• 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]

• The Tavern on the Green auction kicked off today and continues through Friday. Expect long lines if you plan on checking it out yourself. (But forget about meeting Regis Philbin if you go; he was already there today.) [Crain's]
• Four Seasons chef Fabio Trabocchi is out after only three months. [NYP]
• The critics: Sam Sifton of the Times gives one star to the Breslin; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton also weighs in on the Breslin, as does the Village Voice's Robert Sietsema; Adam Platt of New York takes on Maialino, giving it three out of five stars; Time Out awards four stars to Purple Yam; and the Post's Steve Cuozzo makes the case that Robert in Columbus Circle offers the best views in town.

• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times pronounces Madangsui the best Korean BBQ in Manhattan and gives it one star; the Post's Steve Cuozzo isn't all that impressed with Le Caprice; Time Out's Jay Cheshes has mixed feelings about Susur Lee's Shang; GQ's Alan Richman heads over to Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield's Breslin; and Gael Greene checks in on Café Boulud.
• It's looking likely that Scott Conant will take over the Table 8 space. [Eater]
• A peek inside the Guggenheim Museum's new restaurant, Wright. [NYT]|
• Nightlife: A new club on West 29th Street called Amnesia debuts tomorrow; and Mike Satsky's meatpacking club Provocateur should open shortly.
• More on the Tavern on the Green auction scheduled for next month. [NYT]
• Time Out lists off the 100 best things to eat and drink in New York. [TONY]
• The Flatiron Indian eatery Tamarind is opening a branch in Tribeca. [Zagat]
• Frank Bruni and Jonathan Safran Foer debated meat last night. [TONY]
• If your kid refuses to eat at McDonald's, watches Iron Chef religiously, and studies up on varieties of cheese, you probably have a "gastrokid." [NYP]

• The much-hyped Breslin opens for lunch on Thursday, but co-owner Ken Friedman already has a detractor: the mosque across the street. [NYO]
• Closings: Centro Vinoteca in the West Village has been shuttered by the city. And the Bread Bar at Tabla is closing as of tonight. [Eater, GS]
• François Payard's eponymous patisserie closed four months ago, but he'll make a mini-comeback next month when he opens a chocolate bar. [NYT]
• How busy is restaurateur Michael "Bao" Huynh? He's opening one restaurant a week during the month of November. So he's pretty busy. [GS]
• Greenhouse is facing more legal trouble: A couple of weeks after the club was sued for $1 billion comes another discrimination suit for $1.5 billion. [NYDN]
• A roundup of restaurants offering various Halloween specials. [Zagat]

• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton gives a super-enthusiastic review (and two stars) to Daniel Boulud's DBGB in his first review as NYT restaurant critic today; the Post's Steve Cuozzo leaves Oceana very happy and gives it three out of four shiny new stars, now that he's armed with a star system like every other paper; TONY's Jay Cheshes tackles Oceana, too, giving it three stars out of five; GQ's Alan Richman visits A Voce; and Adam Platt of New York reserves one star for a "Madoff-like" Caravaggio and nada for Hotel Griffou.
• The war between Todd English and the woman he was set to marry last weekend (but didn't) continues. In short: Either English is the biggest jerk ever, she wants to be famous and is nuts, or they're both totally crazy. [Gawker]
• The new Momofuku in Midtown now has a name: Ma Pêche. [Eater]
• Tavern on the Green is supposed to change hands at the end of the year. But now outgoing owner Jennifer LeRoy has petitioned a court for three extra months. And what will happen if a judge doesn't go along with the plan? TotG says it may have to fire 400 employees. Right before Christmas. [NYT]

• Roundups of restaurants opening in the next week or so. [TONY, Eater]
• A look at the last-minute work involved in getting The Breslin, Ken Friedman's latest restaurant, ready for its October 8 opening. [NYT]
• Photos inside Abe & Arthur's, which opens to the public next week. [Eater]
• You may soon able to booze it up in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty: The vendor in charge of concessions there has applied for a liquor license. [NYP]
• David Chang's Momofuku Ko is raising prices beginning next week. [Eater]
• Is celebuchef Wolfgang Puck planning a NYC outpost? Possibly. [Gothamist]
• A chat with Richie Notar, the man who runs the show at Nobu. [ObsessedTV]
• What has Frank Bruni been eating since stepping down as restaurant critic of the New York Times? Lots and lots of roast chicken, apparently. [Atlantic]

• Today was Frank Bruni's last day as New York Times dining critic. In honor of the momentous occasion, Bruni shares some thoughts on, well, just about everything you've ever wondered during his five-year tenure. [NYT, NYT]
• Bruni-blitz, con't: Two more interviews with Bruni are online today, including the longest one you'll probably ever see, courtesy of Team Eater. [Eater, TFB]
• The "disastrous, wipeout summer" that many chefs and restaurant owners were fearfully predicting just a couple of months ago never really came to pass, Steve Cuozzo happily reports today in the New York Post. [NYP]
• Today in food reviews: The Daily News' Danyelle Freeman gives The Mott three stars out of five; Pete Wells of the Times pays a visit to SHO Shaun Hergatt; Time Out's Jay Cheshes hits the Standard Grill and has very good things to say; and Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton surveys the city's sandwich scene.
• Corton's Paul Liebrandt may be widely respected chef. But to describe him as an unpleasant interview subject would be a huge understatement. [BlackBook]