• The Grill at the Standard hotel is in friends-and-family mode at the moment. (It should be open to the public sometime next week.) In the meantime, though, you'll be pleased to hear (and see—left) that some serious bartender training is currently underway. [HotelChatter, Flickr]
• New York's very first spot for 24-hour-a-day pho is coming soon. [GS]
• Chocolate mousse is popping up all over town, according to Kate Krader. Exhibits 1-4: Monkey Bar, Minetta Tavern, Bar Artisanal, and Kefi. [F&W]
• Another list of downturn-friendly bars offering free food with drinks. [NYT]
• Good news for strip club fans: Drink prices, cover charges are down. [WSJ]
• Some breaking news from Tuesday evening's screening of Food, Inc.: Rocco DiSpirito says he's been known to occasionally eat a Cinnabon or two. [NYDN]

• The bistro inside Andre Balazs's Standard Hotel will be called the Standard Grill and will probably open its doors "in the next couple of weeks." [Eater]
• A Q&A with Michael Psilakis of Anthos and Kefi fame. [RG]
• Frank Bruni checks in on Sue Torres's Mexican spot Sueños. [NYT]
• Eight bars that provide free food along with the drinks. [TONY]
• For $105, Morimoto will provide you with sushi and sake "while cruising New York Harbor on an 80-foot schooner." Sounds like a blast. [GS]
• Everything you were told about eating healthy was probably wrong. [NYDN]
• Don't forget that tomorrow is National Donut Day! Both Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme have specials in honor of the grand occasion, naturally. [ML]

• The Smile, Carlos Quirarte and Matt Kliegman's café/boutique on Bond Street, officially opened its doors today. One rare luxury: Regulars get their own custom-made, engraved Laguiole cutlery to use whenever they visit. [GS]
• Donatella Arpaia and Michael Psilakis's Kefi doesn't get much love from Frank Bruni: A case of "palate mononucleosis" leaves it with one star. [NYT]
• Dovetail is looking to open a café and food cart in Central Park. [Eater]
• Both Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton and Time Out's Jay Cheshes visit La Fonda Del Sol and leave with mixed feelings. [Bloomberg, TONY]
• Poll: New Yorkers prefer BLT Steak to Peter Luger by 53% to 47%. [TFB]
• Not surprisingly, the job market for chefs isn't exactly booming. [NYT]
• Also not surprising: Low-end liquor is really popular right now. [NYP]
• Amy Ruth's in Harlem has filed for bankruptcy protection. [Crain's]
• JGV's Spice Market in Doha, Qatar is now open, just so you know. [Luxist]

• It's not all doom and gloom: Terrance Brennan (Artisanal, Picholine) and Floyd Cardoz (Tabla) both have new restaurants in the works. [GS, TONY]
• Donatella Arpaia and Michael Psilakis say they're two months away from opening Gus & Gabriel's Gastropub in the old Kefi space. [NYT]
• A list of the best Brit food in New York. Yes, such a list really exists. [MM]
• John Doherty explains why he quit as chef at the Waldorf-Astoria. [NYT]
• Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn is opening a private dining room. [GS]
• Cheapo Eight O'Clock Coffee beat out Starbucks in a CR taste test. [NYDN]

• Ago, the restaurant inside the Greenwich Hotel, will close at the end of the month when Jean-Georges Vongerichten takes over. He'll change the restaurant's name and chef, but says the menu will remain Italian. [TFB]
• Kefi is reopening tonight after it was shuttered by the Dep't of Health. [Eater]
• Buddha Bar has been forced to change its name after losing a lawsuit. [P6]
• Elad Properties says the closure of the Palm Court is only temporary. [NYT]
• Picholine says it plans to expand its "Menu d'Economie." [W&D]
• A rundown of this week's restaurant closures. [Eater]
• The Observer's top 10 picks for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner. [NYO]

♦ Alain Ducasse has tapped Pierre Schaedelin to be the executive chef of his much-maligned Benoit. [NYT]
♦ Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia's Kefi re-opens tonight. [Eater]
♦ A few photos and the menu from Cyril Renaud's new Bar Breton. [GS]
♦ R&L, which was quickly shut down by the Department of Health after opening in the former Florent space in July, is reopening this week. [Eater]
♦ The best places to pick up coffee in the West Village. [NYM]
♦ Citysearch's top 10 bars and clubs of 2008. [CS]