Today the Times’s Frank Bruni marvels at Manhattan’s new wave of high tone restaurant openings during a recession, and pins the trend not on entrepreneurial bravado but on the fact that it takes years to get a fancy eatery open, and most of these new places were envisioned in flusher economic times. It is true that in 2005, the top fifth of earners in Manhattan made 52 times what the lowest fifth make – $365,826......

There are a number of restaurants opening in 2008 that we've been eagerly awaiting and we thought we'd highlight some that particularly piqued our interest and have us drooling in anticipation. John Dory -- this new meatpacking seafood spot comes from Spotted Pig owner Ken Friedman and Partner/Executive Chef April Bloomfield. Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich are also partners, not to mention neighbors. Sara Ochs will serve as the Chef de Cuisine. It is designed......

Coming up next Monday is a benefit event celebrating East New York Farms, an organization that seeks to remedy the dearth of good nutritional choices in the Brooklyn neighborhood by growing and distributing its own food, along the way inviting a wealth of community participation. “Our first season was one gardener out on the sidewalk with a table,” says Sarita Daftary, Project Director of East New York Farms! (the exclamation mark goes with the......

Cooking last night at The Spotted Pig for a sold-out crowd is visiting English chef Fergus Henderson, author of the newly released Beyond Nose to Tail, a sort of sequel cookbook. Spotted Pig chef April Bloomfield worked side-by-side with Henderson, who is best probably best known for his offal-centric food at St. John, his London restaurant, but is also considered to be a renegade, iconoclast cook: a chef’s chef. At a book party on Monday......

In case you missed it, earlier this week, Rebecca Charles, owner of Pearl Oyster Bar, filed an intellectual property suit against former sous-chef Ed McFarland, alleging that he had stolen recipes and design ideas when he opened his new restaurant, Ed's Lobster Bar. Here's what has gone down since then. Ed held a press conference. Grub Street describes Ed's response: “I am deeply saddened to learn that Rebecca Charles has brought an action against me,”......

Bruni puts in his two cents about the latest crop of contestants on Top Chef. Season three premiered earlier this week, and Frank has already highlighted some of his favorites, including CJ ("I've got a false testicle and I'm ready to cook." If only for that quote alone), Hung, and Lia. In a Times Op-Ed, The Zagats tout the idea of a culinary visa program to open up America's tastebuds to something beyond the lackluster......

Hate airport food? Well, if you're flying out of JFK, they've just opened a Balducci's in Terminal 2. We're also partial to the Cibo Express in Terminal 6, pictured at right. [New Yorkology] What happens when you mix chefs, booze, fire, and egos? A mess, some broken glass, and an accidental stabbing. Seems that Marco Pierre White was demonstrating a flaming Sambuca trick to Mario Batali, Tony Bourdain and others at the Spotted Pig when......

Ken Friedman, owner of the Spotted Pig, has been approved for a liquor license in a space between Craftsteak and Del Posto over on 10th Avenue, reports the NY Post. Not sure what it will be yet, but apparently it will be named after a different animal. Down by the Hipster reports that Danny Meyers' plan for a second Shake Shack in Central Park is a no go: "The sticking point was the lease term,......

-Food and Wine magazine released its Best New Chefs 2007 list earlier this week. April Bloomfield, the 32 year-old chef and co-owner of West Village gastropub The Spotted Pig, is among the ten honorees to be featured in the magazine’s July issue. Eater attended Wednesday night’s announcement party at 7 World Trade Center and watched “everyone who has ever been on an episode of Top Chef” party like it was 1999, the not-so-distant year that......

- The Daily News explores the world of the NYC gastropub, including the Spotted Pig, E.U., Spike Hill, recently opened Alchemy and the Inn LW12 (Augieland gives us a preview), and soon-to-come Borough Food & Drink, a Chodorow creation. - A hearty bowl of ramen will keep you warm, and Manhattan Users Guide has highlighted some of the best. - After being on Eater's Deathwatch for a while now, The Lonesome Dove is officially dead.......

