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]

Astoria: El Jamon has yummy garlic-shrimp toast. [Joey in Astoria]
Chelsea: There's a singles wine-tasting event at 16 West 23rd Street next Thursday, and it includes cheese and chocolate. You can get tickets by e-mailing info@swirlevents.com. [Grub Street]
Downtown Brooklyn: At Juniors, "I am sure there was a time when the burger here was quite good, but sadly that time has passed." [Hamburger Today]
East Village: A self-serve, pay-by-the-ounce frozen-yogurt spot called 16 Handles is coming to Second Avenue between 9th and 10th. Does that mean sixteen flavors!?! [Eater]
Flatiron: Hill Country is serving brunch, featuring house-smoked bacon, chicken-fried steak, huevos rancheros, and other Texas grub. [Grub Street]

Midtown West: Alain Ducasse lets septuagenarian chef Jean-Jacques Rachou (who owned La Côte Basque, which once occupied the Benoit space) cook the quenelles de brochet (classic pike dumplings) and cassoulet served at Benoit. He does this for free from 9 a.m. to noon. [Diner's Journal/NYT]
Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation event still has tickets available; visit the event site to get in on tomorrow's huge tasting. [Grub Street]
Nolita: Small, quality bar the Randolph might be opening up its basement to drinkers. [Down by the Hipster]
Red Hook: The Pioneer Inn, which was shuttered on Van Brunt Street, has changed hands and will reopen as the Brooklyn Ice House. The 360 space isn't so fortunate: Since the owner "cracked," the spot's "for rent. Still looks like 360 inside. But there's a new message, emblazoned on a t-shirt, hanging in the window: 'Stop and Think.' Stop and think about what? About renting the place?...About life?" [Lost City]
West Village: The new "Mr. Skewer (at 43 West 14th Street) has about as much in common with a Brazilian churrascaria as its neighbor Quizno’s does," but the chorizo plate is pretty tasty. [Gothamist]
The Rusty Knot has pros (like the space) and cons (sugary cocktails). [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]

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]

East Village: Song 7.2 took only five days to open in the American Grill space. Other restaurants should take a cue from them: Just change "signage in the window, implant a new menu and a new chef, and doneski." [Eater] A Japanese restaruant near 13th Street and Avenue A is collecting signatures for a liquor license and considering taking the name F-U. That should be a fun community-board meeting. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Flushing: At Indian markets, including New Subzi Mandi at 43-53 Main Street, you can find masala-flavored Cheetos called Kurkure, which may include a recipe "created by the Fab Four, a 'trendy Punjabi family.'" [Gothamist]
Midtown East: The Volstead, which is usually viewed as a bar, is offering Midtown Lunch readers free lunch every Tuesday in May to promote its new menu of sandwiches (including a lobster roll), salads, and sliders. You can even reserve a spot to eat for free. [Midtown Lunch]
Soho: Tiny dance club Sway is one of the few bars with a legit cabaret license. [Down by the Hipster]
Union Square: The former Steak Frites space has been transformed into Café Society, which serves pricey "fare ranging from sushi to spareribs." [Zagat Buzz]

Chelsea: After nine years, the Red Cat will start serving lunch Tuesday through Saturday; look for chopped salmon salad with sprouts and spicy mayo and a barbecued corned-beef sandwich covered in Gruyère and sided by homemade chips. [Grub Street]
Dumbo: Hecho en Dumbo is hosting Jarana Beat and Mexico City’s Nacotheque and serving special menus tonight to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. [Dumbo NYC]
East Village: Matilda's looking to highlight "fierce" chefs à la Iron Chef at a monthly Cooking Slam "where contestants create a TUSC-MEX meal with a minimum of three courses, using ingredients previously chosen." The winner's dishes get stolen featured on the restaurant's menu. [TONY] Bowery Electric was raided early Saturday morning but was open again later that night. [Down by the Hipster] The formerly American Grill, formerly Kiev space has already reopened as Song 7.2 to serve Asian cuisine. [Eater]
West Village: Market Table makes a mean chocolate pudding, with mellow hazelnut notes and whipped cream. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]

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]

