• The week in restaurant reviews: In his second outing as Times dining critic, Sam Sifton gives Marea a very enthusiastic three stars; New York magazine's Adam Platt is a bit disappointed by Joseph Leonard and Civetta (and gives each a single star); Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton checks out the Manhattan outpost of Motorino and leaves happy; Time Out's Jay Cheshes heads to Monkey Bar and finds the food has improved; and Gael Greene pays a visit Abe & Arthur's.
• The city is now suing the LeRoy family, the current operators of Tavern on the Green, in an effort to regain control over the restaurant's name. [Crain's]
• Openings: Brinkley's, the new restaurant by Tom and Anthony Martignetti in the former Bar Martignetti space, opens to the public next week. The Scottish restaurant Highlands opens in the West Village this Friday.

• A group of Greenwich Village residents are waging war against the Jane Hotel Ballroom over noise issues. They've hired a lawyer and filed complaints with the city. Naturally, they're blogging and tweeting the action, too. [NYDN]
• Drinks at the Standard's Boom Boom Room will run you $25 when it opens. Provided, of course, you get inside and have the chance to order one. [BB]
• Related: More on Kurt Gutenbrunner's beer garden at the hotel. [VV, DBTH]
• Dean Poll, who takes over Tavern on the Green on Jan. 1, is in for a rough ride: He's already facing off against the restaurant's very vocal union. [NYT]
• An interview with the very prolific restaurateur Michael "Bao" Huynh. [Zagat]
• How the Manhattan Motorino compares to its Brooklyn predecessor. [GS]
• A group of pizza aficionados claim the best pie in town is located at Salvatore of Soho on Staten Island. In case you feel like taking a ride. [NYDN]

• Openings: Gansevoort 69 opened today in the meatpacking space formerly occupied by Florent. And Motorino's first Manhattan outpost is now open in was once Una Pizza Napoletana. A few more openings today are here.
• Also open, but just for private parties for the time being: The Boom Boom Room, the new bar on the 18th-floor of Andre Balazs' Standard Hotel, which will open to the public on September 22. [DBTH, UrbanDaddy]
• Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia are parting ways at Mia Dona. [Eater]
• Times Square's era of sleeze may soon make a return. The Box, the club co-owned by Simon Hammerstein, takes over China Club for two weeks next month to create Club Purgatorio, a "multi-level world of macabre fantasy." [GS]
• Bill Clinton and Barack Obama had lunch today at Il Mulino. In case you're wondering, the duo dined on "fish, pasta and salad." [NYT]
• Last night wasn't a great one for John Mayer. It seems he was forced to flee GoldBar after a guy at the bar was stabbed in stomach. [Page Six]

• The Shake Shack expansion cannot be stopped. Late last week, word dropped that Danny Meyer's burger chain was planning to open seven locations in the Middle East and three new outposts in Manhattan; today comes word that the first of these three will be at the corner of Mulberry and Prince Streets.
• A Voce will soft open this evening in the Time Warner Center. Here's a peek inside. And here's an interview with chef Missy Robbins. [Eater, Zagat]
• This week's reviews: New York's Adam Platt gives one star apiece to DBGB and L'Entrecôte; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton is very pleased with what he finds at the Standard Grill; TONY's Jay Cheshes visits Brooklyn's Prime Meats; the New Yorker's Shauna Lyon checks in on to Locanda Verde; and the Village Voice's Robert Sietsema finds the food at Joseph Leonard "often spectacular."
• The John Dory closed on August 29. Now the eatery's landlord has filed suit against Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich for $75,000 in unpaid rent. [NYDN]
• Josh Picard (Chinatown Brasserie, Lure, Locanda Verde) is taking over the old Cub Room space; meanwhile, Jason and Joe Denton of 'inoteca will be taking over the space formerly occupied by Frederick's Downtown. [Eater]

• A round up of eateries that recently opened, or will open this week. [Eater]
• Una Pizza Napoletana has closed its doors. It will become the first Manhattan outpost of the Williamsburg pizzeria Motorino in a few weeks. [NYT]
• Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert was tasked with cooking (beef, not fish) for French president Nicolas Sarkozy during his recent visit to New York. [P6]
• How to establish yourself as a regular at the restaurant of your choice. [GS]
• Summer "food crawls" through the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. [NYDN]
• Not only is Padma Lakshmi is discussions to star in a NBC sitcom, but Mario Batali is joining the cast of Bitter Feast, a "darkly comic thriller." [Variety, GS]
• An extended interview with Aquavit's Marcus Samuelsson. [ObsesedTV]