February 17-18: Year of the Pig at The Spotted Pig The good folks at The Spotted Pig are ringing in the Year of the Pig with, you guessed it, a pig roast. 314 W. 11th Street at Greenwich. Call 212-620-0393 for details. Feburary 18: Year of the Pig at LeNell's LeNell's brings on the swine with free tastings of pork-related booze, including Wild Hog pinot noir and Pig Nose Scotch. 416 Van Brunt St between......

- It's strange that in this arctic weather that the best food news we've heard today is that NYC Icy is returning. NYC Nosh snapped a photo of this sign in Hell's Kitchen. Bring on the summer! - Midtown Lunch shares the news that you can now find chicken and waffles in Midtown. - And speaking of fried chicken, we're now seriously craving some of the Korean fried chicken featured in today's Times. - Michael......

After getting its liquor license some time back and entering 2.0-dom, the next upgrade for this release here with Ned Elliot and his flameout closing the logs on version 2.1. Tomorrow another chapter of the European Union story, potentially the most promising yet, begins when Akhtar Nawab takes over the stoves for his first day. After Allen & Delancey failed to open in the fall, Nawab’s next move was not known but this will......

That would be Michelin stars. The 2007 guide was released today, with ratings for 526 restaurants, including several newcomers from the past year. Del Posto debuts with a bang: two stars, joining the ranks of Masa, Bouley, and Daniel (Danube, which also had two stars last year, dropped down to one). All of those who earned three stars last year (Le Bernadin, per se, and Jean-Georges) held their ground with the exception of Alain Ducasse......

Bruni no-stars Freemans: doesn't much like the food, though he does like the decor. He compares it unfavorably to The Spotted Pig, and says, "Most of its dishes... could be quickly and easily replicated at home." In case you missed Gothamist's link to it yesterday, Eater has a fascinating diary by William Tigertt, co-owner of Freemans, revealing the review process from the restaurant's side. It starts from the date in August that they first spotted......

What is it about stars that gets people so worked up? New Yorkers went ballistic over the stars doled out by the Michelin Guide (the Spotted Pig?!?), and the addition of one extra star from the New York Times can make all the difference when you're trying to get a reservation. And now, New York Mag has jumped on the star bandwagon, with Adam Platt dishing out stars to his 101 favorite restaurants in the......

- We hear that East 93rd Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, is closed due to plates electrifying dogs! Con Ed is investigating - A Gambino family capo, who owned the Top Tomato grocery in Staten Island when not capo-ing, was shot in the stomach by a former cop and Bonnano foot soldiers - Is this justice? The police officer who killed a man in a Chelsea storage space got probation and the girl who......

Charlie Suisman over at Manhattan User's Guide broke the French omerta on the New York City restaurants Michelin guide and listed the restaurants receiving 1, 2 or 3 stars. Only thirty-nine restaurants were reviewed. Here's a quick analysis: - Parlez francais: Frenchmen/French-themed restaurants take three of the four 3-star slots (Alain Ducasse, Jean-Georges, Le Bernadin); the fourth is American-born Per Se (lucky for punch bowl owners) - Time Warner Center sweep: Per Se, Masa (2......

Spotted Pig's Pumpkin Salad...

Yesterday, the Department of Health unviled the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Basically the government thinks Americans are fat and wants Americans to do something about it. Could it be a Bush administration jab at Michael Moore? Or just Big Brother looking out for our best interests. Anyway, here are some highlights: - Eat more fruits and vegetables - Drink more low-fat milk - Eat more whole grains - Exercise at least 30, even......

- Education advocate and politician Shirley Chisholm is dead - Do not jump into the tracks if being chased in the subway - Old movie theaters Gothamist and our readers like - Some upcoming musical performances you might still be able to get tickets to - What do you do with your carbon monoxide detector charges? - A recipe for The Spotted Pig's Riccota Gnudi - We're giving away tickets to see The Dears......

Spotted Pig's Ricotta Gnudi...

Gothamist has a hard time resisting New York City's gustatory delights. And if there is a discount involved too, resistance is completely futile. So, we can't decide if learning about The Diner's Deck is a blessing for our palates and pocketbooks - or a curse on our waistlines. Costing a mere $29.95, Diner's Deck is a set of 52 "playing cards," each card featuring the lowdown on a swank restaurant, along with a $10 coupon......