Restaurants and bars in Liberty City are like other landmarks based on places in New York, the real-world city on which the universe of the latest Grand Theft Auto game is based. The names, locations and designs are all slightly off, like a riddle made for trivia-night nerds. Ed Levine has risen to the challenge. Liberty City's rowdy Steinway (here's the video) is pretty clearly based on Astoria's Bohemian Beer Garden. But Levine, a food blogger, has identified possible models for half a dozen virtual eateries and drinking holes-even this bland and Starbucks-like coffee shop which he places in a gamer's version of Midtown's Rockefeller Center. [Serious Eats via Kottke]

LOCKHART STEELE — You might not have heard of the new foodsite Serious Eats yet, but at the rate that noted food journalist Ed Levine is stockpiling blog talent, you probably will sooner or later. (Or, if you choose to keep reading, now! Thirty-second backstory: Levine, recognizing that his vision for a next-generation version of foodie message board Chowhound would require some serious tech and editorial chops, brought in Blogger.com founder Meg Hourihan as a consultant a few months back alongside popular food bloggers such as Adam Kuban and The Amateur Gourmet, each of whom contribute to the site and participate in an ad network on their personal blogs. Serious Eats formally launched earlier this month.)

The NYT's Ed Levine ate hamburgers every day for two months so that you could have the convenience of knowing where to find the best burgers in Manhattan. (The sacrifices we make for high-quality journalism!)
The burger takes center stage [NYT]