Carroll Gardens: Rob and Robin have already noted that South Brooklyn Pizza owner Jim McGown transitioned from real-estate developer to pizzaiolo, but here are some more details about how he did it. [Business Week]
Greenwich Village: Akhtar Nawab might unveil some homemade breads at Elettaria that are like the ones he used to roll out in his mother's kitchen. [Restaurant Girl]
Midtown East: Alto has picked up the Grand Award from Wine Spectator. The honor, which only 72 other restaurants worldwide have, is only for restaurants with over 1,500 bottles on their lists. [Grub Street]
Nolita: Thanks to the soon-to-open Delicatessen, "the smell of bubbling cheese is everywhere" (around Prince and Lafayette streets). Someone call a CB meeting. [Eater]
Soho: A papered storefront on Sullivan Street, between Houston and Prince, has a sign painted on the window that says they will sell authentic "Liegé" Belgian waffles. They put the wrong accent on the town name Liège, but "Liegé" totally sounds more authentic. [Eater]
Williamsburg: Artist's space 3rd Ward, at 195 Morgan Avenue, is hosting a pig roast with help from Marlow and Bonita this Sunday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with live music from 6 p.m. on. [Bushwick Is Beautiful]

Carroll Gardens: On July 26, Tall Order caterers will serve a Brownstone Dinner at their house, on the corner of President and Smith streets. [Bergen Carroll]
Harlem: Nectar Wine Bar, at 235 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, is pairing up with next-door's Harlem Vintage and the Joy of Cheese on Sunday to host a wine-and-cheese tasting, which you'll need to buy tickets for to attend. [Uptown Flavor]
Park Slope: The Brooklyn Burger Bar has been replaced by Flipsters, which looks like another burger bar. [Blondie and Brownie via Hamburger Today]
Prospect Heights: James Bistro is the latest in this line of good neighborhood eats. [NYT]
Soho: Frank Bruni may say “Fiamma is about as Italian as a poodle in a Prada scarf,” but Fabio Trabocchi's unfazed: “You don’t need a red-and-white checkered tablecloth and a bowl of spaghetti with tomato sauce to be Italian.” [Gothamist]
West Village: Lauded chef César Ramirez has left Bar Blanc, and another Bouley alum, Sebastiaan Zijp, will not only step in, he'll expand the menu and add more snack-able bar food. [Eater]

Clinton Hill: Los Pollitos has changed its name to La Stalla, but it's unclear whether the spot has new owners. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Forest Hills: The Cheeburger chain opens today. [Forest Hills 72 via Eater]
Kew Gardens Hills: Amalya Grocery, at 68-24 Main Street, in this mostly Orthodox nabe, stocks the Israeli pudding brand Milky, which makes "a dairy-rich chocolate pudding topped with airy whipped cream," in addition to a dark-chocolate version with an even higher milk content. [Serious Eats]
Long Island City: Water Taxi Beach is hosting a barbecue to raise awareness for wild salmon overfishing; ironically, wild salmon will be featured on the menu. [Eater]
Soho: Bun is sending diners who made reservations for a free dinner over the weekend (when the place temporarily closed down) follow-up e-mails promising a future promotional weekend, "which we will be better prepared for." [Grub Street]
Related: Satisfied Customer: It Was Bun While It Lasted
West Village: Sheridan Square chef Gary Robbins took offense at being characterized as an itinerant chef, so he has clarified his history in an e-mail time line. [Strong Buzz]

Hamptons: Sounds like the poor state of the economy is weeding out this year's batch of beachgoers. [Down by the Hipster]
Park Slope: Lookout Hill Smokehouse needs to work on its pulled pork, but its beer and bourbon selection is legit. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Soho: Tailor launches its late-night menu tonight, which runs from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. and includes plated dishes like grilled asparagus with poached-and-fried quail eggs and chorizo hollandaise, skate frites with purple potato tots, and the always-popular Tailor wings. [Grub Street]
A scathing crowd assessment at SubMercer: "The crowd itself isn't always up to par; you may find yourself mingling with the white v-neck-wearing Jersey set." Ouch. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Union Square: Savoy chef and Haute Barnyard guru Peter Hoffman is hosting a Greenmarket tour on June 25. [Zagat Buzz]
Williamsburg: The corner of Driggs Avenue and North 7th Street is getting a "Fiambreria and Queseria." Think it's "flaming cheese and fondue"? Let us know in comments. [Eater]

