Boerum Hill: Now that Trader Joe's has finally amped up construction in the former Independence Bank space, they've papered the windows so you can't see the progress. [Lost City]
Central Park: The Picnic Club's inaugural lunch was rained out Sunday, again. [Down by the Hipster]
Dumbo: A film company is sponsoring an event on Front Street this Thursday night when you can meet artists and architects, and local "businesses will be … dishing up local food and entertainment." [Dumbo NYC]
East Village: The live berry cheesecake at Caravan of Dreams satisfies non-vegans, as might some of the other sweets on this vegan-dessert roundup. [Restaurant Girl]
Harlem: The W is opening an Aloft hotel at 124th Street in 2010. No word yet on restaurants planned for the snazzy spot. [Uptown Flavor]
Lower East Side: Spitzer's Corner has three variations of burgers on its menu, but none of them is really great. [A Hamburger Today]
Soho: Fr.Og has dropped the period from its name in an attempt to not be empty all the time. Let's hope this transformation doesn't alienate the few French promoters who do show up. [Eater]
Upper West Side: Café des Artistes has "most likely the city’s oldest and most refined barfly," 93-year-old Claire Oesch, "whose skin is still remarkably soft" and who has been a presence there since the forties. [NYT via Eater]

Coney Island: You can get a mozzarepa here, all year long. [Lost City]
Boerum Hill: Southerner blogger Nichelle Stephens once only considered "whoopie" to be a "euphemism for sex used only by contestants on the old television show The Newlywed Game," but with help from Northeast bakeries like One Girl Cookies, she discovered how good a real whoopie could be.
East Village: Chang dog was apparently spotted at the new Artichoke pizza welcoming the owners, complimenting their fritters, and introducing himself. However, they weren't familiar with this "Momofuku" he spoke of. [Eating in Translation]
Danyelle Freeman lays out a list of her favorite cookies, and she's included Panya's mini green-tea butter cookies. We concur. [Restaurant Girl]
Harlem: There's a "Coffee Bark" with refreshments for dog owners (or sitters) this Saturday at St. Nicholas Park between 136th and 137th Streets. [Uptown Flavor]
West Chelsea: Suzy Wong gives out lewd fortune cookies. [Down by the Hipster]

Astoria: Martha’s Country Bakery on Ditmars frosts its cupcakes wedding-cake-style (with fondant icing), and they’re open until 1 a.m. on weekends. [NewYorkology]
A restaurant called Cellar 34 has opened at 34-02 Broadway, and the New Orleans–bred chef is adding Cajun and creole accents to some of the basic dishes. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Lunetta is just one restaurant participating in Dine-In Brooklyn (March 24–31), when restaurants will offer three-course meals for $23. [Zagat Buzz]
Brooklyn Heights: Seventy-two-year-old restaurant Armando’s will close after Sunday dinner. [Eater]
Midtown East: If a Reuben is as close as you want to get to corned beef and cabbage on Monday, you can find a good one at Patrick Conway’s on East 43rd Street. [Gridskipper]
Midwood: This photomontage follows the making of a Di Fara pie; though Domenico’s secret weapon might be revealed by the article's last line: "And then he’s off to the back room for a shot of grappa (I think that’s what it was), and it’s back to making pies." [Epi-Log/Epicurious]

Boerum Hill: The ricotta that Lunetta sous-chef Betsy Devine makes with help from Rachel Mark from Hudson Valley Fresh milk would make for a great locavore cannoli. [Gothamist]
Gramercy: Amai Tea and Bakehouse (and its dessert blogger owner, Kelli Bernard) makes a mean litchi brownie. [NewYorkology]
Midtown West: Pure Food and Wine’s Matthew Kenney has transcended “‘tastes good for healthy food’ expectations” at his fast-food organic restaurant, Free Foods NYC, which is “like a Vermont country store” on West 45th Street. [Restaurant Girl]
Tribeca: Cercle Rouge is adding cassoulet, potatoes cooked in duck fat with garlic and porcini mushrooms, cornmeal-orange blossom cake, and other dishes from their chef’s native Toulouse from March 3 to 9. [Grub Street]

