Florent, the beloved Meatpacking District hangout set to close this summer after almost twenty three years in business, will at least be going out in style, according to Frank Bruni, who spoke with owner Florent Morellet yesterday. The bistro's long goodbye will last five weeks, with each week dedicated to one of the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. Week One, starting Monday, May 26, will be Denial, with the remaining four weeks themed as Anger, Bargaining,......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Austin Rd. in Queens, another bank robbery on Church Ave. in Brooklyn, and a police car vs. scaffolding in Manhattan; the scaffolding has been compromised. A Queens high school was locked down this afternoon for two hours after a student's 'To Do' list was found listing seven students "To kill today." The projected cost of restoring the separate homes that constitute Admiral's Row at the......

Jaded gourmands looking to spice up their New Year’s Eve dining experience might be interested in the Dark Dining event at the West Village French bistro Camaje. The four course dinner is designed to accommodate a small gathering of guests who, upon arrival, don featherweight blindfolds for the duration of the prix fixe meal, which features wine pairings and mysterious performances between courses. While you surrender to the dark side, a team of attentive servers......

Crave on 42nd: Top Chef Season One's Dave "I'm not your bitch, bitch!" Martin has found a home in New York serving comfort-driven American bistro fare. He reprises one of his Top Chef dishes -- the Black Truffle Mac ‘n’ Cheese, with black truffles, brandy and fontina slow cooked with fresh thyme and oregano, and the menu offers wood grilled pizzas, burgers, and hearty entrees, like "Sassy Sea Bass," farm raised bass, dry rubbed and......

The Smith: Believe it or not, the The Smith is housed in the spot that used to be a Pizzeria Uno. Virtually anything would be an upgrade. The owners of Jane and the Neptune Room, Glenn Harris and Jeffrey Lefcourt, brought the executive chef from Jane, Brian Ellis to create a hearty, seasonal, American bistro-style menu, with offerings like lamb schnitzel with parmesan crust, hot potato chips with gorgonzola fondue, and steak served in various......

Kellari’s Parea: This Greek bistro, housed in the space that was formerly Michael Symon’s Parea, was created by the same team that runs Kellari Taverna in midtown. This "green" restaurant features an organic menu that includes pizzas fresh from the wood-burning oven, lamb that has been marinated overnight, and eggplant with feta ice cream. 36 E 20th St between Broadway and Park Ave South (212-777-8448) Maxie’s Grill: This casusal offshoot of Angelo & Maxie’s steakhouse......

Given the city's more nuanced real estate market, NY magazine covers "degentrification," focusing mostly on Red Hook. Adam Sternbergh chronicles the neighborhood's ups and downs - for pre-gentrifiers, the stroller set and real estate enthusiasts, of course. He tells the story through a 30 year-old named Ivy Pochoda, who grew up in Cobble Hill when "Smith Street was still too sketchy to walk home on alone." (NB: Smith Street still was sketchy into the 1990s.)......

The Mermaid Inn, that inviting East Village bistro beloved for its rich seafood entrees, has moved on up to the west side with a mostly new menu. Their second Manhattan outpost is appointed with old nautical maps, dark wainscoting and roll-up doors that will surely suck in the crowds during warmer months. (Alec Baldwin must be pleased about the eatery boosting Amsterdam Avenue’s cachet.) The Inn’s famous lobster sandwich survived the move, but there’s now......

Bacaro: Frank DeCarlo of Peasant and his wife Dulcinea Benson transport you to Venice in their 80-seat wine bar/restaurant on the Lower East Side. Northern Italian menu offerings include cicchetti, (think Venetian bar snacks) like crostini, sardines, artichokes, and more, cheeses selected by Lou DiPalo, and pastas, quail, and duck for those seeking heartier fare. 136 Division Street, between Orchard and Ludlow Streets, 212-941-5060. Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill: The Blue Ribbon team is......

