Takeru Kobayashi, who refuses to sign an exclusive contract with "Major League Eating," set a world hot dog eating record (at an independent event) by consuming 69 in ten minutes. Joey Chestnut won the official Nathan's contest with 62. [NYDN]

This year Nathan's Famous annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest features a separate contest for ladies, because they realized that some hotties enjoy eating gross things just like dudes do, and it's the 21st century, and they're progressive.

• Aquavit's owner says the rumor the eatery is closing is pure nonsense. [GS]
• More good news: Although it appeared as if Ama has gone bust a couple of weeks ago, the closure was temporary and it's now back in business. [Eater]
• The critics: Frank Bruni of the Times gives Aldea a very solid two-star review today; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton is pretty pleased with Locanda Verde; and the Post's Steve Cuzzo is happy to report Benoit is "a lot better." [NYT, BN, NYP]
• Rumor has it William Grimes may step in as the New York Times' temporary restaurant critic when Frank Bruni takes his leave next month. [TFB]
• A roundup of restaurants that have opened recently. [NYT]
• Joey Chestnut's record-setting 68 hot dogs at the Nathan's eating competition translates into 20,200 calories, in case you were wondering. [TFB]

• A kitchen fire destroyed Anita Lo's Annisa over the weekend. [SE]
• A roundup of restaurants that just opened, or will be open shortly. [Eater]
• Adam Platt reviews Marea in this week's issue of New York and doesn't walk away all that impressed: "For all its impressive, even dazzling qualities, it feels less like a labor of love than like one of ambition and duty." [NYM]
• A rebuttal from Josh Ozersky: "Adam Platt is out of his mind." [TFB]
• The owners of the River Café have filed a $3 million lawsuit over damage they claim was caused by Olafur Eliasson's "Waterfalls" art project. [NYP]
• Despite a last-minute petition, Joe Jr.'s closed its doors yesterday. [GS]
• The Health Department may take away the permits of as many as 500 street food vendors after investigators found evidence of "widespread fraud." [NYP]
• Joey Chestnut took top prize at the Nathan's hot-dog eating contest. [NYDN]

• A month shy of its 15th anniversary, The Cub Room in Soho has closed. [GS]
• A roundup of restaurants that have opened in the past couple of days. [Eater]
• A few more details about the Standard Grill at the Standard Hotel, which will open for dinner next Monday and breakfast/lunch the week after. [GS]
• The cost of food—both at home and in restaurants—is up, so you know. [NYT]
• One more way restaurants are saving money in these lean times: They're hiring fewer servers so that "no one's being paid to just stand around." [NYT]
• One more silly eating competition coming to Coney Island soon: a bunch of human beings will square off against a bunch of elephants on July 3. [BP]

In case you missed it, New York's first pizza-eating competition was held in Times Square this past weekend. The winner? Joey Chestnut, the reigning hot-dog eating champ, who downed 45 slices in 10 minutes. Oh, and in case you're wondering, he took in 11,700 calories in the process. [NYDN]