Chelsea: On January 15–20, Trestle on Tenth will begin its own yearly tradition of Metzgete, a Swiss winter celebration of sausage, choucroute, and wine. [Trestle on Tenth]
Flatiron: Adam Shepard hasn’t yet been able to clone the success of his Boerum Hill original at Lunetta, in the old Mayrose space, but Frank Bruni thinks he’s capable of making the necessary adjustments. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Gramercy: Gramercy Tavern’s Michael Anthony provided this recipe for East Coast blackfish over spaghetti squash, but we have his recipe for fork-crushed purple majesty potatoes in our database. [Restaurant Girl]
Hells Kitchen: How is this world going to stop mispronouncing chipotle as "chi-POLE-tay" if restaurants like Kevin St. James on Eighth Avenue can’t even spell it right? [East Village Idiot]
Midtown West: Our In-box submission claiming there are prostitutes at Maze has inspired a call for the best restaurants that attract good ol’ traditional gold diggers. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Upper East Side: Agata & Valentina Ristorante has permanently closed, but the original gourmet shop is still lively. [Eater]

Boerum Hill: Now that Trout has taken over Gravy, the new menu is not surprisingly chock-full of fish dishes. [Bergen Carroll]
Midtown East: Richard Sandoval’s restaurants including Pampano are celebrating Day of the Dead through November 2 with specialty foods like pan de muertos, which is a sweet bread that’s baked to look like a skull! [Grub Street]
Midtown West: At convivial spot La Bonne Soup, which has been a French staple on West 55th Street since 1974, you can have a soup, salad, bread, dessert, and a glass of wine for $16.75, only slightly more than half the price of lunch at Jean Georges. [Lost City]
Nolita: D.J. Mark Ronson has designed a playlist specifically for Noble Food & Wine. Dinner gets it own soundtrack. [Down by the Hipster]
Tribeca: A Murray's Bagel partner is opening Original Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish on Chambers Street at the end of November. [NYS]
Upper West Side: The Triad Theater is now promoting a new musical called Wine Lover. The audience will sample six wines throughout the performance. [Snack]

Astoria: Freeze Peach is hosting a costume party Saturday at 8 p.m. and it’s BYO. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Balsamic vinegar is available as a topping at the new ecofriendly ice-cream parlor Blue Marble, on Atlantic Avenue near Bond Street. [Bergen Carroll]
Chelsea: Tekserv is hosting a Mac OS X Leopard release party tonight with free food and live jazz, and the winner of the leopard-themed costume contest gets an iPod. [Blog Chelsea]
Clinton Hill: New restaurant Mariam at 975 Fulton Street features cuisine from Senegal, Kenya, and Guinea, but even though okra was “cooked down to an indiscernible sludge,” it doesn’t feel overextended; the spot will soon add Jamaican food to the menu. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Flatiron: The Manhattan branch of Boerum Hill restaurant Lunetta opens Monday on Broadway at 21st Street. [Grub Street]
Lower East Side: Essex Street’s newest Shamalian bar may have opened for a night this week, but it’s closed now. [Eater] Just in time for Halloween house parties, the Stanton Social has provided a simple recipe for pumpkin croquettes. [Restaurant Girl]
Meatpacking District: The communal table at Los Dados is supposedly a hot singles scene. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Midtown West: Bon Appétit’s “Pop-Up” café opened yesterday and features sandwiches and salads designed by Emeril, Giada, Govind, and Pichet Ong, plus desserts from Will Goldfarb. [Midtown Lunch]
Related: Celebrity Chefs Flock to Former Home of Cheesy Celebrity Restaurant
Prospect-Lefferts-Gardens: Papas & Sons market was busted Wednesday. “Word on the street is that someone in there was running numbers,” but no one’s talking. [Across the Park]