Crown Heights: Southpaw owner Matt Roff opened a 2,000-square-foot beer garden called Franklin Park at 618 St. John's Place last Friday. It's only a few blocks from the Brooklyn Museum and will be grilling in the near future. [Gothamist]
East Village: John's of 12th Street is installing a brick oven, which we hope will turn out old-school pizzas to go with the red-sauce fare. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Starting this Friday, La Zarza, on First Avenue, will begin hosting flamenco dancers who will perform to live guitar music. [Strong Buzz]
Flatiron: Rock bar Snitch is closing, and the owner will transform the space into "an upscale lounge that will cater to the upscale social scenes of Manhattan." [Down by the Hipster]
Union Square: Construction is continuing on the north side of the park, but workers can't uproot any trees. [Fine Company]
West Village: Bruni hates being asked what his favorite restaurants are, because the category is a bit confusing: Favorite doesn't mean best, and he's not at liberty to be a regular anywhere. That said, little owl is one of his favorite casual spots. [Diner's Journal/NYT]

Astoria: Vine Wine, at 12-09 Jackson Avenue, is having a Kosher-wine tasting on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. [Joey in Astoria]
East Village: Artichoke opens at 3:30 p.m. today. Hopefully, the cousins are getting closer to finding an apartment. [Eater]
Midtown East: After a long, sunny day spent indoors, "you deserve a treat, a salty, sour, and sweet treat that comes in a glass as big as your head and can knock you on your ass." Zarela, on Second Avenue, might make the best margarita, according to this roundup, but there are eight other spots here where you can take that cute "co-worker who just so happens to love tequila." [Gridskipper]
Park Slope: A wine bar will open on Seventh Avenue to replace short-lived coffee shop Café Eleven. [Brooklyn Paper]
West Village: April Bloomfield admits that people might think her using condensed milk at the Spotted Pig is "kind of hokey…until you boil it for four hours, and then it becomes sex in a tin!" [Diner's Journal/NYT]
Mi Cocina has transformed its front dining room into a tequila bar with 80 brands of the spirit and specialty cocktails like the Besame Mucho, which combines tequila with the Mexican fertility flower damiana, and the less-dangerous Que Curvas, a simple mix of tequila, mango, and lime. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]

East Village: Minca is one "great and relatively unhyped" ramen spot left in the — at least according to this blogger — as-yet unsaturated noodle neighborhood. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]
Flatiron: Some of the desserts pastry chef Nancy Olson makes for Gramercy Tavern were inspired by her grandmother's German-Russian-American baking. [Restaurant Girl]
Greenpoint: A new shop called jan & äya sells local confections like baker Sarah Magid's gold-coated Twinkie-esque cakes. [Gridskipper]
Soho: Il Buco's getting in the Earth Day spirit next week by donating all proceeds from prix fixe lunches served on April 22–27 to Al Gore's latest global-warming campaign. [Zagat]
Tribeca: Jerry, of the now-closed Jerry’s in Soho, debuts his Pan-Asian spot, YourAsian, at 90 Chambers Street today. [NYT]
Williamsburg: Bean-to-bar chocolate makers the Mast Brothers are opening a retail shop (and will also replace a Greenpoint apartment building for their new factory!) on North 3rd Street, between Wythe and Berry. [NYS]

Dumbo: Forager's Market now has a juice bar serving house-made ginger ale and the Aphrodite: ginger, melon, parsley, and pineapple. [Dumbo NYC]
East Village: Frank and Sal are looking for an apartment in Manhattan, and if more consistent hours at Artichoke don't inspire you to help, the cousins are offering "a slice a day for a month." [Eater]
Hell's Kitchen: Kyotofu has a new spring menu that incorporates seasonal Japanese ingredients like the mountain peach, which is used in a dessert of blueberry-blood-orange-tofu cheesecake. [Grub Street]
Midtown West: Alain Ducasse should have the Stateside outpost of his casual Paris bistro Benoit open by April 21 in the space that was formerly La Côte Basque. [Flickr]
Upper West Side: Picholine is serving an Asian- and Hawaiian-inspired three-course prix fixe in honor of the revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center. Why? Because it's spring and chef Terrance Brennan tells us he's "having fun in the kitchen these days." [Grub Street]
West Village: Good opened its sidewalk seating over the weekend just in time for a sunny Saturday brunch. [Grub Street] Citarella is selling prepared Passover foods like matzo meal and tsimmes. [Grub Street]

