While Grimaldi’s and Juliana’s duke it out in Dumbo, Grub hears that another of the city’s pie purveyors, Slice, is headed to Vegas. Founder Miki Agrawal tells us her eatery was handpicked for the move by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, who (as you’ll know if you read the recent Businessweek story) is aiming to revitalize downtown Sin City with a $350 million cash infusion. Hopefully this makes up for Slice’s having to close its UES joint.

Read more posts by Jenny Miller

Filed Under: empire building, las vegas, slice, tony hsieh, zappos

André Balazs has been called a lot of things, but … farmer? That’s a first. Apparently the chicken you’re eating at the Standard Grill is made with birds Balazs cultivated himself on his Hudson River estate, where he’s “raising cows, chickens, pigs and rabbits.” Also being raised? A big wagon of money. [Page Six/NYP]

Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky

Filed Under: chicks, balazs, standard grill

The new Grimaldi’s may be jammed packed per usual — almost as if it never even slid down half a block — but Patsy Grimaldi, who is moving into the original space with Juliana’s, is preparing for a proper takedown. Juliana’s is still boarded up, but the windows are plastered with newspaper and magazine articles about his pizza powers, and his authoritative website says, “Coming Soon The Return of Patsy & Carol Grimaldi.” Despite the aggressive marketing, a staffer tells Grub Street Patsy isn’t worried about Grimaldi’s and its tireless crowds next door: “He know he makes a better pizza, runs a better shop, and that customers will choose him. He’s not concerned at all.”

Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky

Filed Under: it’s on, dumbo, grimaldis, julianas

• When the city repairs stretches of the Coney Island boardwalk, officials plan not to use wood, but to use “recycled plastic that looks like wood.” Green or not, that doesn’t really sound charming at all. [NYT]

• Profits are booming in the livestock trade, and all that money is creating a ripple effect of good fortune. [USAT]

• Potential buzz kill alert: The FDA plans to examine whether inhalable caffeine is safe. [AP]

• Restaurateurs in London are getting ready for the influx of business that this summer’s Olympics are sure to bring. [BBC]

Filed Under: mediavore, gordon ramsay

Valentine’s Day! Mayor Bloomberg’s birthday! Presidents’ Day! With so many wonderful occasions in the month of February, it’s no surprise celebrities took to the town this week. Shia LaBeouf took his lovely girlfriend out to dinner on Valentine’s Day, but the best part wasn’t his burly beard. No, the actor is apparently a wonderful tipper! Plus, Kris Humphries suffered through his first post-super-short-marriage Valentine’s Day (if he can make it, we all can, right?). Also, our mayor turned 70 and celebrated by eating a bunch of salt. All of this, and more celebrity sightings, straight ahead.

A Voce Columbus: Famed actress Goldie Hawn enjoyed a nice, casual dinner on the Upper West Side with a friend last Thursday. [Grub Street]
August: Billy Crudup was having dinner with friends in the West Village, and continues to be that one dude from Eat Pray Love. [Grub Street]
Dos Caminos: Ashlee Simpson had some sangria and guacamole in the meatpacking district with a couple of friends, but not her boyfriend Vincent Piazza. [People]
Estiatorio Milos: Victor Cruz took Elaina Watley — his girlfriend of nine years, mom to his 1-month-old daughter Kennedy, and “the backbone of [his] life” — to a nice, romantic Valentine’s Day dinner. He gifted her a beautiful bracelet that sources speculate could cost anywhere from $2,500 to more than $13,600. [Page Six/NYP]
Jean Georges: In a pairing that is so fitting for Valentine’s Day week, a time our culture spends focusing on the love and relationships in our lives, and forgetting about petty things like sexual orientation, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his wife had dinner with Donald Trump and his wife on Wednesday night. [Page Six/NYP]
Marble Lane: On Valentine’s Day eve, Joe Jonas, Justin Bieber, Usher, and Minka Kelly, among other celebrities, all were VIPs at Marble Lane. [Grub Street]
Old Homestead Steakhouse: Shia LaBeouf, who’s currently sporting a bushy beard, had dinner with his girlfriend Karolyn Pho in the meatpacking district — and then tipped the waiter $100 on a $200 meal. What a guy! [Page Six/NYP]
Serafina: Kris Humphries dined with his longtime friend Josh Ketroser on the Upper East Side with two girls who seemed like “platonic friends.” But with Humphries, who knows what platonic means? [Page Six/NYP]
Viand: Mayor Bloomberg celebrated his 70th birthday this past week, and for breakfast, he enjoyed burnt toast topped with a generous amount of salt, and apparently this is a regular thing. Do we really need to point out what’s bad about this? Regardless, happy birthday, Mike! [Page Six/NYP]

Filed Under: celebrity settings,

Park Slope: Brooklynites shouldn’t get too excited for Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, that giant restaurant featuring delivery, takeout, catering, and a private event space, as it won’t open till March 2013. [Eater NY]
Williamsbrug: Brooklyn Brewery sponsors a Butchery 101 class from Edible Manhattan next week on February 22 from 8 to 10 p.m. Tickets are only five bucks! [Edible Manhattan]

Filed Under: neighborhood watch,

Tony’s Di Napoli, the monstrous Italian restaurant that has pleased (and fattened) Times Square tourists for decades, is reopening on the UES. The new Tony’s Di Napoli, opening this Spring, will take over 9,000 square feet at 1081 3rd Avenue (between 63rd and 64th Street). And it actually wants to replicate the Time Square location.

Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky

Filed Under: mamma-mia, opening, tony’s di napoli

How does the chef and owner of the world’s best restaurant relax on his day off? Oh, you know, he invites Dave Chang over to his very attractive flat in Copenhagen, whips up some oyster-and-chanterelle toasts, steams some mussels that he plucked from a fjord — the usual. And not a single middle finger in sight! [Bon Appétit, Related]

Read more posts by Alan Sytsma

Filed Under: other magazines, noma overload, rene redzepi

It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze in a couple for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.)
Today: New & Buzzy

ABC Kitchen (Menu)
212-475-5829
Two for eight? No
Best available: 11:30 p.m.

Beauty & Essex (Menu)
212-614-0146
Two for eight? No
Best available: 5:15 p.m.

Brushstroke (Menu)
212-791-3771
Two for eight? No
Best available: Fully booked

Crown (Menu)
646-559-4880
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:15 p.m.

The Dutch (Menu)
212-677-6200
Two for eight? No
Best available: Fully booked

Empellón Cocina (Menu)
212-367-0999
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:45 p.m.

Miss Lily’s (Menu)
646-588-5375
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10:30 p.m.

Osteria Morini (Menu)
212-965-8777
Two for eight? No
Best available: 11 p.m.

Red Rooster (Menu)
212-792-9001
Two for eight? No
Best available: Fully booked

Saxon + Parole (Menu)
212-254-0350
Two for eight? No
Best available: 7:30 p.m.

Filed Under: two for eight,

In the game of musical chairs between Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato’s Geisha and Serafina, Diner’s Journal confirms the Geisha-related opening we noted a while back, bringing news that Geisha Table, a tiny 23-seater outpost of the original Geisha, will open on Wednesday on the Upper West Side, next to the new Serafina. [NYT]

Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky

Filed Under: serafina, geisha, geisha table