The James Beard Awards were held at Avery Fisher Hall last night, gifting Jean-Georges Vongerichten's eponymous flagship the title of "Outstanding Restaurant." Other notable winners included David Chang's Momofuko Ko (Best New Restaurant) and opulent dinosaur Daniel (Best Service), with Drew Nieporent (left) knighted Outstanding Restaurateur for his (apparently outstanding) work at Corton and Nobu. But, much like the Costume Institute Gala across town, the night was not without a bit of drama.

• The new owners of the Florent space are turning it into something called the Gansevoort Cafe; a Fiamma replacement is on the way, too. [Eater]
• 'wichcraft is introducing a "sandwich-inspired" dinner menu. [GS]
• Daniel Boulud's forthcoming DBGB will offer 14 kinds of sausage. [TONY]
• Le Souk is abandoning the EV and moving to Bleecker and LaGuardia. [Eater]
• Organic food is more popular in NYC, less popular in Idaho. Crazy! [NYT]
• Cookbook sales are up, which, naturally, has to do with the recession. [WSJ]
• A film shoot gone awry damaged the Sbarro in Times Square today. [NYP]
• The James Beard Awards go down tonight; Eater has a liveblog. [Eater]

• The James Beard Foundation announced the final nominees for its 2009 awards today. The names in the mix for New York's "best chef": Michael Anthony, Terrance Brennan, Wylie Dufresne, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Gabriel Kreuther. The two New Yorkers competing for the "outstanding restaurateur" award: Keith McNally and Drew Nieporent. [JBF]
• JGV and partner Phil Suarez plan to open 10 restaurants in 2009. [Fortune]
• Tonda is planning to open in the former E.U. space tomorrow. [GS]
• Rumor has it Katie Lee Joel is getting into the restaurant business. The spot will be called "Logan County" and will be located in the financial district. [TFB]
• As for Padma Lakshmi, she's branching out into comedy, apparently. [GS]
• It looks like restaurant publicist (and regular Iron Chef judge) Karine Bakhoum is working on a reality show. [TONY]
• Another season of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is on tap. [THR]

• A list of V-Day meals and deals, in case you need some inspiration. [Eater]
• The good news/bad news about the newly-opened Trigo in Tribeca. [Eater]
• Frank Bruni gives Corner Bistro's burger a try; he isn't impressed. [NYT]
• Cocoa prices are up, which means chocolate is about to get pricier. [WSJ]
• A list of this year's James Beard Awards semifinalists. [GS]
• Bobo's Patrick Connelly will be on Nightline tonight. [Feedbag]
• Don't read this piece about "natural contaminants" if you're squeamish. [NYT]

Last night, Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall played host to the James Beard Awards, the Oscars/Emmys/Tonys/Grammys of dining. Grant Achatz, the 34-year-old Chicago chef whose cruelly poetic battle with tongue cancer is recounted in this must-read New Yorker piece, won the top award of the night, the Oustanding Chef Award. Hometown winners included Danny Meyer's Gramercy Tavern, for outstanding restaurant; Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, for outstanding restaurateur; and up-and-comer Gavin Kaysen of Cafe Boulud, who bagged the Rising Star Award. And what culinary event would be complete without some groveling display of deference to David Chang? The Momofuku chieftain was handed the award for best chef in New York City.