Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

• The team behind Coffee Shop in Union Square is taking over the iconic Empire Diner in Chelsea. A name change and revamped menu will follow. [CN]
• Team Momofuku is now serving lunch at their new Midtown location. [ML]
• A chat with Danny Abrams, who just opened his new Mermaid outpost. [VV]
• Michael Psilakis is planning a pop-up food cart in the meatpacking district. The food will be free and it's all part of a promo campaign by Ketel One. [TONY]
• Troubling news for those who love rating raw oysters year-round. [NYT]
• Gwyneth Paltrow's famous friends list their most memorable means. [GOOP]
• A roundup of food-related events taking place this weekend. [SE]

• Roundups of restaurants opening in the next week or so. [TONY, Eater]
• A look at the last-minute work involved in getting The Breslin, Ken Friedman's  latest restaurant, ready for its October 8 opening. [NYT]
• Photos inside Abe & Arthur's, which opens to the public next week. [Eater]
• You may soon able to booze it up in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty: The vendor in charge of concessions there has applied for a liquor license. [NYP]
• David Chang's Momofuku Ko is raising prices beginning next week. [Eater]
• Is celebuchef Wolfgang Puck planning a NYC outpost? Possibly. [Gothamist]
• A chat with Richie Notar, the man who runs the show at Nobu. [ObsessedTV]
• What has Frank Bruni been eating since stepping down as restaurant critic of the New York Times? Lots and lots of roast chicken, apparently. [Atlantic]

• 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]More

• Rumor has it Thomas Keller is planning to open another restaurant to NYC in "one of the new high-rise buildings in Chelsea." Keller's denying it. [TFB, GS]
• The day in reviews: Frank Bruni is a little disappointed with Locanda Verde; the Post's Steve Cuozzo totally digs SHO Shaun Hergatt; Danyelle Freeman of the Daily News thinks Marea rivals Le Bernardin but is way too expensive; and GQ's Alan Richman and Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton both tackle DBGB.
• Andrew Silverman's City Lobster & Steak is now bankrupt. [Crain's]
• The NYPD is cracking down on narcotics sales involving club promoters. [BB]
• A man was indicted today for allegedly raping a woman at Marquee. [NYP]
• Momofuku may jump into the food cart fray. We'll second TFB's sentiments: "This gourmet cart/truck business is getting out of control." [Eater, TFB]More

• The toughest reservations in town are at Frank Pellegrino's Rao's in Harlem and David Chang's Momofuku Ko, in case you're keeping track. [GS]
• Big clubs and bottle service are out and cheap, dingy dive bars are in, according to the Times, pointing out that Marquee's revenues are down 22 percent so far this year. Possible evidence to the contrary: "table service" at Marquee's new sister spot, Avenue, will run you a minimum of $350. [NYT]
• Related: Marquee appears to be NYC's "most fined" nightspot. It's handed over $100,000 to the State Liquor Authority over the past year alone. [NYP]
• New York's Eat Cheap issue is out. A highlight: Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite's "handbook" to the Neapolitan pizza "revolution." [NYM, NYM]
• Restaurants that recently opened, or will be opening soon. [Eater]
• A roundup of New York's "82 most notable burgers." [GS]
• The Canadian donut chain Tim Hortons landed in Manhattan today. [AMNY] More

• 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]More

Bruni's Best | Frank Bruni's list of the 10 Best New Restaurants of 2008 is online. Here they are: 1. David Chang's Momofuku Ko, 2. Drew Nieporent and chef Paul Liebrandt's Corton; 3. (tie) Scott Conant's Scarpetta; 3. (tie) L'Impero; 5. Dovetail; 6. Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Matsugen; 7. Adour Alain Ducasse; 8. Daniel Boulud's Bar Boulud; 9. Allegretti; 10. Mia Dona. [NYT]

♦  The 2009 Zagat guide to New York restaurants was released today. Momofuku Ko was named best newcomer, while Per Se led the pack in food and service. [Zagat]
♦  Vice just released a New York restaurant guide, too. [Vice via Eater]
♦  A list of bars where you can watch the debate. [NYM]
♦  What are Wall Streeters doing now that they have no money? They're skipping power lunches and opting for pizza instead. [NYP]
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♦  The 2009 Michelin guide will hit bookstores tomorrow. Masa has moved up to three stars, joining Per Se, Jean Georges and Le Bernardin. And Momofuku Ko, Adour Alain Ducasse, and Gilt were all added to the two-star list. [NYT]
♦  David Burke is opening up a fish bar called Fishtail David Burke on East 62nd Street. He's also changing the name of restaurant he co-owned with Donatella Arpaia, david burke & donatella, to david burke townhouse. [Zagat]
♦  Anthony Bourdain's two favorite dive bars? Holland Bar and the Distinguished Wakamba Lounge, in case you feel stalking him. [Page Six Mag]More

• Frank Bruni visits media mogul central, Michael's, and hands the restaurant the zero-star review it fully deserves ("gloppy, affected pub grub") although he points out that the food there "isn't really the point," which is true, too. [NYT]
• Adam Platt gives Convivio three out of five stars this week in New York. Chef Michael White is "Midtown's answer to Mario Batali," according to Platt. [NYM]
• Randall Lane is a fan of Michael White, too. The TONY dining critic gives Convivio five out of six stars. [TONY]
• Ryan Sutton was a little dissapointed that he spent $300 on lunch at David Chang's Momofuku Ko and still left hungry. But he praises the "subtle and complex" lunch menu anyway, describing his meal as "brilliant." [Bloomberg]

• Geoffrey Zakarian will reconceive the upstairs portion of Country as Country Steak. [Grub Street]
• Nightlifers Kyky and Unik's meatpacking spot Merkato 55 now has a long-promised subterranean lounge, Bijou. [DBTH]
• Employees at Tao are suing the restaurant for skimming tips and withholding overtime pay. [NRN]
• Marquee and Pacha both got shut down over the weekend. [EdgeNewYork] 
• Photographer Daniel Krieger has pics from Florent during its closing weekend. [Eater]