What’s worth watching on food-relatedTV this week? Tonight on No Reservations--in another repeat--(10pm on the Travel Channel), Bourdain goes to Brazil. ">Martha Stewart has Chef Tom Colicchio on Tuesday making Cornish game hens. The show airs Tuesday through Friday this week at 1pm (NBC). Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is on Wednesday at 9pm (Fox). This week, Ramsay makes over Seascape in Islip, NY. The LA Times calls the show “noisy and dissident.” All the TV......

Graffiti: Pastry Chef Jehangir Mehta, who has spent time at Aix, Jean Georges, Vong, and Union Pacific, takes a stab at the world of the savory. He has opened a restaurant and bakery in the East Village with a "global bistro comfort food" menu. Offering breakfast, lunch, dinner, Graffiti serves up baked goods, coffee and tea, and a dinner menu where the dishes range in size from "nibbles" to "all mine." For the kicker, the......

On tap for this year’s 33rd Annual Atlantic Antic festival, taking this Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM (rain or shine, buddy) is the usual bonanza of pony rides, live music, and balloon animals. This year’s Antic has an added emphasis on food, which should hopefully make it a remedy to all the street fair food fatigue that’s been going around recently. For starters, decent street food will be offered in overwhelming abundance-......

Flatiron Joe's: In the former home of the short-lived Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Jay Shaffer, who owns Shaffer City Oyster Bar and Grill down the block, has created a casual spot where, for the time being, he's serving up bar snacks like sliders and nachos. He plans on serving lunch and dinner starting in October. 29 West 21st Street, (212) 414-3139. 8th Street Wine Cellar: This long awaited cozy wine bar is a welcome addition......

Gothamist finally made the trip to Queens to drink and dine at Danny Brown Wine Bar & Kitchen, a stylish spot that looks more SoHo than Forest Hills. Some of you may recall that this eatery located across the street from Councilwoman Melinda Katz's office caught the attention of Daniel Boulud back in May. The French megachef was steamed that Danny Brown, the chef-owner, uses almost the same lowercase "db" on its signage as Boulud's......

This week in the Times, Bruni dines at Mercat, awards the restaurant one star. He likes the food; doesn't like the noise level. "Some wonderful food, some clangorous acoustics: these are the defining traits of Mercat," he says. Prices at the Spanish restaurant are quite reasonable, and with it come some tradeofffs: the food is sometimes uneven (particularly the seafood), service a bit off, noise level too high, desserts less than spectacular. In Dining Briefs,......

The flurry of rumors that surrounded the Brooklyn Inn a few months ago have largely quieted. With no breaking news stories or insider tips, we decided to wander over there to see what had actually happened to one of the most cherished bars in Boerum Hill. And here it is: They have snacks. The bathroom looks a little cleaner...oh, and there is a new register. They got rid of the ornate old one. The new......

Megan Montgomery was, apparently, the city's first personal chef for dogs (though were sure there are more than enough now). Preparing her meals in Downtown Brooklyn and using her dogs as guinea pigs, she's brought Dean & Deluca-esque dining to the doghouse. Her company is called Zen Chien Personal Chef Service for Dogs, and her menu choices sound like "people food": Mediterranean ground lamb, with whole wheat couscous, blueberries and fresh-grated squash; beefy macaroni with......

Just north of the empty McCarren pool, is a whole slew of soaring condos clad in primary colors, that stick out from the brick neighborhood below. One of those low lying structures houses along Manhattan Avenue houses Enid's, a place that feels like it has been there for a while. Instead of a comfortable dive, Enid's adds a little civility to the area. The place is one open room littered with tables that make it......

This week ">Bruni two-stars Belgian Resto. Loves the beers, the fries and mussels, and the hint of Asian seasonings in some dishes: "Resto's version of Belgium is neither clichéd nor isolationist," he says. It’s not great for your arteries, either, he points out, but sometimes it's worth the health risk. In ">Dining Briefs, Bruni stops by Perilla (the new restaurant opened by Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle). Says "Like a bistro with elegant tailoring, it......

Though it’s only been open for a little more than a week, Thai Tony’s on Fort Hamilton Parkway at the edge of Kensington, Brooklyn, is already building a strong neighborhood following. During repeat visits, Gothamist watched the owners and staff bustle around the dining room of the self-described “home-style bistro,” greeting returning customers by name. That’s right, they already know most of their customers by name. Thai Tony’s first came to our attention via our......

