You can be her…just not this week. Do not think about it right now (please!) but there is a Food Lover’s Cleanse over at Bon Appétit, which you might be interested in once all the fruit cake and Champagne settles down. It’s a juiceless, fastless diet that probably won’t transform you into Gwyneth Paltrow, but might make you feel less guilty about eating all of Santa’s cookies and getting so damn sloshed. [Bon Appétit] Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky [...]

Haru’s fidi location. WaiterPay writes that the latest restaurant to receive a legal complaint for wage violations is Haru, the Benihana-owned sushi chainlet with six NYC locations. The servers who filed the complaint are saying they were not compensated time and a half for working over 40 hours a week, nor did they receive the extra hour of minimum wage required when shifts ran over ten hours (known as “spread of hours” pay). Yikes; either violations are truly rampant, or [...]

They do it all the time in France. In case you find yourself at the world’s dullest holiday party this weekend, here is something you can do for a quick rise: Take a saber to a frosty Champagne bottle and saw the sucker apart. It’s actually the classy thing to do! And according to the Times, the blade doesn’t even matter, “All you need is a blunt edge and a stern knock.” Don’t try this at home, kids. Try it [...]

When was the last time you heard anyone mention taquitos? This year may have been quite a year for tacos, but in 2012 the torta — sort of the sandwich version of a taco — will get some attention, if an upcoming restaurant, Tortaria, has anything to do with it. Grub learns that the Buona Sera replacement is planning a mid-January opening. On the menu: eight kinds of the Mexican sandwich, plus taquitos, and “small-batch tequila.” Tortillas will be pressed [...]

All the puzzle pieces seem to fit…for now. Once you get past all the Graydon-hearts-Ken stuff, there’s a bit of news in Bloomberg’s Monkey Bar piece: Damon Wise plans to open his own restaurant in the next year with business partner Hayden Felice (a buddy from Craft). He says it’s going to be “a casual, neighborhood venue on Hudson Street, just below the Meatpacking district.” Now that’s a novel concept! But seriously, great chef, great year ahead for him. [Bloomberg] [...]

• Those disposable aluminum pans that seem so handy for roasting birds can tip or rip very easily, causing serious grease burns. Beware! [NPR] • Countries like the U.S. and U.K. that have less stringent regulations on business tend to have higher obesity rates, while more regulated nations such as Norway and Japan have thin populations. Do we really think there’s such a thing as “Big Food” in Scandinavia? [HuffPo] • And the end-of-year trend lists don’t stop: Over at [...]

Epicurean Management’s Joe Campanale refueling outside Chocolate Bar. You’d think a guy who’s engaging with staff, salespeople, and customers all day and all night might want to close his eyes and fade away after work. Not Joe Campanale, the beverage director and co-owner of dell’anima, L’Artusi, and Anfora. “I consider it part of my job to go out and see new places,” he tells Grub Street. “Plus, I’m a very social type!” If he’s not bouncing around his businesses, Joe’s [...]

Boerum Hill: The bargain era at Brooklyn Fare is nearly over, as dinner at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant is now $225 per person. The news is particularly sad because they’re about to go non-BYOB. [Price Hike] Chelsea: Big Gay Ice Cream Shop kicks off their Seinfeld-inspired holiday celebration today, a two-day-long “Festivus for the rest of us,” with special Festivus Miracle Cones ($6). Stop by the shop tomorrow, December 23, to air your grievances in front of their webcam, a Festivus [...]

‘Tis the season of grab-bags and ass-grabs. Another suit for Mario Batali and it’s not Prada. An ex-Babbo employee is suing co-workers, and the restaurant, for sexual harassment. Eugene Gibbons says his ass was slapped and genitals were grabbed, and that another employee was perpetually pleasing himself with Gibbons in mind … all while the Batali troops stood by, utterly unfazed. Sounds like any kitchen in the world unpleasant. [TMZ] Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky Filed Under: law suits, [...]

“Sloshed” columnist Matthew Latkiewicz examined quite a few hangover remedies on Grub the other day, but we know none as effective as a hearty bowl of pozole. Lucky for New Year’s imbibers, La Palapa kicks off its month-long Pozole Palooza on January 1, and it’s also serving menudo (Mexican tripe stew famous for its morning-after powers) on the first day of 2012. Chef Barbara Sibley’s special pozole menu runs the rest of the month, offering the hominy stew in red, [...]