Yesterday all of the internet was dancing on the grave of 69-year-old Calvin Klein's relationship with 21-year-old "model" Nick Gruber. Well, it appears their "break" wasn't nearly as definitive as everyone thought.

• Rumor has it Danny Meyer and Ian Schrager are currently in "advanced talks" to open a restaurant on the roof of the Gramercy Park Hotel. [P6]
• Will we see the classic tiki bar make a comeback in 2010? [NYT]
• Minetta Tavern introduces brunch service this weekend. [UD]
• New Tavern on the Green operator Dean Poll has yet to seal a deal with the union or city (or even finalize the name), but he's lined up a new GM. [P6]
• Is it possible the restaurants in London are better than the ones here? [GS]
• Two "disaster-relief socials" benefiting Haiti took place last night. [SF, HP]
• NYC's oldest gay bar, Julius, has been shuttered by the DoH. [Eater]
• Gwyneth Paltrow has a tasty Vietnamese salad she'd love to share with you.

• Openings: Tony and Marisa May's San Domenico reopened today with a new name (SD26), and in a sprawling new location (on East 26th Street); the new Oceana officially made its debut today, too; and opening on Thursday is Ed's Chowder House, Jeffrey Chodorow and chef Ed Brown's seafood venue in the Empire Hotel space that used to house Chodorow's Center Cut steak place.
• John McDonald and Josh Picard are partnering with nightlife king Serge Becker and dividing Chinatown Brasserie into two new venues. [TFB, Eater]
• A list of restaurants "where models, editors, designers and all things fashionable converge" during Fashion Week, according to the Times. [NYT]
• Rumor has it SushiSamba may take over the old Merkato 55 space. [GS]
• Minetta Tavern plans to start serving brunch on the weekends soon. [Eater]
• Marion's on the Bowery is going Mexican by way of Dumbo. [VV]
• A Frank Sinatra-branded line of wine is now available. Yes, one of the vintages really is called "Come Fly Away With Me." [Luxist]
• Once Tavern on the Green changes hands, its two public restrooms will no longer be open to the public. Try the nearby bushes instead. [NYT]

Keith McNally—proprietor of media commissary Balthazar—also owns New York's restaurant of the moment, Minetta Tavern. It's an elusive reservation, because the place is packed with celebrities. But what happens when Gawker Alumnus Jesse Oxfeld tries to get in?

• Jonathan Benno, Per Se's acclaimed chef de cuisine, has confirmed his plans to move on: He'll be part-owner and executive chef at a new (and as-yet unnamed) restaurant under construction in the plaza of Lincoln Center. [NYT]
• Has Minetta Tavern stopped accepting reservations from people who don't happen to be close, personal friends of owner Keith McNally? [GS, Eater]
• If you don't have a credit or debit card, don't go to Commerce. As noted previously, it's one of the only NYC eateries where cash isn't welcome. [WSJ]
• The '21' Club auctions off 640 rare bottles of wine at Christie's tomorrow. [BN]
• Yet another cupcake bakery chain is planning to open its doors in NYC. [VV]

[Submit your own Gawker Stalker sightings to stalker@gawker.com] August 19th @ night Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant canoodling at Minetta Tavern. Lots of wine and french fries. She was laughing and as my father said "Acting quite girly."

• Graydon Carter turned 60 on Tuesday, and Frank Bruni was kind enough to give him a gift—an unflattering review of his Monkey Bar. Carter: "Frank Bruni's review in The Times was the perfect nightcap to the perfect birthday." [WWD]
• Speaking of Bruni, a long excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, which appears in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, is now online. [NYT]
• Are restaurants like Minetta Tavern the city's new nightclubs? [BB]
• Word has it Cafe Boulud will be undergoing a major renovation and expansion sometime this summer and will be close for about a month or so. [Eater]
• A new cocktail lounge could be coming to Bryant Park next year. [Crain's]
• Philippe Massoud's ilili showcases Lebanese wines for the next month. [NYT]
• Le Cirque's Sirio Maccioni will undergo open heart surgery next week. [P6]

• Today in restaurant reviews: The Times' Frank Bruni gives one star to Bar Artisanal; Restaurant Girl hands out three to Brooklyn's Mesa Coyoacan; and the Post's Steve Cuozzo pays a visit to DBGB. [NYT, NYDN, NYP]
• A few impressions of Charlie Palmer's brand-new Aureole. [TFB, Zagat]
• A total of 27 restaurants closed their doors during the month of June. But 48 new ones opened, so clearly it's not all bad news. [Eater]
• Following a little snafu last night, Gus & Gabriel opens tonight. [GS]
• How do you snag a table at Minetta Tavern? Try passing a fat wad of cash to Keith McNally: "I never take gifts, ever. It's against my principle. I do take cash, however. And as much of it as I can get." (Yes, he's kidding.) [Eater]

