• Now that the city has decided to hand over Tavern on the Green's operating license to Central Park Boathouse owner Dean Poll beginning on January 1, the restaurant has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. [NYT]
• Departures: Chef Jason Neroni has parted ways with 10 Downing; and mixologist Eben Freeman has left Sam Mason's (now bankrupt) Tailor.
• Morimoto has been given the community board approval to open a "low-key hangout" in the Church Street space formerly occupied by Dennis Foy. [Eater]
• A photo tour of Los Feliz, a new "tacos-and-tequila lounge" on the LES. [MM]
• A peek at Capital Grille, a new FiDi steakhouse opening on Sept. 28. [Eater]
• A visit to the penthouse of restaurateur Elaine Kaufman. [NYP]
• The city's very first Stumptown Coffee Roasters opened on the ground floor of the new Ace Hotel on West 29th Street this week. [NYT]

• It's two stars for 10 Downing and chef Jason Neroni in today's Times. [NYT]
• Chef Michael Citarella is out at Freemans. [TONY, TONY]
• It's confirmed: Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia are expanding and opening a restaurant at the Viceroy in Miami. [NYP]
• Capitale's Seth Greenberg may make a bid for Tavern on the Green. [NYO]
• The Biltmore Room is reopening in April as The Gates. [BB]
• Matthew Schaefer is taking over the Mermaid Inn's East Village location. [GS]
• The old Florent space, which became R&L, is no more. [Eater]
• One rather unusual item on Silvano Marchetto's menu at Scuderia: limited edition hand-painted sneakers that are made to order and cost $895. [GS]

• Fat Hippo has opened in the space that used to house 71 Clinton. [GS]
• The Times's Frank Bruni gives out two stars today to April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman's "putatively British" John Dory. [NYT]
• A number of struggling restaurants are planning to stay open until just after they "make their nut" on Valentine's Day. [NYO]
• There was an electrical fire at 10 Downing last night. [Eater]
• Some genius is trying to open a "ping pong social club." Todd Oldham is designing it and it will be sponsored by Fred Perry. [NYO]
• Please refrain from calling Gordon Ramsay a "cook." He's a chef. [EMD]

• Armin Amiri's Socialista is closing for good, and Giuseppe Cipriani, of course, is partly to blame. [Page Six]
• Everything you missed at yesterday's porkfest, Cochon 555. [Eater, TFB]
• Masa Matsushita has returned to Matsugen for the next three months. [JGV]
• Tim Zagat chats with the Post about Restaurant Week. [NYP]
• Adam Platt gives two stars apiece to 10 Downing and West Branch. [NYM]
• Wass Stevens has landed himself a role in a BlackBerry commercial. [GS]
• More bad news for chef Gordon Ramsay: His empire is supposedly "crumbling," and he's also been banned from Mario Batali's restaurants for calling him "fanta pants." [NYP, Guardian]

♦ New York's Adam Platt hands out four stars to Drew Nieporent's Corton this week, praising chef Paul Liebrandt's cuisine as "technically complex without being exhibitionist." [NYM]
♦ David Chang's Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar opened on Saturday. Grub Street has rounded up the public reception. [GS]
♦ A handful of spots including Marquee and the Tribeca Grand have been denied permits by the State Liquor Authority to stay open late on New Year's Eve. [NYP]
♦ A detailed history of the epic battle between Da Silvano's Silvano Marchetto and Bar Pitti's Giovanni Tognozzi. [Page Six Magazine]

♦ Frank Bruni had the economy in mind when he visited Market Table on Carmine Street: The restaurant earns two stars for its reasonably priced menu and comforting atmosphere that's like a "wool blanket, emphasizing good sense over high style." [NYT]
♦ David Bouley's Bouley will be closed tonight in preparation for its re-opening tomorrow at 163 Duane St. [Zagat]
♦ We though the lousy economy was killing off ridiculously silly ideas. Apparently not. The dude responsible for Guest House and Home is opening Greenhouse, New York's "first environmentally-friendly club," tonight. [NYP]

♦ Frank Bruni rather appropriately surveys two "affordable" sushi spots in the Times today. Both Sushi Azabu and Kanoyama get one star apiece, but it's the latter that ultimately wins out: "The breadth of this restaurant's fish selection is thrilling." [NYT]
♦ Stephane Dorian's long-awaited 10 Downing is finally opening tonight for friends and family. It'll open up for everyone else in the next two weeks. [Insatiable Critic via GS]
♦ Is Todd English planning to open a restaurant at 325 Bowery? [Zagat]