• Today in restaurant reviews: Frank Bruni gives Zak Pelaccio's new Fatty Crab two stars; the Post's Steve Cuozzo is pretty pleased with Josh DeChellis's La Fonda del Sol; and Jay Cheshes hits up Minetta Tavern. [NYT, NYP, TONY]
• The good news/bad news about the Cooper Square Hotel's Table 8. [Eater]
• Ryan Sutton on Monkey Bar: "A-listers and alcohol are the main event" while the "food is a simian sideshow." All things you knew, undoubtedly. [Bloomberg]
• It's what every chef dreams of: Tom Colicchio is on the new cover of Guitar Aficionado magazine. Yes, the mag exists and, yes, Tom loves guitars. [GS]
• It looks like the space once occupied by Florent/R&L will reopen as 69 Gansevoort Cafe shortly. It will probably remain a 24/7 diner, too. [Eater]
• NYC will look like LA pretty soon: A second Baja Fresh is on the way. [ML]

• The restaurant formerly known as Ago will reopen next Tuesday under the name Locanda Verde. Andrew Carmellini is executive chef and a co-owner with Robert De Niro; Ken Friedman consulted on the new design. [NYT]
• Rumor has it Per Se's Jonathan Benno may be going off on his own. [TFB]
• Tasti-D-Lite isn't intimidated by Pinkberry or Red Mango: It plans to open 35 new outlets over the next decade. Related fro-yo news: Pinkberry is opening stores abroad and a chain called Yogurtland is expanding, too. [AMNY, NRN]
• Famed Coney Island pizzeria Totonno's won't be back in biz until July. [LC]
• Style.com's list of the 13 dumbest boomtime cocktails saves special mentions for local spots like The Eldridge, PDT, and World Bar. [Style.com]

• 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]

As of 2:30PM today, on Google Trends, the following restaurants America is taking Mom out for dinner to tonight:

• Sam Mason's Tailor in Soho has filed for bankruptcy protection. [Crain's]
• More on how the downturn is hurting NYC's pricier places: Sirio Maccioni says his Las Vegas outpost keeps Le Cirque in NYC alive; Le Bernardin has yet to renew its lease; and rumor has it Chanterelle is seeking investors. [NYM]
• The silver lining: restaurant rents are down substantially, which may explain why there's been a spike in applications for restaurant permits. [AMNY, NYO]
• Larry Poston (Waverly Inn, Pastis) has teamed up with Johnny Swet (Balthazar, Freeman's) to take over the former Marylou's space. [P6]

"Sopresso." "Brie." "Porcini Dusted Petite Filet." "Mascarpone Polenta." Do those sound like the sorts of things men of the people eat?

• A roundup of restaurants that just opened, or will be very shortly. [Eater]
• The U.S. struck a deal with the European Union and has agreed to drop its proposed tariff on things like Roquefort cheese and Spanish ham. [WSJ]
• A few more places to consider taking your mom for Mother's Day. [GS]
• A high school in Queens has opened a student-operated restaurant. [NYDN]
• Possibly NYC's cleanest (and priciest) butcher shop just opened. [GS]
• Wouldn't it be nice if In-N-Out came to New York? Keep dreaming. [TFB]

• 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]

• The New York City outpost of Govind Armstrong's Table 8 opens tomorrow evening inside the Cooper Square Hotel. [Eater, Zagat]
• Now that Todd English is out, The Libertine has hired itself a new chef. [Zagat]
• Robert De Niro's universally reviled Ago has officially shuttered. [Eater]
• Some suggestions on where to take your mom for Mother's Day. [Zagat]
• Pinkberry is now making deliveries; a $10 minimum is required. [Crain's]
• Places to go to drink yourself into oblivion in honor of Cinco de Mayo. [GS]

The James Beard Awards were held at Avery Fisher Hall last night, gifting Jean-Georges Vongerichten's eponymous flagship the title of "Outstanding Restaurant." Other notable winners included David Chang's Momofuko Ko (Best New Restaurant) and opulent dinosaur Daniel (Best Service), with Drew Nieporent (left) knighted Outstanding Restaurateur for his (apparently outstanding) work at Corton and Nobu. But, much like the Costume Institute Gala across town, the night was not without a bit of drama.

• The new owners of the Florent space are turning it into something called the Gansevoort Cafe; a Fiamma replacement is on the way, too. [Eater]
• 'wichcraft is introducing a "sandwich-inspired" dinner menu. [GS]
• Daniel Boulud's forthcoming DBGB will offer 14 kinds of sausage. [TONY]
• Le Souk is abandoning the EV and moving to Bleecker and LaGuardia. [Eater]
• Organic food is more popular in NYC, less popular in Idaho. Crazy! [NYT]
• Cookbook sales are up, which, naturally, has to do with the recession. [WSJ]
• A film shoot gone awry damaged the Sbarro in Times Square today. [NYP]
• The James Beard Awards go down tonight; Eater has a liveblog. [Eater]

• Sasha Petraske's Dutch Kills opens tonight. [Eater]
• The Sant Ambroeus team is taking over the lease at Lever House. [GS]
• Sumile Sushi, Josh DeChellis's former haunt, has closed its doors. [Eater]
• Hotelier Jason Pomeranc, who recently parted ways with chef Todd English, is now starting his own restaurant management company. [HC, NYO]
• The restaurants that opened—and closed—during the month of April. [Eater]
• A roundup of restaurants and bars slated to open by May 13. [TONY]
• Can people tell the difference between pâté and dog food? Not usually! [LAT]

Nikki Finke heard a rumor that the catering company who was covering the big Star Trek premiere party last night totally shit the bed and ended up serving upscale grocery store food. To celebrities!

