Bun: Chef Michael Bao Huynh and his wife, Thao Nguyen, who has amazing noodle preparation expertise, have opened this Vietnamese rice-noodle and small-plate spot in SoHo. Although he has gotten some financial backing from Warren Cuccurullo, formerly of Missing Persons and Duran Duran, Huynh designed the designed the 45-seat space himself. The menu is affordable, with a cap at around $12, and features four varieties of pho, among other dishes. 143 Grand Street, near Lafayette......

With all the craziness going on in South Brooklyn recently -- Jason Neroni leaving Porchetta (law suits, arrests, excitement!), and with recent news that the Brooklyn Inn may be closing (converting into a bistro?) -- it'd be easy to miss the little slip about Vegas. During a short message on the Brooklyn Record, a commentator "confirmed" that the rumors about the Brooklyn Inn were true and then added that "Vegas, on Smith st. is also......

With all the food fetishism and foodie-ism out there, here's a bracing serving of the restaurant business underbelly. A drama at well-received Brooklyn restaurant Porchetta has been playing out over the past few days, with a round of he-said, he-said on Eater, where owner Marco Rivero said there was a warrant for out for recently resigned chef Jason Neroni's arrest on Tuesday, only for Neroni to deny it hours later. But then Neroni turned himself......

- Chef Jason Neroni (pictured in happier days at right), who left Porchetta recently citing "irreconcilable differences" with owner Marco Rivera, was arrested and charged with petit larceny [Gawker] UPDATE via Eater: according to Neroni rep Steve Hall, Neroni voluntarily went to the precinct with his lawyer last night; there is a court date set in mid-May. - Rubin Caslow, chairman of Acme Smoked Fish Corp. in Greenpoint, Brooklyn -- the largest smoked fish producer......

-Food and Wine magazine released its Best New Chefs 2007 list earlier this week. April Bloomfield, the 32 year-old chef and co-owner of West Village gastropub The Spotted Pig, is among the ten honorees to be featured in the magazine’s July issue. Eater attended Wednesday night’s announcement party at 7 World Trade Center and watched “everyone who has ever been on an episode of Top Chef” party like it was 1999, the not-so-distant year that......

Yesterday morning, the nominees for the 2007 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced at the Beard House on West 12th Street. In additional to New York restaurant stalwarts David Waltuck of Chanterelle, Floyd Cardoz of Tabla, and Terrance Brennan of Picholine (which was rebooted in 2006 to impressive reviews, the nominees also include a bumper crop of young chefs including David Chang for Momofuku Ssam Bar, Daniel Humm for Eleven Madison Park (both for......

Gothamist would like to congratulate Chef Jason Neroni of Porchetta on today’s New York Times review. The following conversation took place two weeks ago at the Smith Street restaurant. Jason Neroni has no socks. The thirty year-old chef of Porchetta, the New Italian/Creative American place on Smith Street in Brooklyn, is going commando with his clogs. Owner Marco Riviero is behind the bar squeezing blood oranges with a citrus press for one last round of......

Bruni goes to Brooklyn this week and one-stars Porchetta. He says the Italian restaurant is "chasing an edginess that other Italian restaurants in its area don't have in their sights." Also that chef Jason Neroni has "got the goods." And Eater is off by a star this week, having put their money on two for Porchetta. In $25 and Under, Peter Meehan goes to Kyotofu dessert restaurant, for tofu desserts, and loves it. "Anyone who......

- Beloved dive bar Siberia (wall signage pictured at right) to close? - Get a look at a roundup of "casual dining" burgers on Serious Eats, from Houlihan's, Applebee's, T.G.I.Friday's, and Red Robin, just in case you find yourself trapped somewhere in the middle of the country. - Jennifer Leuzzi of Snack dives into the rumor mill around Le Cirque. True: Christophe Bellanca, formerly of L.A.'s, L'Orangerie, will be joining the kitchen as of the......

- A dispatch from Shiovawn of the North on the tip line alerts us to the latest rage at State Fairs – fried Coke. Two words – yuck and yuckier. - Today is the last day for free access at Wine Spectator. Head on over and get all the data on vintage charts and top-of-this-and-that lists before the curtain comes down. - In burger news, Grub Street eviscerates New York Burger Co's franchise plans.......