• 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]

• Keith McNally's Minetta Tavern and its selection of steaks score rave reviews—and three stars—from Frank Bruni in today's New York Times. [NYT]
• A peek around Warren 77, the bar that Ranger Sean Avery co-owns. [GS]
• Jeffrey Chodorow's next project, set to open in the new Kimpton Hotel in 2010, will be a Spanish restaurant and "global food park." [IC]
• A wine auction at Christie's last night raked in $1.1 million. [NYP]
• Dining in a recession: AMNY's list of spots that offer free good. [AMNY]

• Today in restaurant reviews: Frank Bruni gives Zak Pelaccio's new Fatty Crab two stars; the Post's Steve Cuozzo is pretty pleased with Josh DeChellis's La Fonda del Sol; and Jay Cheshes hits up Minetta Tavern. [NYT, NYP, TONY]
• The good news/bad news about the Cooper Square Hotel's Table 8. [Eater]
• Ryan Sutton on Monkey Bar: "A-listers and alcohol are the main event" while the "food is a simian sideshow." All things you knew, undoubtedly. [Bloomberg]
• It's what every chef dreams of: Tom Colicchio is on the new cover of Guitar Aficionado magazine. Yes, the mag exists and, yes, Tom loves guitars. [GS]
• It looks like the space once occupied by Florent/R&L will reopen as 69 Gansevoort Cafe shortly. It will probably remain a 24/7 diner, too. [Eater]
• NYC will look like LA pretty soon: A second Baja Fresh is on the way. [ML]

• A bunch of expensive restaurants are slated to open over the next few months. That kind of sucks for them, yes, although construction costs are down and rents are now negotiable, so it's not all bad news. Sort of. [NYT]
• Frank Bruni offers up his take on a bunch of "recession beaters" in today's Times, including Anthos Upstairs, Craft's DFF, and the lounge at Per Se. [NYT]
• Will swine flu finally kill the pork-belly trend? [GS]
• Despite the recession, steakhouses still seem full, says the Post's Steve Cuozzo, and Wagyu beef is still selling, "strangely." Strange, indeed. [NYP]
• Snapple is giving away free pizza from May 4 to May 7. [Slice]
• More immediately: 31-cent scoops at Baskin-Robbins tonight. [TFB]

• After 115 weeks in business, Jeffrey Chodorow's Kobe Club closes its doors tomorrow night. The Miami outpost is probably history, too. [Eater]
• One of the two Starbucks in Astor Place is closing tomorrow. [Eater]
• A roundup of places that just opened, or will be open next week. [TONY]
• Charlie Palmer is giving away bottles to vino in honor of Aureole's 20th. [GS]
• The Minetta Tavern's "preferred-customer line" is sort of useless, FYI. [GS]
• Rise, the rooftop bar at the Ritz in Battery Park City, has closed. [Zagat]
• Sangria and lobster salad was on Padma's mind on Today today. [TFB]

• Frank Bruni takes on La Fonda del Sol and Txikito in the Times, giving the former two stars for Josh DeChellis' "less forced and more exuberant" cuisine, and the latter a single star for its "complicated" cooking. [NYT]
• The Post's Steve Cuozzo likes the murals, mirrors and lighting at Monkey Bar. But he thinks Graydon Carter could be doing a better job with the food. [NYP]
• Bradford Thompson, formerly the chef at the late Lever House in Midtown, is now behind the stove at Terrance Brennan's Bar Artisanal in Tribeca. [TFB]
• More on the Gates, the over-the-top lounge "with the attitude of Soho House, Rose Bar and GoldBar rolled into one marble-encrusted crazybox." [UD]

• Ian Schrager is bringing in some firepower to the Gramercy Park Hotel: Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality will take over space formerly occupied by Wakiya, and David Rockwell will handle the design, although the "Italian-inspired" restaurant doesn't have a chef or name just yet. [NYT]
• In a chat with the Observer, Meyer says he's "intrigued by the possibilities" of working with Schrager. He also says he has no plans to take over the Rainbow Room, and remains undecided about a bid for Tavern on the Green. [NYO]
• Rumor has it Todd English is out at The Libertine at the Gild Hall hotel. [TFB]
• Keith McNally's Minetta Tavern has added a late-night menu. [GS]
• A group of sad Beatrice Inn regulars gathered at the Cooper Square Hotel on Friday night. In attendance: one-half of the Olsen twins, Chloe Sevigny, and "some skinny guys with mustaches," naturally. [DBTH]
• The sandwich shop Crosby Connection opened on Bleecker today. [Eater]
• The best street food in NYC, at least according to the Post. [NYP]

