• Will the LeRoy family be permitted to auction off Tavern on the Green's "disco lighting," logoed canopy, "revolving coat-check system," and wood paneling next month as they'd hoped? It seems a judge will have to decide. [Bloomberg]
• The week in reviews: Time Out's Jay Cheshes pans Le Caprice, calling it "overhyped" and "bland"; the Times' Sam Sifton hands out a star to Brooklyn's Purple Yam; and Alan Richman of GQ raves about Danny Meyer's Maialino.
• A woman has filed a negligence suit against White Slab Palace on the LES: She says a 150-pound stuffed moose head came crashing down on her. [WPIX]
• Lists: The Post's Steve Cuozzo shares his favorite dishes for winter; Sam Sifton lists 11 memorable dishes he consumed in 2009; the Times recaps its $25-and-under favorites this year; and a "best of '09" list via the WSJ.
• The forthcoming Shake Shack in Nolita will sport a rooftop terrace. [Eater]
• A bunch more NYE dining options, in case you're interested. [GS, Gothamist]

• The Breslin at the Ace Hotel has started serving dinner. [TONY]
• Marcus Samuelsson is cooking up the state dinner in DC tonight. The mostly vegetarian menu features curry, herbs from the White House garden. [AP]
• A few recommendations on where to eat out on Thanksgiving Day. [TONY]
• Murray's Cheese is expanding thanks a deal with a grocery chain. [NYT]
• There's a bit more Tavern on the Green drama today. [NYT]
• Alan Richman dragged Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert to Costco to go shopping. Ripert was horrified by the store, but pleasantly surprised with the food. [GQ]
• The tuna your local sushi spot is serving you may not be tuna. [Gothamist]

• Rumor has it Thomas Keller is planning to open another restaurant to NYC in "one of the new high-rise buildings in Chelsea." Keller's denying it. [TFB, GS]
• The day in reviews: Frank Bruni is a little disappointed with Locanda Verde; the Post's Steve Cuozzo totally digs SHO Shaun Hergatt; Danyelle Freeman of the Daily News thinks Marea rivals Le Bernardin but is way too expensive; and GQ's Alan Richman and Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton both tackle DBGB.
• Andrew Silverman's City Lobster & Steak is now bankrupt. [Crain's]
• The NYPD is cracking down on narcotics sales involving club promoters. [BB]
• A man was indicted today for allegedly raping a woman at Marquee. [NYP]
• Momofuku may jump into the food cart fray. We'll second TFB's sentiments: "This gourmet cart/truck business is getting out of control." [Eater, TFB]

• Water Taxi Beach opens at the South Street Seaport this weekend. [GS]
• Danny Meyer has decided against bidding on Tavern on the Green's lease. But Seth Greenberg and Dean Poll are still in the running. [NYP]
• Alan Richman's list of "the 25 best pizzas you'll ever eat" is online. [GQ]
• A drug racket that served up Ecstasy, Special K, and GHB to clubgoers at places like Pacha and Mansion has been broken up by the cops. [NYDN]
• A look around The Brooklyn Star, Joaquin Baca's new restaurant. [Eater]
• An amusing chat with Chris Santos, chef/owner of Stanton Social. [Decider]
• Be on alert: Starbucks biggest marketing campaign ever is underway. [NYT]

♦ Frank Bruni reviews Allegretti this week and gives it two stars: "Although some dishes are overwrought, with an ingredient or two too many, and a few utterly miss their mark, more are executed with finesse and with a wicked sense of indulgence." [NYT]
♦ Alan Richman is pleased with Paul Liebrandt's Corton, reserving special praise for its sous vide chicken. [GQ]
♦ A report on how restaurants across the country are coping with the downturn. [NYT]

• Frank Bruni visits Perbacco in the East Village and gives it two stars, describing it as "worthy of its name, which means 'wow.'" [NYT]

• Frank Bruni of the Times hands out three stars today to Scarpetta, Scott Conant's new meatpacking eatery: "Conant has been reunited with his best instincts." [NYT]

• A Queens man is suing Subway for a million bucks after finding a 7-inch serrated knife baked into his foot-long sandwich. [NYP]

• 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]

• Taking on restaurant-y wine bars, the Times' Frank Bruni gives a star apiece to Jody Williams' Gottino and Marco Canora's Terroir, where he deems the pork blade steak the best dish he's had in months. [NYT]

• If you're going to pay a farewell visit to the about-to-shutter Florent, forget about ordering eggs Florentine. The gas at the restaurant has been turned off for good. [Eater]

Recently-divorced food critic Alan Richman parted ways with his Bloomberg job a few days ago and now his week has gotten even worse. An Internet food writer reviewed dinner at Richman's house in Mamaroneck and filed a review filled with references to burnt sprouts, overdone tempura and processed meat wrapped in processed dough. Most revealing: after savaging post-Katrina New Orleans in GQ as an "a festival of narcissism, indolence and corruption" beset by "endless revelry," Richman is depicted answering the door in his robe, spending the first 45 minutes of his dinner "showering, opening a bottle of wine, and preparing pigs in blankets" and then complaining endlessly for hours. But, in fairness, Richman's guest actually enjoys most of the food, especially the blintzes, and is warmed by Richman's crankiness, which he calls "disarming, charming and exhausting." It remains to be seen if the subjects of Richman's ultra-bitchy reviews feel the same. [eGullet via Eater']

Tipster on the GQ-contributing food critic: "I work at Bloomberg and heard some babble that he had a fight with one of the editors and left. Can't confirm it though; usually when you leave Bloomberg, their Bio page is immediately updated to say 'former,' and his was normal last I checked, so maybe it just blew over."

A quick update on the Alan Richman contretemps. You'll remember that Richman, the ne plus ultra of bitchy dining critics, wrote a piece in GQ about New Orleans wherein he decided that, since someone fucked up his wine order, we should let the city rot. Predictably, the piece caused some controversy in the Crescent City, occasioning this blistering response from New Orleans Times-Picayune food guy Brett Anderson. On the internet, the food blog Appetites sent an e-mail to Richman, to which he responded; it turned into a full-blown interview. Richman admits that he got a few things wrong (true), claims that some of his jibes were tongue-in-cheek and misinterpreted (also true), and lets off a withering attack of his own on Anderson and the Times-Pic. In the main he sticks to his guns; whatever your particular thoughts on the merits of the initial article (and our thoughts were a slightly more emphatic version of "Blow me"), this interview makes for some interesting reading. Fun fact: Richman used to cover the NBA.

We generally enjoy Bloomberg/GQ food critic Alan Richman's acerbic, over-the-top eviscerations of the city's overpriced crudo emporia (example: "I asked [the sommelier's] opinion of a couple of $70-and-under Australian reds I was considering for my second wine. He suggested a $205 Australian pinot noir instead. The only appropriate response to that would have been to beat him to death."), but his dispatch from New Orleans in the current GQ, left us more than a little vexed. We're not usually offended by written equivalents of kicking a man in the nuts while his hair is on fire (really, how could we be?) but this piece left us feeling violated. We're going to a cheat a bit and give you a sample from the end, but read the whole thing: