It's fun to waste money, but literally burning it loses its thrill after a while. So, the New York Times is innovating: take second graders to one of the most expensive restaurants in Manhattan for a lavish, exorbitant meal they'll hate.

Like Gwyneth Paltrow before him, rapper and mogul Jay-Z thinks that he knows exactly how you should live your life. He quietly launched his new website Life and Times today, and it proposes how you should dress, what music you should listen to, and which crazy cloud pictures you should look at.

Daniel Boulud—world-renowned chef, restaurateur, and occasional Top Chef guest judge—is adding another title to his resume: divorcé.

• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times gives Danny Meyer's Maialino two stars; Steve Cuozzo of the Post heads to Maialino, too, giving it three stars; Gael Greene also covers Mayer's latest creation; Time Out's Jay Cheshes hits the Breslin; Alan Richman of GQ shares his passion for César Ramirez's work at Brooklyn Kitchen; and Danyelle Freeman reviews Rye in Williamsburg.
• New/upcoming: Soho tapas spot Ñ has opened a second location in Dumbo; Scott Conant is turning the Cooper Square Hotel bar into a casual cafe and plans to open it next month; and a Hooters may be coming to Brooklyn.
• Offal is all the rage right now, in case you weren't aware. [NYO]
• There were lots of leftovers following last week's Tavern on the Green auction, so a "last-chance bargain sale" is now scheduled for next week. [NYT]
• Some Valentine's Day dining suggestions if you're planning ahead. [Zagat]
• Pizzeria Uno has filed for chapter undici bankruptcy protection. [Eater]
• Can you picture Daniel Boulud and Alain Ducasse serving eats out of a food truck? The opportunity to see them slum it together arrives on Feb. 8. [GS]

• A preview of what you'll find when Maialino opens next week. [GS]
• In other Danny Meyer news, Shake Shack is expanding to Miami. [GS]
• For his part, Daniel Boulud is taking his Bar Boulud to London. [Bloomberg]
• A roundup of recent restaurant/bar openings around town. [Eater]
• Del Posto is closing its cafe and is introducing a new prix fixe menu. [NYT]
• Paul Sevigny may be still be hoping to reopen the Beatrice Inn. [Gawker]
• 100 things restaurant staffers should never do, part 2. [NYT, previously]

• Opening soon: The NYC branch of London's Le Caprice opens at the Pierre Hotel on Monday; Tipsy Parson, by the owners of Little Giant, plans to open its doors early next week. [GS, TONY]
• Now closing: Alex Ureña shuts down Pamplona on East 28th Street today. [NYT]
• Photos and the drink menu from Daniel Boulud's new Bar Pléiades at the Surrey Hotel. [GS]
• Oceana is looking to get someone to pay $275 to eat a 70-year-old lobster, although reaction to the offer/PR gambit hasn't been all that positive. [BN]
• Sparks Steak House has settled a class-action lawsuit which accused it of stiffing waiters on tips; $3 million will be distributed to 200 employees. [NYP]
• Sad: The iconic Empire Diner in Chelsea (above) is now up for lease. [Eater]

• Star chef Alain Ducasse weighs in on New York's best french fries. [GS]
• Daniel Boulud is planning to open an outpost in Singapore next year. [NYDN]
• More on the city's lawsuit against Tavern on the Green. [NYT, Crain's]
• Ninth Street Espresso serves NYC's best coffee, according to GQ. [GS]
• A couple of roundups of food-related events this weekend. [SE, Zagat]
• Media mogul hangout Michael's has been tweeting who comes in for lunch each day. Let it be known that Vogue editrix Anna Wintour does not approve: "It's not something I was aware of but it is probably ill-advised." [NYT]

• Todd English's troubles with Erica Wang, his former fiancée (and the woman he was supposed to marry last weekend) continue: The chef filed a criminal complaint against her earlier this week, claiming she clocked him in the eye, a wound that he says required seven stitches to close. [NYP]
• A bit of better news for English: Juliet, his new club/restaurant on West 21st Street, is on track to open to the public next week. [TONY]
• Steve Hanson's latest venture, Bill's Bar and Burger, opens tomorrow. [GS]
• A list of other recent openings, including Daniel Boulud's Bar Pleiades. [Eater]
• Purgatorio, the giant club/theater/haunted house in Times Square brought to you by The Box's Simon Hammerstein opened tonight. The extravaganza features "more than 100 performers swooping from rafters, screaming obscenities and gushing fake blood." Sounds like fun, doesn't it? [NYP]

• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton gives a super-enthusiastic review (and two stars) to Daniel Boulud's DBGB in his first review as NYT restaurant critic today; the Post's Steve Cuozzo leaves Oceana very happy and gives it three out of four shiny new stars, now that he's armed with a star system like every other paper; TONY's Jay Cheshes tackles Oceana, too, giving it three stars out of five; GQ's Alan Richman visits A Voce; and Adam Platt of New York reserves one star for a "Madoff-like" Caravaggio and nada for Hotel Griffou.
• The war between Todd English and the woman he was set to marry last weekend (but didn't) continues. In short: Either English is the biggest jerk ever, she wants to be famous and is nuts, or they're both totally crazy. [Gawker]
• The new Momofuku in Midtown now has a name: Ma Pêche. [Eater]
• Tavern on the Green is supposed to change hands at the end of the year. But now outgoing owner Jennifer LeRoy has petitioned a court for three extra months. And what will happen if a judge doesn't go along with the plan? TotG says it may have to fire 400 employees. Right before Christmas. [NYT]

Sam Sifton, the New York Times' brand new restaurant critic issued his very first review today! DBGB, the most recent addition to Daniel Boulud's dining empire (and "one of our more gregarious and intelligent restaurateurs, according to Sifton) landed a solid two stars from the man chosen to succeed Frank Bruni. Do forgive him, though, for starting off the review with the words, "Hey, ho, let's go!" He's new around here and probably pretty excited about his new gig, which makes him the city's most powerful food person. But he should calm down after he eats his way through the first 100 meals or so. [NYT]

• Despite rumors to the contrary (and a recent surprise visit by inspectors from several city agencies) the Jane Hotel's Ballroom is still open. [Eater, NYP]
• Daniel Boulud is pumped about his three Michelin stars, unsurprisingly. [GS]
• The Voice's Robert Sietsema, however, would like to see Michelin disappear: "Get your radial-tire ass in gear and lay rubber out of here, Michelin Man. We've already got plenty of unreliable sources telling us where to eat." [VV]
• Hill Country is planning to open expand with a fried chicken place. [TFB]
• Chefs and restaurateurs mourn the closing of Gourmet after 68 years. [GS]
• Esquire magazine's "Best New Restaurants" list is out. [GS]
• The age-old (and elusive) hunt for NYC's best bagel. [Serious Eats]

• Danny Meyer will open a new restaurant in the Gramercy Park Hotel this November. Now it has a name. It will be called Maialino, or "little pig" in Italian, which was Meyer's nickname when he lived in Rome. [GS]
• Today in restaurant reviews: Frank Bruni issues his final review for the Times this week, giving the decidedly DIY eatery The Redhead a star; Time Out's Jay Cheshes hands out four out of five stars to Daniel Boulud's DBGB; the Daily News' Danyelle Freeman is pretty disappointed with Civetta; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton samples the $100 platter of fried chicken at David Chang's Momofuku; and Alan Richman of GQ files a report on Sorella on the Lower East Side.
• Will Goldfarb and Kevin Pomplun's barbecue food truck, Picnick Smoked, has only been open a few days, but it's already totally overwhelmed. [GS]

• Charlie Palmer's new Aureole at One Bryant Park will accept walk-ins beginning this Saturday and will officially open on Monday. [GS, Eater]
• Daniel Boulud's DBGB starts serving brunch this weekend. [Eater]
• Another day, another food truck: The La Cense Burger Truck in Midtown is now serving up "all-natural, grass-fed Angus steakburgers." [ML]
• The Standard Grill has set up its sidewalk café. [GS]
• A roundup of brunch recommendations courtesy of Time Out. [TONY]
• Healthy ice cream spots like Stogo and Golosi say business is up. [NYDN]
• The New York Botanical Garden will show you how to grow your own food beginning this weekend. Guess we're still in the middle of a recession. [NYT]

• Is Amy Sacco's Bungalow 8 about to broke? That's what some former staffers claim, who say they haven't been paid in weeks now. [Gawker]
• Ward III, a new "saloon" by the team involved with Macao, The Odeon, and Grace—and decorated with Wakiya cast-offs—opens on Friday. [Thrillist]
• A roundup of spots that have closed in recent days. [Eater]
• The feud between Mr. Chow and Philippe is heating up, it seems. [GS]
• Raines Law Room has opened a "clandestine garden," not that anything can be very clandestine when it appears on Vogue's website. [Vogue]
• Michael Huynh has another East Village Baoguette planned. [EVGrieve]
• Wolfgang Puck's latest, quasi-food related venture: He plans to take control of the top-level domain .food and then sell off the Internet addresses to chefs and restaurateurs. Sounds, uh, interesting. [WSJ/Speakeasy]

• Daniel Boulud's DBGB debuts Monday. Grub Street has pics. [GS]
• Also opening on Monday: the least recession-friendly restaurant to come along in months. Have a look around SHO Shaun Hergatt at the Setai in the financial district. [Eater]
• Not opening Monday, but will be open soon: Hotel Griffou, which is in "celebrity-preview mode" right now. [GS]
• Six wine auction houses are offering big bargains later this month. [Reuters]
• Sienna Miller, Elle Macpherson, Sting, Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron, and Alicia Silverstone are some of the celebs now lobbying Nobu boss Nobuyuki Matsuhisa to drop bluefin tuna from his menus. [Page Six]

• Public Fare, Danny Meyer's concession stand at the Delacorte Theater, will be open for the debut of Shakespeare in the Park on June 10. [Zagat]
• Shea Gallante, the chef at Cru, will be leaving at the end of the month. [NYT]
• Daniel Boulud's DBGB is accepting walk-ins prior to its 6/8 opening. [GS]
• Flex Mussels on the UES gets a single star in the Times today. [NYT]
• Noah Tepperberg's Avenue opened last night. Wass Stevens and the Beatrice Inn's Angelo and Todd manned the door, Paul Sevigny provided the music, sister Chloë was in the house, and a jack and coke costed $19.20. [GS]

• Francois Payard says he'll be forced to close his Upper East Side flagship (and lay off his 74 employees) if his landlord insists on doubling his rent. [Crain's]
• Daniel Boulud's DBGB held a preview last night for industry peeps and, sure enough, loads of industry types turned up. Commoners will get a chance to try out DB's latest venture when it opens to the public on June 8. [TFB, GS, Eater]
• Ipuddo, the EV ramen spot, gets one star from Bruni in today's Times. [NYT]
• Yama on Houston has closed; the lounge Stay caught fire last night. [Eater]
• A bunch of Hamptons bouncers have been busted for dealing drugs. [NYP]
• Nobu in London still serves endangered bluefin tuna because the chefs there insist on it. Or at least that's how Nobu GM Richie Notar explains it. [TFB]

• Daniel Boulud unveiled his new DBGB to the press on Saturday. A menu devoted to 14 different kinds of sausage, two dozen beers on tap, and more is coming your way in early June. [Zagat, TONY, Metromix, Eater, TFB]
• A roundup of restaurants scheduled to open this week. [TONY]
• Thomas Keller confirms Jonathan Benno is parting ways with Per Se. [GS]
• Danny Meyer confirms he's out of the race for Tavern on the Green. [NYO]
• Robert De Niro chats about his Locanda Verde, opening this week. [NYM]
• Warren 77, the new bar/restaurant by the Beatrice Inn's Matt Abramcyk, Chris Miller, and hockey star Sean Avery opened on Friday eve. [NYO, GS]
• Adam Platt gives high marks (and three stars) to Seasonal this week. [NYM]

• A roundups of restaurants opening this week. [NYM, Eater]
• Scuderia, Silvano Marchetto's two-month-old restaurant, has ditched its chef, Claudio Cristofoli, after a handful of not-so-good reviews. [GS]
• Not much has changed at Soho's Delicatessen, reports The New Yorker: "If Topshop were a restaurant, it would be this restaurant. [NYer]
• Daniel Boulud's DBGB Kitchen & Bar opens to the public in early June. The décor? The shelves feature old copper pots donated by famous chefs. [GS]
• Dylan Lauren's candy store opened in a pop-up space inside a Hong Kong shoe store this week. A permanent location may be forthcoming. [WWD]
• Mix Shake Stir, a cocktail book (obviously) dedicated to concoctions served up at Danny Meyer's restaurants, was published today. [EMD]

• Frank Bruni weighs in on David Burke's Fishtail in the Times this week, giving the eatery a single star for its "real charms" yet "deeply fatiguing" menu. [NYT]
• A look at the menu at Table 8, which opens tonight. [GS]
• Jay Cheshes hits up Silvano Marchetto's two new outposts in this week's Time Out, Scuderia and Da Silvano Bistecca. [TONY]
• Oprah's KFC sandwich giveaway sparked a riot today. [Gothamist, Gawker]
• Eight "new" rules on ordering wine while dining out. [NYP]
• "Real Housewife" Alex McCord's top food pics in Cobble Hill. [GS]
• Four Seasons co-owners Julian Niccolini and Alex von Bidder were roasted in honor of the eatery's 50th last night. Daniel Boulud on the duo: "The only thing these guys know about food is how much to charge for it." [NYT]