Boerum Hill: Lazy artists have nothing better to do with their time than wait in line for the unopened Trader Joe’s. [A Brooklyn Life]
Chelsea: Next Tuesday Del Posto will host a Wine. Dine. Donate. dinner with Epicurious to benefit America’s Second Harvest. [Gothamist]
Meatpacking District: The Inn Lw12 has a new fall menu. [Grub Street]
Upper East Side: Café Boulud’s replacement for Betrand Chemel is 28-year-old Food & Wine Best New Chef for 2007 Gavin Kaysen who’s riding into town all the way from Rancho Bernardo. [San Diego Tribune via Eater] From now through Sunday, the Garden Court Café at the Asia Society will feature a special Indian-French menu from Vikram Garg, executive chef of D.C.’s Indebleu. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]

Boerum Hill: The owners of Gravy have surrendered the struggling space to their adjacent beer garden Trout and are now serving “fish shack fare.” [Brownstoner via Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Carroll Gardens: Nino’s Pizzeria on Henry Street has closed, possibly another victim of Lucali’s favoritism. [Bergen Carroll]
Fort Greene: iCi is hosting a winemaker dinner on October 25 with guests Emmanuel Guillot-Broux from Macon and Laurent Tibes of Clos des Camuzeilles in Languedoc. [Grub Street]
Long Island City: Central restaurant and bar is hosting Greek Aid on Friday to raise money for victims of the country’s recent fires. [Joey in Astoria]
Midtown West: Hooters unveiled its 2008 calendar last night where the cover girl had these wise words: “I started off with a small picture, then split the back cover with another girl, finally made it to Ms. February and now I’m on the cover. I’ve made it. I’m at the very top of my profession.” [Gawker]
Upper East Side: “There is definitely a slightly Home Depot feel to the AvroKO switch on Park Avenue: the screw-on wall panels, the tacky little leatherette placemats … the reversible chair backs’ upholstery reversed…” But Gael Greene loves it anyway. [Insatiable Critic]

Boerum Hill: Sunday’s Atlantic Antic Street Festival = live music + copious gut busters ranging from baklava and funnel cake to pulled pork and roasted corn. [Hell’s Half Acre]
East Village: The Bourgeois Pig plans to move to a new location next week, which means the original space is that much closer to becoming a New World wine-and-beer bar serving homemade versions of Hostess snacks! [Imbible]
Harlem: One of uptown’s favorite food carts, Super Tacos on 96th and Broadway, is a finalist at the Vendy Awards this Saturday. [Uptown Flavor]
Midtown East: Nikki Beach restaurant and nightclub wants to lure you back in the morning with a weekend buffet brunch. [Grub Street]
Soho: Joe on Greene Street near Prince introduces a Fall program of coffee-related classes including "Coffee & The Environment"; "How to Cup: Single Origin Coffee"; and "How to Cup: Exploring Roasteries" that will begin in October. [Grub Street]
Upper West Side: Just the right bargain to make us think about how much mark-up we’ve been getting charged for wine: Order the $35 prix fixe on Sundays at Compass restaurant and any bottle you order is 50 percent off. [Grub Street]

Astoria: Spanking-new spot La Dolce Italia Bakery has, ironically, replaced the old Modern Italian Bakery. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Five recent openings have contributed to the neighborhood’s growing food cred. [NYT]
Union Square: The Greenmarket is selling teeny baby peaches that were too sweet and adorable to just get knocked-off their trees. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Upper East Side: Aureole reopens this Friday and will treat each diner on Friday and Saturday night to a glass of house wine. [Eater]
West Village: Joey Campanaro is hiring staff who will serve and sell Pat LaFrieda ground beef at Market Table. [Eat for Victory/VV] Day-O has been closed for months with no signs of progress on blamed "repairs." [Blog Chelsea]

