• 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.

• Up next for Red Cat and Harrison owner Jimmy Bradley: An eatery at the forthcoming Nolitan hotel with Red Cat chef Bill McDaniel in the kitchen. [NYT]
• The team behind Dutch Kills in LIC are prepping a tiki bar on the LES. [F&W]
• Montenapo, the restaurant in the New York Times building, has closed. [GS]
• Danny Meyer's Maialino starts serving lunch next week. [TONY]
• A tour of Breslin co-owner Ken Friedman's speakeasy at the Ace Hotel. [BB]
• Don't give too much weight to the calorie counts restaurants put out. [NPR]
• Cold weather has endangered America's strawberry crop. Troubling! [NYT]

• Will the LeRoy family be permitted to auction off Tavern on the Green's "disco lighting," logoed canopy, "revolving coat-check system," and wood paneling next month as they'd hoped? It seems a judge will have to decide. [Bloomberg]
• The week in reviews: Time Out's Jay Cheshes pans Le Caprice, calling it "overhyped" and "bland"; the Times' Sam Sifton hands out a star to Brooklyn's Purple Yam; and Alan Richman of GQ raves about Danny Meyer's Maialino.
• A woman has filed a negligence suit against White Slab Palace on the LES: She says a 150-pound stuffed moose head came crashing down on her. [WPIX]
• Lists: The Post's Steve Cuozzo shares his favorite dishes for winter; Sam Sifton lists 11 memorable dishes he consumed in 2009; the Times recaps its $25-and-under favorites this year; and a "best of '09" list via the WSJ.
• The forthcoming Shake Shack in Nolita will sport a rooftop terrace. [Eater]
• A bunch more NYE dining options, in case you're interested. [GS, Gothamist]

• A week after a restaurant opened at the Guggenheim Museum and now Robert, a new eatery at the Museum of Arts & Design, has opened. [GS, NYT]
• Maialino begins breakfast service tomorrow, a first for Danny Meyer. [TONY]
• Aspen on West 22nd has been temporarily closed over tax issues. [Eater]
• A judge has ordered the Chelsea club Duvet to close immediately. [NYP]
• The city's plan to require that restaurants post inspection letter grades—which LA has done for years—is one step closer to becoming law. [NYT]
• Three Russian Tea Room chefs have hit the restaurant with a lawsuit. [NYP]
• Another annual "best of" list, if you're in the mood. [Metromix]
• Snooki from MTV's Jersey Shore now has her own taco. [HL via Eater]

• Openings: Michael Huynh's OBAO opens tonight. Rye House, a Flatiron gastropub just opened; and a roundup of other spots opening shortly.
• Cafe Gitane's second location opens at the Jane Hotel tomorrow. [GS]
• Taavo Somer of Freemans and the Rusty Knot is looking to expand. [Eater]
• Add Boston to the list of locations where Shake Shack is expanding. [GS]
• If you turn up at the NYC outpost of Le Caprice and you're not famous or important enough, expect to be turned away. Even if it's empty. [NYP]
• Take the wine ratings and reviews you read with a grain of salt. [WSJ]
• A Q&A with Nick Anderer, the chef at the newly opened Maialino. [Zagat]
• The Four Seasons is going to war with a caterer by the same name. [NYDN]
• The life of a Michelin inspector doesn't sound like much fun. [NYer]

• Danny Meyer's Maialino opens tomorrow and is taking reservations. [GS]
• A new wine bar is scheduled to open at Bouley Bakery next week. [NYT]
• More openings: Bar Henry opened last night in the West Houston space that was previously occupied by Zinc Bar; Caracas Brooklyn is planning to open its doors on Thursday; a burger chain bearing a suspicious resemblance to In-N-Out (this one's called Fresh-N-Fast) debuts in a couple of weeks; and another burger spot in the Village called P&B has already opened.
• Sala, the decade-old tapas spot on the Bowery, is up for lease. [GS]
• A peek at François Payard's newly-opened (and very tiny) chocolate bar. [SE]
• Cocktail queen Audrey Saunders is branching out with a spot in LA. [NYT]
• A profile of Bon Appétit editor Barbara Fairchild, now "one of the most watched women in food publishing" following the closure of Gourmet. [LAT]
• The most expensive bottle of beer may get auctioned off this month. [NYP]
• Portland is looking to usurp NYC as "food-cart capital of the country." [OL]
• Is French cuisine dead? Several famed French chefs weigh in. [GS, TONY]

• After 18 years in business, Zoë in SoHo is closing at week's end. [NYT]
• A roundup of a few restaurants opening this week, including Mermaid Oyster Bar, Purple Yam in Brooklyn, and Danny Meyer's Maialino. [NYM]
• Etats-Unis on the Upper East Side closed its doors last Friday. And Klong on St. Mark's Place was shuttered over the weekend following a "huge" fire.
• Famed pizzeria Totonno's, which was partially destroyed by a fire in March, is preparing to reopen, although a date hasn't been finalized. [NYM]
• The death of Art D'Lugoff has shelved plans to revive The Village Gate. [NYP]
• Adam Platt gives three stars to A Voce in New York this week. [NYM]
• Do some restaurants practice delivery discrimination? It seems so. [NYP]

