• Good news! It seems that baked goods made without trans fat taste just as good, if not better, according to a taste test. [NYDN]

• Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef thinks Washington, D.C., is the next big food city. [WP]

• Ko’s reservation system has turned into a Net obsession? You don’t say. [Wired]

• A former Daily Show writer who was hired to work on a book to accompany PBS’ forthcoming Spain…on the Road Again butted heads with Mario Batali over the project and is now suing the series producer’s company. [NYS]

• Jeffrey Chodorow’s lounge atop the Empire Hotel opens this week, but the pool is open to hotel guests only. [TONY]
Related: Poolside Bar Set to Open Atop Empire Hotel

• Le Cirque’s former chef de cuisine, Jason Kallert, has thrown Friars Club regulars for a loop with his highbrow creations, even if some courses are “vaguely dated.” [Feed/TONY]
Related: Le Cirque Loses Its Young Chef De Cuisine to the Friars Club

• Despite her reputation as a macrobiotic-food snob, Gwyneth Paltrow eats things like fried churros on the travel show she filmed with Mario Batali. [Ad Age]

• Michael Pollan thinks everyone needs to spend more money and time on food. [Serious Eats]

• Artisanal bakers strangely call a certain yeast-alternative leavening agent a “mother,” because it “gives birth every day.” [NYDN]

• The meal Lidia Bastianich is preparing for the Pope will have to be inspected by Secret Service agents before and after cooking. [NYDN]
Related: Pope Hungers for Shake Shack Burger, Lidia Bastianich’s Cooking

• The weekend countdown to the return of Gossip Girl on Monday begins with this slideshow of restaurants the show has been filmed in. [Metromix NY]
Related: The Box Appears on 'Gossip Girl,' Officially Jumps the Shark
Gilt's 'Gossip Girl' Grilled Cheese

• A judge ordered Patsy’s Pizzeria to post signs stating, “We are not affiliated with Patsy’s Italian Restaurant.” [NYP]
Related: And the Winner in the Patsy’s-vs.-Patsy’s Suit Is … Patsy’s

• It may not be as great as Chicago’s Wiener’s Circle, but Shake Shack serves up the best hot dog in these parts. [WSJ]

• Michael Psilakis estimates that the new Kefi on Columbus Avenue will open in August and focus more on healthy eating. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]

• Jeffrey Chodorow might be opening a restaurant in the Dominican Republic. Maybe the critics will be kinder to him there. [NYP]

We’re surprised it took this long to happen, but “celebrity chef” Robert Irvine, known of late for his lies about his background, has announced that he will not proceed with the opening of two planned restaurants in St. Petersburg. [This Just In/St. Petersburg Times]
Related: Surprise, Surprise: Robert Irvine Gets the Boot From the Food Network

The best way to taste the dishes on Top Chef is to head to the toques’ post-Bravo places of employment in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and San Francisco. [Zagat Buzz]

Frank Bruni muses on the tourist-tipping problem, noting that he’s not a fan of automatic gratuity charges since they prevent diners from communicating their pleasure or irritation with the service. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

Box owner Simon Hammerstein is happy one of his performers spilled a drink on Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher this week. [NYP]

2008 probably won’t be the year that sees the establishment of a large, indoor public market along the lines of London’s Borough Market or San Francisco’s farmer’s market. [NYT]
Related: Batali Shows a Little Leg to Sex Up New Amsterdam Public

Gael Greene puts forth her list of culinary predictions for the New Year, including this gem: “Jeffrey Chodorow and Frank Bruni will have a food fight in Madison Square Park televised by the Food Network. If Bruni loses he will be required to review restaurants in Des Moines for six months. If Chodorow is the loser he will be forbidden to open a new restaurant for three weeks.” [Insatiable Critic]

Michael Psilakis is moving Kefi into a bigger and better space not far from its current location. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

Jeffrey Chodorow’s plagued seafood endeavor Wild Salmon is rumored to close before the New Year. [Eater]

A list of restaurants for Christmas Eve and day dining includes traditional picks like the Café at Country and Allen & Delancey, and more unique options like a Scandinavian Christmas Eve feast at Aquavit and dim sum from Chinatown Brasserie. [Restaurant Girl]

Michael Psilakis plans to open his “Dona redux,” at 58th Street between Second and Third, by early January. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Related: Psilakis Seeks Site for a Late-Night Downtown Restaurant — and a New Dona

Satisfying post-shopping eats are invaluable because “when you no longer feel loaded is the perfect time to get loaded.” This comprehensive list covers midtown, Herald Square, the meatpacking district, and Soho. [NYP]

New tip for turkey: Carve it like a butcher, not like a chef. [NYT]

Cuozzo fantasizes about the possible successes Jeffrey Chodorow could develop if he signs a lease on the enormous space at Broadway and 63rd Street. They include stellar risotto, traditional dim sum, and haute Lebanese — if only he doesn’t “blow it on another howler like Rocco’s or a limping dud like Kobe Club.” [NYP]

A Queens dumpling celebrity, a chef in northern China before transplanting to the U.S., has been persuaded to supply her specialty to TKettle on St. Marks Place. Get there early, though; she’s only agreed to hand-make 1,000 per day for the bubble-tea shop. [Eat for Victory/VV]

Two young female patrons of the Box have been abducted from outside the club and raped on separate occasions in less than a month, and the predator has not been apprehended. [NYP]

Jeffrey Chodorow and Ouest chef Tom Valenti may both open restaurants in the boutique hotel On the Ave at Broadway near 76th Street. [NYP]

Has Gordon Ramsay spread himself too thin? Harden’s annual guide has dethroned Ramsey’s eponymous flagship as its pick for highest overall rating in food, service and ambience. [The Guardian]

Lower East Side neighbors were duped by the Box — they believed it was to be a “cultural institution.” Well, sort of depends on your definition of “culture.” [NYDN]

Whole Foods’ master plan for local domination, code-named (no kidding) Project Goldmine, is accidentally released to the public by federal regulators. [NYT]

Jeffrey Chodorow’s war against Frank Bruni continues with another Times ad. [Eater]

Buddhists buy $7,000 worth of eels, frogs, and turtles from Chinatown markets and then release the fortunate animals into the Passaic River. Where they immediately died from toxic shock. (Okay, we made the last part up.) [NYP]