Hizzoner showed up to a political summit in Oklahoma with Junior’s cheesecake for all. [NYS]

Jennifer LeRoy sees another 30 years of LeRoy ownership at Tavern on the Green, but she isn’t striking a deal with Donald Trump to keep the place. [Insatiable Critic]

When world adventurer Anthony Bourdain found out that Food Network would be re-airing episodes of his series A Cook’s Tour, he was sitting by a pool in Hawaii. His reaction? “This was like being unexpectedly groped and publicly slipped the tongue by the ugliest girl at the prom.” [Anthony Bourdain’s Blog/Travel Channel]

Donald Trump denies leaving a $10,000 tip for a waiter in a Santa Monica restaurant on Monday. [NYP]

No surprises, here: Masa tops the list of pricey U.S. restaurants. [Forbes]

It’s the holidays, so it’s time for the old chestnut about the popularity of fondue. [NYDN]

The controversy continues about a Chinese restaurant in the Bronx that refused to accept pennies: “Outside the restaurant, the block was abuzz with talk of spare change and spare ribs.” [NYT]

Alan Richman manages to piss off another major American city with his GQ column, this time by denying San Francisco’s influence on American food. [Serious Eats]
Related: Richman Kicks New Orleans While It’s Down [Grub Street]

The Science Barge, with its hydroponic circulators, wind turbines, and other green technologies, will show New York that it’s possible to produce food in the city without net carbon emissions or pollution. [Metro NY]

Waiters in 40 restaurants formed a huge identity-theft ring, recording credit-card numbers and making $3 million in purchases. [Fox NY]

Donald Trump gets a sweetheart deal from the state to build Trump on the Ocean, a huge restaurant and banquet hall, on Jones Beach. [Newsday]

Chef J.J. Rachou is still feeling the sting from his Department of Health closure and can't bring himself to reopen Brasserie LCB yet. “If you lift every can, you find a cockroach,” he says. [NYT]

Donald Trump covets the most vulgar thing in New York that doesn’t already have his name on it: the Tavern on the Green, which has two years left on its lease. [NYP]

A Zeitgeist moment: The East Village’s alt.coffee gives up the ghost, remaking itself as a “Hopscotch, a café tailored to the needs of children and families.” [Gawker]

Candela owners shutting down and reopening as Irving Mill Restaurant and Tap Room in the fall, with Gramercy Tavern alum Johnny Schaeffer doing his Greenmarket thing in the kitchen. [Strong Buzz]