Astoria: Anthony Bourdain featured Ali’s Kebab Cafe on No Reservations, and here’s the video of him downing offal. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Workers are renovating the old Independence Bank for Trader Joe’s. The space may even retain its character! [Lost City]
East Village: AvroKO and Public boys Brad and Adam Farmerie hope to score a liquor license for their new place, Superior. B Flat applied for a license at the same Bond Street space a few months back and was denied. [Eater] E.U. will accept euros as payment from August 24 through Labor Day. You can eat 34 cents more on the dollar! [Grub Street]
Financial District: Stonehouse California Olive Oil has moved to the South Street Seaport and refills bottles at $2 off the regular price. [NYT]
Hell’s Kitchen: No free Cuban for you today; unfinished construction indicates the new Sophie’s on 40th between Seventh and Eighth is in no way ready for a grand opening. [Midtown Lunch]

Astoria: The newly opened Valverde at the corner of Steinway and 36th Avenue is offering up some fresh Mediterranean flavors. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: One Girl Cookies gets accused of price deception. [Chowhound]
Midtown East: Brasserie, Café Centro, and Naples 45 have each developed tomato-centric menus that can be ordered now through September. [Grub Street]
Midtown West: The Treats Truck will hold court at 38th Street and Fifth Avenue on Tuesday. [Treats Truck]
Soho: Jerry’s diner will give up the ghost on Sunday after brunch service. [Eater]

Boerum Hill: Trader Joe’s held a parade yesterday to officially announce its Brooklyn expansion into the former Sovereign Bank building. [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Chelsea: Top Chef open call has been moved from the French Culinary Institute to Craftsteak on July 22. The hours have also been moved up and are now 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. [Eat for Victory/VV]
East Village: Southeast Asian restaurant Tigerland will give up the ghost next week, so now is the time to O.D. on Thai coffee cupcakes. [Gawker]
Sagaponack: Townline BBQ won’t open until July 19, but a peek at the raw wood space shows it’s ready for 'cue. [Restaurant Girl]
West Village: Beatrice Inn welcomes Trekkies, as long as they don’t wear flip-flops. [Down by the Hipsters] Chumley’s owner takes a shot in the dark and declares October 1 the famed bar’s reopening date. [Villager]

Astoria: French-Asian restaurant Bistro 33 serves beer, wine, sake, and cocktails now that its liquor license has gone through. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Smith Street may be getting a McDonald’s. [Curbed]
Financial District: For $10, you can add an illegal lap dance to your lunch at Cordato’s Deli. [WCBSTV]
Hell’s Kitchen: Port Authority’s 7-Eleven has transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart for the remainder of July to promote the new Simpsons movie and is even selling Blue Woo Hoo! Vanilla Squishees and KrustyO’s cereal. [7-Eleven]
Soho: Pinkberry open at 41 Spring Street! [Eater] Open call for the next season Top Chef will be held at the French Culinary Institute on July 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. [Bravo]

Astoria: Pita Pan at 37-15 30th Avenue has opened in its new space; plans for further expansion include rooftop dining. [Joey in Astoria]
Boerum Hill: Trader Joe’s poised to open its second New York store in the former Independence Savings Bank building at the juncture of Court Street and Atlantic Avenue. [Brooklyn Eagle]
Chinatown: A Mondrian hotel at 150 Lafayette Street planned for 2009 will feature a "glamorous restaurant" and a ballroom. [NYP]
Clinton Hill: Thursday, July 12, iCi hosts the Art of Taste, an evening of food education and dining with the ladies of Green Gourmet. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Lower East Side: Brick-oven pizzeria Chickie Pig’s is opening this weekend. [Eater]
Midtown East: Some first-class summer specials are to be had in the streets of midtown right now, including Milant Gourmet Deli’s gazpacho — only available through August. [Midtown Lunch]
Upper East Side: Best Cellars poured its chilled wine for customers for free during yesterday’s blackout, and Tasti D-Lite gave away ice cream. [Newsday]