• Roundups of new restaurants opening over the next week. [NYM, TONY]
• Photos: A peek at Wall & Water, which opens later this week in the Andaz Wall Street hotel; and pics of Choptank (formerly Bar Q), opening tonight.
• Rumor has it snooty UES restaurant/club Bruno Jamais has closed. [Eater]
• Beatrice Inn founders Paul Sevigny and Matt Abramcyk are preparing their comeback and gearing up to take on Andre Balazs' Boom Boom Room. [NYP]
• A list of the venues participating in Winter Restaurant Week. [NYCGo]
• P.J. Clarke's is preparing to expand; Vegas and DC are coming soon. [Crain's]
• A visit to all 11 of Danny Meyer's restaurants—in a single day. [WSJ]
• The Pinkberry frozen yogurt empire may be divided in two: The husband and wife who founded the 73-store-strong chain are now divorcing. [TMZ]
• The 10 best restaurants for business meetings in NYC. [BI]
• NYC's salt-loving mayor/scold-in-chief has kicked off a war on salt. [NYT]

• Giorgio Armani is opening a restaurant inside his new Fifth Avenue flagship later this week. Guess it's time for a little payback, Scott Conant. [Eater]
• The Cedar Tavern on University Place is gone for good. [GS]
• A peak at the new speakeasy-themed bar Raines Law Room. [Eater]
• Anita Lo is closing Bar Q in the West Village. [Eater]
• Dinner at L'Artusi "grinds slowly off a cliff," says Adam Platt, who gives the bar-centric spot on Bleecker a single star in this week's New York. [NYM]
• Inexplicably, the cupcake craze endures. [TFB]
• Daily News food critic Danyelle Freeman has landed a book deal. [GS]
• A hot dog vendor in Times Square is retiring after 41 years. [NYP]
• Starbucks is introducing instant coffee because Americans are "focusing more on seeking satisfying experiences that enhance their lives." Uh, okay. [HP]

♦ Today marks the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. Here's a look at some of the city's former speakeasies. [NewYorkology]
♦ Noah Tepperberg says he plans to move ahead with his new lounge, despite not getting Community Board approval. [GS]
♦ Changing seasons: Park Avenue Winter has arrived. [Eater]
♦ Mayor Bloomberg usually treats reporters to a holiday meal at Gracie Mansion. This year it costs $45 and it's at Chinatown's Golden Unicorn. [P6]
♦ Tips on how to gain access to the "secret" bar below Little Branch. [DBTH]
♦ Anita Lo shows off the new interiors at Bar Q. [GS]
♦ Fans of Padma Lakshmi: She'll be at the Whole Foods Bowery tomorrow. [GS]

♦ Sue Torres is leaving her post Los Dados to spend more time at Sueños, her restaurant in Chelsea. [NYT]
♦ Photos of David Burke's Fishtail, which opened last night. [Eater]
♦ Anita Lo plans to close Bar Q for a few days so she can reopen it with a more finger-food-friendly menu. [GS]
♦ Susanne Bartsch is moving the weekly party she used to throw at Happy Valley to Greenhouse and calling it Vandam. [GS]
♦ The Upper West Side's Neptune Room is now closed. [Eater]
♦ You can celebrate Britney's birthday at Tenjune tonight, if you wish. [DBTH]

• 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]