Astoria: Mano's Papaya will live again, just a few blocks from its former space-cum–Bank of America. [Joey in Astoria]
Carroll Gardens: Jay-Z and Beyoncé had a (engagement?) meal at Lucali's. [NYer via Slice]
Dumbo: In honor of Mother's Day, Almondine will offer delivery of its baked goods on Sunday, May 11, as long as you order by the night before. Plus, you don't have to prove you're a mother, or even know one, to take advantage of tearing apart croissants in bed. [Dumbo NYC]
Tribeca: Construction on Zeppelin's new space at Church and Worth begins next week. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Related: A Revived Zeppelin Eyes Downtown Spot
West Village: Real Spanish people work and drink at Spain Restaurant. [Eater]

Bryant Park: Right at this moment, Starbucks is giving away bags of its new roast, Pike Place, which reminds a Chicago Tribune reporter of Dunkin' Donuts' house coffee. Will Rachael Ray start spitting out Starbucks, too? [Gothamist]
Dumbo: Get to know the hood's new CSA (and its farmer) tonight at 7:30 at the Phoenix House. [Dumbo NYC]
Harlem: The neighborhood that literally begged for a Starbucks finally got its misguided wish. [Uptown Flavor]
Lower East Side: WD-50 will start a Wednesday-through-Friday lunch service on April 23 that features a seven-course tasting menu for $75, in addition to special lunch dishes. [Grub Street]
West Village: A second outlet of Sakae Sushi (and its conveyor-belt Japanese ) is coming to West 3rd Street. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]

Astoria: For all their great ethnic pastries, bakeries in the nabe sure make tasty red-velvet cakes, too. [Joey in Astoria]
Carroll Gardens: A sign for "Old Brooklyn Wine & Liquor Co., a new wine shop" has replaced the ancient one for Sonny and Nancy's sign . [Lost City]
Chelsea: First they came for Bright Food Shop. Then they came for Kitchen Market next door, which is now apparently going to be a Subway. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Murray Hill: Fino has been closed by the Department of Health, and not for the first time. [Eater]
West Village: BarFry tops this list of one-hit-wonder restaurants. [Gridskipper]

Astoria: When he's not at his restaurant, Il Bambino chef Darren Lawless likes ordering takeout tacos from La Cabana at 33-18 30th Avenue. [Joey in Astoria]
Ozone Park: David Burke is planning on opening a Burke in a Box sometime later this year at JFK. [Grub Street]
Upper West Side: Madaleine Mae serves $10 shots of Rhum Cures: There’s a cure designed to "increase virility" with the aid of vanilla and cinnamon and another with passion fruit and mango that supposedly "induces desire and decreases inhibition." And Frank Bruni guesses "if one half of a couple belts down the former and the other half the latter, the duo is really in business." [Diner's Journal/NYT]
Williamsburg: A new cooking show is looking for attractive singles to cook for a blind date on camera at Brooklyn Photo Studio. [Gothamist]
West Village: Insomnia Cookies gets points for being a unique late-night delivery option, but the service still needs to work out a few kinks: "At 9:53 pm, [Food & Wine] placed an order for a half-dozen assorted cookies and brownies (minimum order is $6) and was told to expect delivery within 45 minutes. At 10:40 pm, someone from Insomnia called to say they were out of brownies," and after another hour the cookies arrived, smooshed. [Mouthing Off/Food & Wine]

Midtown West: 4-Foodies heads to Kellari Taverna Monday for a tasting of chef Gregory Zapantis's mezedes including skewered scallops, spinach pie puffs, and chicken and lamb brochettes. [4Foodies]
Upper East Side: The Roof Garden Cafe at the Metropolitan Museum is number one on one of the season's first roof-top bar round-ups. [Gridskipper]
Upper West Side: La Creperie will be going out of business next week. [Kosher-NY]
Williamsburg: The owners of Pies-N-Thighs might have their new three-section space (that includes a back garden) open by June and serving a slightly expanded menu, but they'd also be satisfied with a July opening. [Eater]
West Village: If you have a pound of ground duck hanging around you should whip up Perilla's duck burger recipe. [Restaurant Girl]