• Who doesn't want to take over Tavern on the Green? A meeting of potential bidders today attracted Alan Stillman, Boathouse owner Dean Poll, Capitale's Seth Greenberg, and reps for Cipriani, Trump, and Meyer. [NYO]
• Minetta Tavern is attracting quite the crowd: Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow were there for dinner last night; Anna Wintour was in the house for lunch. How hard is it to nab a reservation? Not as hard as they'd like you to think. [TFB, GS]
• The good news/bad news about Zak Pelaccio's UWS Fatty Crab. [Eater]
• Ken Friedman is serving $0.99 drinks for the Rusty Knot's 1st bday. [TONY]
• A peek at Keste Pizza & Vino, which opens next week and will be offering classes on how to make authentic pizza. Just $4,000 for 10 sessions! [Eater]
• The owner of the Ollie's chain of Chinese restaurants has been ordered to pay $2.3 million in back pay to workers for violating wage laws. [NYDN]
• Word to the wise: celebrity chefs will make you fat! [NYDN]

• Why, yes, of course there's a shawarma lunch cart in Midtown named after Barack Obama. [ML]
• The good news/bad news about Minetta Tavern. [Eater]
• A roundup of restaurants slated to open next week. [TONY]
• The Four Seasons Hotel is opening a "caviar lounge" on March 23. Genius. That's totally what NYC needs. [GS]
• Padma Laskshmi supposedly flipped out when she and elderly boyf Teddy Forstmann were forced to wait for a table at Schiller's last night. [Gawker]
• Most BYOB restaurants are breaking the law, it turns out. Also? Stretch limos that serve booze are in violation, too. Please take note, Mineola. [Crains]

• Keith McNally's Minetta Tavern opens tomorrow. And just in case you were holding your breath, he says his pizzeria won't open for a year. [NYT, Zagat]
• Scuderia, Silvano Marchetto's new trattoria located across the street from Da Silvano on Sixth Avenue, opens this evening. [Eater]
• Ramen Setagaya, the Japanese chain with two locations in New York City, opened a third one on University Place last night. [GS]
• What you missed at the $1,000-a-person Citymeals-on-Wheels charity dinner last night, which honored Sirio Maccioni (and was sold out). [TFB]
• Bamn!, the theme-y fast food spot on St. Mark's has gone out of business. But it may be replaced by Michael Huynh's Baoguette. [Eater]
• Starbucks's new menu sucks, according to Time Out. [TONY]
• Believe it or not, there are a few neighborhood pubs that are TV-less. [NYT]

• A roundup of restaurants that may close in the near future if you don't do your part and patronize them. Like soon. Thanks for your cooperation. [CS]
• One thing to look forward at Keith McNally's revamped Minetta Tavern: A $26 Black Label burger that doesn't even come with fries. For shame! [TONY]
• Frank Bruni's thoughts on tipping: Never give less than 15% unless the service is "unequivocally dismal," but 17-18% if it's "above-average." [NYT]
• Speaking of tipping, ABC News's roundup of crappy celebrity tippers includes Madonna, Mariah, Gwyneth, and sushi addict Jeremy Piven. [ABC News]
• Tahini on Third Avenue has been closed by the Department of Health. [DBTH]
• Gordon Ramsay is having some money trouble, just so you know. [Gawker]
• Despite what the Times reported three weeks ago, going out to pricey lunches at places like Michael's and the Four Seasons is chic again. Yay. [AdAge]

• A peek inside Keith McNally's revamped Minetta Tavern, which will be opening its Macdougal Street doors in a few weeks. [GS, Eater]
• The slick restaurant inside the new Armani flagship is now open. [Eater]
• Co. gets a mixed review (and two stars) from the News today. [NYDN]
• Gotham Bar & Grill has lowered the price of its three-course lunch. [Zagat]
• Trouble seems to be brewing at Tribeca's Mai House. [Eater]
• A roundup of dining options on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. [AMNY]
• Anita Lo on recessionary dining habits: "All they want is burgers." [NYP]
• Wondering what Bobby Flay looked like circa 1991? You're in luck. [Zagat]
• Did you know today was Fat Tuesday? Here are a few spots to go to stuff yourself. It also happens to be National Pancake Day, too, so you know. [GS]