern on the Green. [NYT, Crain's]
• Ninth Street Espresso serves NYC's best coffee, according to GQ. [GS]
• A couple of roundups of food-related events this weekend. [SE, Zagat]
• Media mogul hangout Michael's has been tweeting who comes in for lunch each day. Let it be known that Vogue editrix Anna Wintour does not approve: "It's not something I was aware of but it is probably ill-advised." [NYT]

• Graydon Carter's Monkey Bar is no longer accepting reservations by phone. In other Carter news, Carter's Vanity Fair has very nice things to say about Carter's Waverly Inn, which you'll no doubt be surprised to hear. [Eater, VF]
• Celebrity settings: A roundup of restaurants where celebs were spotted eating this week (or at least where gossips said they'd been spotted). [GS]
• Osteria del Circo is closed due to a gas leak. But Sirio Maccioni will be happy to seat you at Le Cirque instead and he'll give you 25% off, too. [Eater]
• JGV clears the record: He did not cook for four presidents past and present last week. Just one ex-president, a mayor, and UN Secretary General. [JGV]
• Teany caught fire today and will probably be closed for several weeks. [Eater]

• A roundups of restaurants opening this week. [NYM, Eater]
• Scuderia, Silvano Marchetto's two-month-old restaurant, has ditched its chef, Claudio Cristofoli, after a handful of not-so-good reviews. [GS]
• Not much has changed at Soho's Delicatessen, reports The New Yorker: "If Topshop were a restaurant, it would be this restaurant. [NYer]
• Daniel Boulud's DBGB Kitchen & Bar opens to the public in early June. The décor? The shelves feature old copper pots donated by famous chefs. [GS]
• Dylan Lauren's candy store opened in a pop-up space inside a Hong Kong shoe store this week. A permanent location may be forthcoming. [WWD]
• Mix Shake Stir, a cocktail book (obviously) dedicated to concoctions served up at Danny Meyer's restaurants, was published today. [EMD]

• It's like Kozmo.com all over again: A site called Wakozi will now deliver booze to your door in Manhattan. Bklyn and Qns coming soon! [Wakozi via TT]
• If you shelled out big bucks for premium seating at the new Yankee Stadium, at least your taste buds will reap the rewards: Both Masaharu Morimoto and April Bloomfield of the Spotted Pig will be putting in appearances. [NYT]
• Tonda opens in the space formerly occupied by E.U. tonight. [Eater]
• Pierre Schaedelin talks about the biz and his bistro Benoit. [Gothamist]
• Good World will serve up its last drink on Saturday night. [GS]
• Will the restaurant industry "be blown away by the current economic storms"? Tim Zagat, not surprisingly, says the answer is "no." [Atlantic]
• Greenhouse has "hands-down rudest doormen in the five boroughs." [MM]
• Alain Ducasse and his wife Gwénaëlle just had a baby boy named Arzhel. And he now has a wax figure of himself in Paris, too, which can't hurt. [P6]

Frank Bruni's list of the 10 Best New Restaurants of 2008 is online. Here they are: 1. David Chang's Momofuku Ko, 2. Drew Nieporent and chef Paul Liebrandt's Corton; 3. (tie) Scott Conant's Scarpetta; 3. (tie) L'Impero; 5. Dovetail; 6. Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Matsugen; 7. Adour Alain Ducasse; 8. Daniel Boulud's Bar Boulud; 9. Allegretti; 10. Mia Dona. [NYT]

♦ Alain Ducasse has tapped Pierre Schaedelin to be the executive chef of his much-maligned Benoit. [NYT]
♦ Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia's Kefi re-opens tonight. [Eater]
♦ A few photos and the menu from Cyril Renaud's new Bar Breton. [GS]
♦ R&L, which was quickly shut down by the Department of Health after opening in the former Florent space in July, is reopening this week. [Eater]
♦ The best places to pick up coffee in the West Village. [NYM]
♦ Citysearch's top 10 bars and clubs of 2008. [CS]

♦ Jay Cheshes gives Drew Nieporent's Corton six out of six stars in this week's issue of Time Out: "The best new restaurant I've visited this year." [TONY]
♦ Sweetiepie, the "bizarre restaurant, dessert bar and absinthe den wrapped into one," opens tonight. [GoaG, UrbanDaddy]
♦ A peek at Buttermilk Channel, which opens tonight, too. [Eater]
♦ A roundup of NYC's best absinthe bars. [Metromix]
♦ New York diners are the "toughest in the world," and just like spoiled children, says Alain Ducasse. "A spoiled child is never happy." [TONY]

♦ Mirco del Vecchio, the executive chef of Ago, says he'll sue Robert De Niro for breach of contract if he's replaced at the restaurant by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. [Page Six]
♦ Why is Alain Ducasse's Benoit earning such bad reviews? Ducasse blames American journalists who "don't quite understand French bistro." [RG]
♦ Ruth Reichl paid an early visit to David Bouley's recently-relocated Bouley and describes it as New York's "loveliest restaurant." [Gourmet]
♦ The reservation line is officially open for John Dory, the Brit-themed restaurant by April Bloomfield, Ken Friedman, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich that is scheduled to open on November 24th. [Eater]

♦ Alex Raij, the former chef at Tia Pol (left), is opening her 28-seat tapas bar named Txikito (pronounced chee-KEE-toe) tonight. [GS]
♦ A play-by-play of what went down at Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz's $1,500-per-person dinner at Per Se on Tuesday night. [NYT, NYT]
♦ Another look inside David Chang's forthcoming Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar, which is set to open on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. [Eater]

• New York's Adam Platt spanks Alain Ducasse's new brasserie Benoit with a zero-star review. Some of his least favorite dishes? The lobster ravioli (a "viscous mess"), cassoulet (tastes like it was "preheated in a microwave"), and the steak tartare ("dressed with enough horseradish to choke a cow.") [NYM]