• A preview of what you'll find when Maialino opens next week. [GS]
• In other Danny Meyer news, Shake Shack is expanding to Miami. [GS]
• For his part, Daniel Boulud is taking his Bar Boulud to London. [Bloomberg]
• A roundup of recent restaurant/bar openings around town. [Eater]
• Del Posto is closing its cafe and is introducing a new prix fixe menu. [NYT]
• Paul Sevigny may be still be hoping to reopen the Beatrice Inn. [Gawker]
• 100 things restaurant staffers should never do, part 2. [NYT, previously]

• Jean-Georges Vongerichten will close down Vong on Saturday. [Eater]
• A new restaurant/wine bar has popped up at the Four Seasons Hotel. [GS]
• A tour of Danny Meyer's Maialino, which opens in a couple of weeks. [Eater]
• Both Le Souk and The Mott have been closed their doors. [GS]
• Amy Sacco hasn't obtained a permit to renovate Bungalow 8, as we reported a couple of weeks ago. Her reality TV show is looking unlikely, too. [NYP]
• As if Tavern on the Green didn't have enough of a mess on its plate, it was also the scene of epically messy Halloween party on Saturday. [NYDN, Crain's]
• Another sign of a recession: Le Cirque is offering up free fried chicken to people who come watch the Yankee game there tomorrow night. [Zagat]

• Will Café des Artistes be reborn one of these days? A number of investors have expressed an interest in reviving the famed venue, apparently. [Crain's]
• As for Tavern on the Green, which is supposed to change hands on Dec. 31, a judge has given the LeRoy family more time to vacate the premises, which will prevent it from having to lay off 400 employees over Christmas. [NYT]
• The Todd English case goes on: The chef's bride-to-be Erica Wang is maintaining her innocence and gave a statement to police today. [NYP]
• A $1 billion lawsuit has been filed against Greenhouse for allegedly denying a group of people entry because of their race. Yes, $1 billion. [NYP]
• Mayor Bloomberg has weighed in on his fave bagel for some reason. [NYDN]
• Maialino, Danny Meyer's restaurant at the Gramercy Park Hotel, is on track to opens next month. But he's not sure when the next Shake Shack opens. [GS]
• Any interest in some "Viagra soup"? Yea, didn't think so. [NYDN]

• Dean Poll, the man behind the Central Park Boathouse, has been awarded the contract to operate Tavern on the Green. The decision by the Parks Department, which takes effect in 2010, takes the restaurant out of the hands of the LeRoy family, who have overseen the landmark since 1976. [NYT, GS]
• Bia Garden, Michael Huynh's latest venture, opens its doors this eve. [Eater]
• Rumor has it the Griffin, the meatpacking nightspot located in the former PM space, may be shutting down after just three months in business. [GoaG]
• Il Bordello on 23rd Street and Tenth Avenue has closed its doors. [Eater]
• The new stadiums for the Mets and Yankees are now selling fresh fruit. [NYT]
• A Q&A with Nick Anderer, the Gramercy Tavern veteran who will be running the kitchen at Danny Meyer's Maialino when it opens in November. [MM]

• In its fall preview issue, New York surveys the nine spots opening soon in the meatpacking district, four of which happen to be at the Standard. [NYM]
• Related: Metromix's fall restaurant preview is now online. [Metromix]
• Amy Sacco is on the move: She's opening a Bungalow 8 in Amsterdam. [P6]
• A sneak peek at Yerba Buena Perry, which opens later this week. [Eater]
• Musical chairs: Ryan Bartlow, formerly of Sam Mason's Tailor, is now running the kitchen at Bar Carrera, the sister restaurant to Bar Veloce; and Shlomo Kashy is the new executive chef at Cafe at Country. [TSB, NYT]
• Danny Meyer finally tackles the questions that have been on your mind forever: He prefers flat water to sparkling and pancakes over waffles. [YaH]
• Speaking of Meyer, a few new details on his upcoming Maialino. [Zagat]

• Danny Meyer will open a new restaurant in the Gramercy Park Hotel this November. Now it has a name. It will be called Maialino, or "little pig" in Italian, which was Meyer's nickname when he lived in Rome. [GS]
• Today in restaurant reviews: Frank Bruni issues his final review for the Times this week, giving the decidedly DIY eatery The Redhead a star; Time Out's Jay Cheshes hands out four out of five stars to Daniel Boulud's DBGB; the Daily News' Danyelle Freeman is pretty disappointed with Civetta; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton samples the $100 platter of fried chicken at David Chang's Momofuku; and Alan Richman of GQ files a report on Sorella on the Lower East Side.
• Will Goldfarb and Kevin Pomplun's barbecue food truck, Picnick Smoked, has only been open a few days, but it's already totally overwhelmed. [GS]