Coney Island: The new sand-stocked bar Beer Island has a lot of potential, but, so far, its hot-dog-only menu and non-view can't compare to the awesomeness that is Water Taxi Beach. [Eater]
Fort Greene: The people at 67 Burger makes a ridiculously juicy one. [Hamburger Today]
Midtown East: The Oyster Bar has scheduled a herring-and–Heineken Light festival running from June 3 to 20. Netherlands consul general Gajus Scheltema will be present at the opening ceremony. [Grub Street]
Park Slope: The food co-op has voted to ban plastic bags and will no longer stock them for customers, so don't forget your tote. [Brooklyn Paper]
Soho: Il Buco owner Donna Lennard's film about Italy's olive harvest will show at Water Taxi Beach's Food Film Festival on June 18. [Grub Street]

Astoria: The Bohemian Hall beer garden is hiring. [Joey in Astoria]
East Village: An Eater commenter on Indian-owned Singas pizza: "Singas make pizza like my mom would.... If my mom was a Korean who had never tasted pizza before in her life." [Slice]
Hamptons: If you're heading to a beach where you can drink in public this weekend, you might consider ordering Steady Sticks to secure your wine glasses (and the bottle) upright and above the sand. [Restaurant Girl]
And even though it's in Montauk, the Surf Lodge could be the dark-horse hot spot of the summer. [Down by the Hipster]
Meatpacking District: The closing of Florent's has touched even the coldest of hearts: "You know things are getting bad...when the cynical young keyboard-tappers at Gawker think the City is changing too fast and losing too many of its great places." [Lost City]
Soho: Adam Kuban verifies that even though Kenn's Broome Street Bar burger is on a pita, flouting the most basic of hamburger rules, it can be dubbed a burger, and the version with bacon is a pretty good option in the hood. [Hamburger Today]
Times Square: The rechristened China Club, Eden, opens tonight. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
West Village: Interns (probably) weren't paid to put the "Britney Spears" stickers on the windows of the Life Thyme natural market (and all over the rest of the city) to promote a book that isn't about Britney. [Gothamist]

East Village: Telephone Bar & Grill is hosting a benefit for the children of Nepal on Sunday, June 1. [Grub Street]
Hell's Kitchen: Soho's Mooncake Foods has opened a second, much larger location at 263 West 30th Street. [Flickr]
Lower East Side: Good luck re-creating wd~50's recipe for almond-ice-cream "rocks," which calls for twenty grams of dextrose and bitter foam, among other ingredients. [Restaurant Girl]
Meatpacking District: Scarpetta's off to a strong start. Even if someone steals a slice of steak from you. [Eater]
Midtown East: The Pranzo pizza truck is missing, because it's up for sale. [Midtown Lunch]
Midtown West: On Monday, a theater company will perform bits from its upcoming adaptation of Molière's Monsieur de Pourceaugnac at D'Or, in the Dream Hotel. [Zagat Buzz]
Nolita: The bartenders at the reincarnated Randolph, which will open at 319 Broome Street this weekend, have a Milk & Honey pedigree and the best in specialty ice, which is made to melt slower, so your drink stays colder (and less watery) longer. [Grub Street]
Tribeca: West Broadway's getting a Le Pain Quotidien; this could fill the void of the Chambers Street Ceci-Cela, which closed late last year due to rising rents. [Eater]
West Village: Pichet Ong serves serves house-made ginger, passion fruit, and calamansi sodas at P*Ong. [Grub Street]

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]

Flatiron: This summer's Barbecue Block Party will have dark-horse representative from L.A., Mr. Cecil's California Ribs. [Zagat Buzz]
Harlem: El Morocco nightclub will be welcomed when it opens next month. "Since the closing of the Copacabana there is a shrinking number of places one could go to get their Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and Reggaeton on!" [Uptown Flavor]
Midtown West: Hallo Berlin Express has opened at 744 Ninth Avenue, where it'll serve "meatballs, sauerkraut, sausages and potatoes" off the griddle. [Midtown Lunch via Eater]
Soho: SubMercer has a new cocktail called the Tequila Mockingbird with maraschino liqueur and grapefruit juice, but we'd guess guests will spend more time analyzing the menu's emblem of a lady on her back straddling a martini glass than they will thinking of the literary connotations. [Down by the Hipster]