The newest addition to the Two Boots Pizza empire is set to open on Sunday on the Lower East Side. [Grub Street] Top Chef season one contestant LeAnn Wong was spotted dining at Momofuku Ssam Bar and dishes that she's going to be a producer on the show next season. [FoodCandy] Want a career in the culinary arts but can't afford it? The James Beard Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2007 scholarship program.......

The Tribeca Film Festival is starting this Wednesday night, so you still have a few days to get your tickets and make dinner reservations. The New York Times gave a few local suggestions including Dennis Foy, Mai House, and Turks and Frogs. Cercle Rouge is offering a prix fixe, three-course menus for lunch ($19.95) and for dinner from 4 - 7 p.m. ($34.95), just for the occasion. Some of our other Tribeca favorites include Landmarc,......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Esca, calls chef Dave Pasternack a "fish whisperer" (um, OK Frank) and awards the restaurant three stars. "In an era when too many restaurants try to be everything to everyone," he says, "Esca has a specific agenda: show what the sea can yield." The restaurant was previously awarded two stars by William Grimes in 2000. In $25 and Under, Peter Meehan checks out the cafes at the......

With all the craziness going on in South Brooklyn recently -- Jason Neroni leaving Porchetta (law suits, arrests, excitement!), and with recent news that the Brooklyn Inn may be closing (converting into a bistro?) -- it'd be easy to miss the little slip about Vegas. During a short message on the Brooklyn Record, a commentator "confirmed" that the rumors about the Brooklyn Inn were true and then added that "Vegas, on Smith st. is also......

Without much fanfare last July, Alex Stupak replaced Sam Mason as pastry chef at Wylie Dufresne's Clinton Street avant-garde institution WD~50. Prior to arriving in New York, Stupak, who will turn 27 later this month, had already accrued a blockbuster resume- most notably he was the pastry chef at Alinea in Chicago, named the #1 restaurant in the United States by Gourmet magazine in 2006. Last week, Stupak talked with Gothamist while plating one his......

The great divide between New York City restaurant chefs and serious home cooks is becoming narrower by the day. Chefs pen guest columns for the New York Times telling us what to look for when buying turnips and get interviewed by bloggers about where the most durable knives can be found, all in the name of improving the home cook’s game. A chef might even be followed around the city in order for us to......

Just ask Jean Georges, Mario Batali or Tom Colicchio and they’ll tell you there is no need to re-invent the cheese-wheel, so to speak. They’ve built multi-million dollar culinary empires on a single concept, with a few tweaks here or there for freshness. But we’re sure they would warn, as they’ve learned in varying degrees, that the key is not to spread yourself too thin. They’d say to maintain high standards and consistency because your......

Bruni one-stars Cafe Cluny: it's "a beguiling neighborhood place," he says, and not much else. Cluny is partly-owned by Lynn Wagenkneckt, ex-wife of Keith McNally (the man who bought us Odeon, Cafe Luxembourg, Balthazar & Pastis), and Bruni sees something of their successful formulas here. Doesn’t make up for the "unimaginative" menu or "erratic" service, though. Over at Eater, confusion reigns. They put the odds on one-star (nice going), yet they themselves bet on two......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a stabbing on East 17th Street, a pedestrian struck by auto in Borough Park, and a police-involved shooting in East Flatbush. A "greedy fisherman" faces up to four years in the clink for lifting "872 pounds of striped bass, 32 pounds of fluke and numerous crabs" out of the heavily contaminated waters off the coast of Rockaway Beach in Queens. Attention local gourmands: an upscale French bistro has opened......

Many of us were out of town for Thanksgiving and might have been too busy stuffing ourselves to keep up on some of the recent restaurant openings. Here's some of the food news you might have missed while you were gnawing on that drumstick: - Kampuchea Noodle Bar Ratha Chau, formerly of Fleur de Sel, brings us a noodle bar where you can slurp alongside your fellow diners at communal tables. The menu focuses on......