• The scandal-ridden State Liquor Authority has a new chairman. [NYO]
• Atria, which opened four months ago in the ex-Grayz space, is gone. [Eater]
• More Marea buzz: A peek at some of the dishes Chris Cannon and chef Michael White plans to have on the menu when it opens. [WSJ]
• Amy Sacco, Ivan Bart, Julia Restoin Roitfeld and Sophia Hesketh are hosting tonight's grand opening of the Griffin in the old P.M. space. [P6]
• Baja Fresh isn't opening May 11. More like May 19. [Eater]

• A bunch of expensive restaurants are slated to open over the next few months. That kind of sucks for them, yes, although construction costs are down and rents are now negotiable, so it's not all bad news. Sort of. [NYT]
• Frank Bruni offers up his take on a bunch of "recession beaters" in today's Times, including Anthos Upstairs, Craft's DFF, and the lounge at Per Se. [NYT]
• Will swine flu finally kill the pork-belly trend? [GS]
• Despite the recession, steakhouses still seem full, says the Post's Steve Cuozzo, and Wagyu beef is still selling, "strangely." Strange, indeed. [NYP]
• Snapple is giving away free pizza from May 4 to May 7. [Slice]
• More immediately: 31-cent scoops at Baskin-Robbins tonight. [TFB]

The Way We Live Now: Involuntarily dieting. Cafeteria trays are a forgotten luxury. Sandwich boards are the new sandwiches. Stare in the windows of the many new luxury restaurants!

• Yesterday's Post piece on restaurants charging for things like water and bread and butter provoked a wee bit of controversy. Frank Bruni thinks more restaurants should be charging for bread. And Bobo's Carlos Suarez would like you to know the water fee goes to charity, so simmer down. [NYT, GS]
• Sasha Petraske's Dutch Kills may open as soon as this Friday. [UD]
• The Beatrice Inn (which is still closed, FYI) has been vandalized. [Eater]
• The latest secret bar you'll hear a lot about, but will probably never visit in person: Bohemian, which requires a swipe key to get in, and is "tucked into the back of a building that used to belong to Andy Warhol," if that's any help. [GS]

• How do restaurants make ends meet during a recession? By charging for things that used to be free, like tap water and bread and butter. [NYP]
• A peek at what will be on the menu when Table 8 debuts on May 6. [GS]
• Griffin opens this Thursday in the former PM space on Gansevoort St. [UD]
• The lineup for the New York Wine & Food Festival has been revealed. [Eater]
• New York's Adam Platt has lots of praise for Minetta Tavern this week. [NYM]
• Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss are opening Avenue on 10th Avenue in a few days. Danny A is a partner; Wass Stevens will tend to the door. [P6]
• NYC's first-ever Baja Fresh opens at 465 Lexington Ave in two weeks. [NRN]

• After 115 weeks in business, Jeffrey Chodorow's Kobe Club closes its doors tomorrow night. The Miami outpost is probably history, too. [Eater]
• One of the two Starbucks in Astor Place is closing tomorrow. [Eater]
• A roundup of places that just opened, or will be open next week. [TONY]
• Charlie Palmer is giving away bottles to vino in honor of Aureole's 20th. [GS]
• The Minetta Tavern's "preferred-customer line" is sort of useless, FYI. [GS]
• Rise, the rooftop bar at the Ritz in Battery Park City, has closed. [Zagat]
• Sangria and lobster salad was on Padma's mind on Today today. [TFB]

• Suggestions on places to eat in the vicinity of the Tribeca Film Festival. [NYP]
• It's going to be hot this weekend. Luckily for you, the backyards at Bobo and Table 8 are both open for business (or will be by this weekend). [Eater]
• Balducci's on 14th Street closes this Sunday and there's a big sale underway, not that there's much of anything left on the store's shelves. [GS]
• David Burke's coping with the downturn just fine, thanks very much. [WSJ]
• Matt Levine of Eldridge infamy is making over Thor. [GS]
• Tom Potter, the retired co-founder of Brooklyn Brewery, is hoping to establish Brooklyn's first whiskey and gin distillery. [Brooklyn Paper]
• At last night's City Harvest auction, a private dinner by Eric Ripert went for $45K. Surfing and dinner in the Hamptons with Marc Murphy took in 14K. [GS]