Astoria: Joey and Foodista discover Winegasm. [Joey in Astoria]
Plus, Foodista has some ideas on where to take Mom this Sunday. [Foodista]
East Village: The E.U. will roast a suckling pig every Wednesday through the spring. [Grub Street]
Greenpoint: Why can Studio B throw parties on its rooftop, when the average resident who wants to have friends on his roof would get grief from neighbors and cops? We don't know. [New York Shitty via Down by the Hipster]
Soho: The new outpost of Tisserie has opened at the Thompson Street entrance of DKNY, and while the cute shop isn't selling its delicious macaroons just yet, you can order some in advance to be brought over from the Union Square flagship. [Grub Street]
Upper West Side: Nanoosh, on Broadway at 69th Street, is calling itself a hummus bar, but this isn't a new concept to anyone who's been to Hummus Place, downtown. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
West Village: The host at Centro Vinoteca, "who spent his whole evening kissing people's cheeks and kissing ass instead of helping get people out the door," should just tell people the wait will be two hours instead of saying ten more minutes throughout the night. [Eater]

Flatiron: Zagat has paired with Continental Airlines to give away perks at some of the city's international restaurants like Tabla, where you can get a free signed cookbook. [Zagat]
Lower East Side: It looks like the bar Tut's is closed by court order. [Eater]
Midtown East: The Library Hotel at 299 Madison Avenue near 41st Street has opened its rooftop lounge, Bookmarks, for the season. [Grub Street] Benoit has its liquor license, and the brief BYOB window is now closed. [Eater]
Soho: The foodie movie Julie & Julia, with Meryl Streep as Julia Child, has been filming on location at Provence. [Making Ends Meat] Cipriani Downtown is downgrading its art. According to an onlooker: "They are loading the Peter Beards into the truck as if they were trash, banging them up...is this a renovation or another Cipriani scandal...." [Eater]
Williamsburg: When the sun comes out again, here's where to drink in open air. [Gridskipper]
West Village: At 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Corner Bistro was packed with tourists, serving poorly cooked burgers, and inedible fries. But, the chili was good. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch] If you're looking for a not-so-seasonal recipe during this not so warm weather, you could whip up Gusto's Housemade Brioche with Caramelized Apples. [Restaurant Girl]

Chelsea: Even nightclubs make late-night liquor runs: Suzie Wong's supposedly did last night. [Down by the Hipster]
East Village: Dirty corner restaurant Bamboo, believed by some who once lived down the block to be a front, finally closed, and an outlet of the Thai chain Spice is moving in. [Eater]
Fort Greene: If Brooklyn Flea's sweets and treats are not enough to hold you over for a day of bartering on Sunday, you can head to one of these nearby spots for brunch. [Zagat Buzz]
Midtown West: Kellari Taverna (and Parea) will have live music and lamb feasts this Sunday to celebrate Greek Easter. [Grub Street]
Soho: Grandaisy has started selling iced coffee. [Grub Street]

Astoria: Fatty's (25-01 Ditmars Boulevard) has a new menu and now takes credit cards. [Joey in Astoria]
Dumbo: Get acquainted with the new CSA program in town by meeting "the farmer" next Tuesday at the Phoenix House at 50 Jay Street. [Dumbo NYC]
Prospect Heights: Weather Up has been good for the Brooklyn classic-cocktail scene, even if "it took nearly 45 minutes and a whopping $55 to get four drinks." [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Tribeca: The owner of now-closed Jerry's will open his Asian eatery on Chambers Street on April 14. The chef is a "Jean Georges graduate." [Eater]

East Village: Wine bar Bowery Wine Co., which opens this weekend at the Avalon, is backed by Bruce Willis, but no promises that he'll be behind the bar this Saturday as he did at his own private party last week. [Eater]
The late-night menu that made Ssäm Bar famous is now a shadow of its former self; you can't even actually get ssäm. [Down by the Hipster]
Midtown: Joel Robuchon will be in the house at Atelier for four or five days starting April 11. [Insatiable Critic]
Midwood: Di Fara pizza now has a Facebook page, thanks to Adam Kuban. [Slice]
Soho: The Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR) industry group is hosting the Times' own Florence Fabricant and Kate Krader of Food & Wine magazine tonight at the French Culinary Institute as part of a panel set to discuss how restaurateurs and chefs should deal with Grub Street (well, all forms of media). [WCR]
Fabio Trabocchi has launched a series of Saturday cooking classes beginning this week at Fiamma . [The Strong Buzz]
Tribeca: The evolved Duane Park now has a New Orleans accent. [Zagat]
West Village: Will other bars catch on to Rusty Knot's move to serve frozen drinks? We hope so. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]