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]

Fort Greene: This handy guide compares prices and selection for the neighborhood coffee options. [General Greene via Clinton Hill Blog]
Park Slope: The latest Pinkberry clone, Yogo Monster, has opened on Seventh Avenue. [Gowanus Lounge]
Tribeca: Brushstrokes will serve delicious, healthy food, so give David Bouley that liquor license already! [Shecky's via Eater]
Union Square: Trader Joe's beat out Whole Foods in a store-brand tortilla taste-off. [Serious Eats]
Williamsburg: The Fat Pack doesn't seem to be losing any tread just yet. Brooklyn Brewery is hosting Scott Gold on Thursday to read from his book, The Shameless Carnivore, which "documents eating feats like a 31-day carnivorous feast of goat, guinea pig, ostrich and snake." And Brooklyn Kitchen's April 1 class on pig butchering, led by meatspert Tom Mylan of Diner, Marlow & Sons and Bonita, still has a few spots left (the first date already sold out). [Brooklyn Based]

Bedford-Stuyvesant: If you don't want to brave a sports bar Sunday but still want to catch the game, this restaurants-with-flat-screens list includes yet-to-open Rustik Tavern, which will be up and running by kickoff. There will only be a limited menu, but owner Frantz Metellus promises: "If I don’t have nachos, I’m nothing.” [Brooklyn Based]
Chelsea: Trestle on Tenth thinks it has the Super Bowl chicken-wing-tradition beat: braised and fried crispy duck necks with a garlic and anchovy dip. They're not as adventurous as castrating a sheep with your teeth à la Giant Grey Ruegamer, but definitely easier to get your hands on; just pick up a few pounds on game day. [Grub Street]
Cobble Hill: "The natives are getting restless" that Trader Joe's hasn't opened, and the store's PR company offers few answers. [Brownstowner]
East Village: Gramercy Tavern's Haute Barnyard guru Michael Anthony is doing a Farm to Chef dinner at the Astor Center tomorrow night. Farmers, writers and activists aplenty will be present. [Grub Street]
Flatiron: Pinkberry on 26th Street at Third Avenue is now open. [Eater]
Midtown East: The Helmsley's Annual Anti-Valentine’s Day Ball hopes to attract "the recently dumped and 'disenchanted,' as well as the happily single and those looking for love," or you could just come to see the Ice-Carved Anti-Cupid Satan Oyster Bar (and make fun of the desperates). [Grub Street]
Midtown West: "Today, the food you find on most bars is the salty kind: chip, pretzels, etc. As anyone in the bar biz knows, these are … meant to make you thirsty, so you order more liquor," but Keens is one of the last spots to offer sobering snacks of the bygone era: hard-boiled eggs, and they're free. [Lost City]

Cobble Hill: Sahadi’s might have a fancy new sign to flaunt at Trader Joe’s, but are they cutting corners to compete? The Brooklyn Paper reports that customers are "fuming that the grocer has replaced the classic glass jars with generic plastic containers in the nuts, dried fruits and candies section." [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
East Village: Next Friday, Tasty Falafel on St. Marks Place will sell sandwiches for 8 cents each from 4 to 9 p.m. and host a falafel-eating contest at 6. [Gridskipper]
Lower East Side: A new wine bar is on the way, and Gino and Guido are now accepting applications in the TRE space at 173 Ludlow. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Midtown East: Gilt has announced that chef Chris Lee has spent $8,000 on a 1.51-pound white truffle, which is “significantly larger than the truffle that Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque won in a highly publicized October bidding.” We wonder what GM Elli Jafari thinks about that tougher tuber. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Upper East Side: Serendipity 3 has pushed back its reopening from tonight to December 5, after being closed by the DOH. [Eater]

Astoria: New Mexican restaurant Luna de Juarez at 25-98 Steinway is ready to be sampled. [Joey in Astoria]
Bronx: Coca-Cola’s added a handful of hybrid-electric trucks to its 90-vehicle delivery fleet based in the South Bronx. [NYP]
Cobble Hill: Sahadi’s has put up a new sign, possibly in preparation for the onslaught of Trader Joe’s. [Lost City]
East Village: A sushi bar called Nori will refill the Hip-Hop-Chow space on Second Avenue in hopes that this more banal concept will survive in the space for more than a few months. [Eater]
Meatpacking District: Paparazzi aren’t the only ones not allowed to photograph the hallowed spaces of Socialista; civilians were hampered from shooting as well. [Down by the Hipster]
Rockefeller Center: An eggplant sandwich “invented by three teenagers from New York City who spent a summer learning about the food business as part of a program connected to the Fresh Air Fund” (which will also snag some of the proceeds) has been added to the menu of ’wichcraft’s newest location at 1 Rockefeller Plaza near 50th Street and will be available at ten other locations by next week. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

Chelsea: Wondering which alcoholic beverage goes best with Halloween-themed Snickers? Head to Bottlerocket Sunday for a free wine and candy tasting from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. [Grub Street]
Dumbo: The Treats Truck is hosting a Halloween party at the Pearl Street Triangle this Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. [Treats Truck]
East Village: Aaah, the uses for bacon: Double Down Saloon serves a house-infused bacon-vodka martini with a Slim Jim garnish. [Restaurant Girl]
Forest Hills: Trader Joe’s at 90-30 Metropolitan Avenue opens Friday at 9 a.m. [Super Vegan]
Midtown East: The Grand Central Oyster Bar is closed today after a "minor explosion" in the kitchen. [Eater]

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]

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]

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: 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]

Forest Hills: The layout for Trader Joe’s coming to 90-30 Metropolitan Avenue. [Forest Hills 72]
Midtown West: Sample cuisine from more than 50 restaurants including Aquavit, Buddakan, and Eleven Madison Park at tonight's Taste of the Nation at Roseland Ballroom; tickets are $200 and benefit the fight against childhood hunger. [Cakehead]
Soho: Pegu Club accused of shaking down its customers by pouring drinks that haven’t been ordered. [Majikthise]
South Hampton: Dune should pick up the slack where Cain left off. [Down by the Hipster]
Upper West Side: The lobby lounge of the Mandarin Oriental now has a cart offering $75 flutes of Dom Perignon, but at least the price includes dried fruit. [NYS] Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe hopes to see a bidding war over Warner LeRoy’s Tavern on the Green between top “concessionaires” including Dean Poll of the Boathouse and Danny Meyer. [NYO]
West Village: Awkward zoning prevents Camaje bistro on Macdougal Street from setting up outdoor seating, though it’s allowed for virtually all its dining neighbors. [NYP]