Protein shakes aren't the only drinks that contain raw eggs. A number of high-end bars and lounges have started using raw egg whites and raw egg yolks in their cocktails, and according to the Times, drink makers believe they are under attack from the city due to overblown salmonella concerns. Rumors of the raw egg crackdown stem from a Jan. 19 health code violation leveled against SoHo's Pegu Club because a barkeep allegedly didn't tell a patron his drink included raw eggs. more ›

The New Yorker's annual food issue hits shelves today (we'll feel lucky if we get ours in the mail before Thursday). Articles include Calvin Trillin on Candians' beloved poutine, a peek inside flavor labs, Adam Gopnik on cookbooks, and John Colapinto’s "exclusive" look at the rating process of the New York Michelin guide. Apparently this is "the first time in its history" Michelin has permitted a journalist to speak with one of its anonymous inspectors. Colapinto joins an anonymous inspector for a meal at three-star Jean-Georges. It's a lonely and fattening life:

Assigned specific areas of the city to cover, Maxime, who lives in Manhattan, spends weeks riding the subway out to the farthest reaches of Queens to make her way through a selection of Thai restaurants, eating two meals a day, every day, and she typically eats alone, since talking with a spouse or friend is frowned upon... Maxime eats out more than two hundred days of the year, lunch and dinner. She eats the maximum number of courses offered—at Jean Georges, we were having three courses, plus dessert; that way, she said, “you really get to see the most food”—and she is required to eat everything on her plate. It is a regimen that calls to mind the force-feeding of the ducks that supply Vongerichten with his velvety foie gras.

A 44-year-old mother of two died and three others were critically injured by a fire that tore through a Flushing apartment early Sunday morning. The deceased, Bianca Wisniewski, was due in federal court today for a hearing in her $20 million sexual-harassment lawsuit against Total Safety Consulting and JPMorgan Chase. Four of the 110 firefighters at the scene suffered minor injuries, and the fire was ultimately contained to the single apartment, because the cement and steel walls stopped it from spreading. more ›

As the Department of Health starts moving toward a new restaurant inspection system requiring eateries to display letter grades, the Times tags along with one DOH inspector as he gives a deli buffet in the Financial District the white glove treatment. Inspector Corey Williams explains, "Nobody is glad to see us... You name it, and I’ve seen it. I’ve even seen managers panic and try to take moldy food out the back door while I’m watching." Also lots of rats, both living and dead. During the inspection, owner Peter Kim tells the Times, "My heart is racing. They are so strict. They cost me, $2,000, $3,000, easy, each time they come." Luckily, Williams finds no vermin and Kim squeaks by with a score of 21, the equivalent of a B grade under the new system, which goes into effect in July 2010. That's assuming the restaurant industry, which put up such a fight over the calorie rules, doesn't stop it. One of the industry's main complaints is that although the letter grades must be displayed immediately, restaurateurs still have to wait three weeks to challenge a finding. more ›

Two cats living in an apartment completely destroyed by the Midtown crane collapse have been found and reunited with their owners. The recovery of Mr. Gloves and Gooksie was in no small part due to the efforts of Gini Otway, a neighbor who also volunteers at the animal rescue and adoption organization City Critters. more ›