The newest addition to the Two Boots Pizza empire is set to open on Sunday on the Lower East Side. [Grub Street] Top Chef season one contestant LeAnn Wong was spotted dining at Momofuku Ssam Bar and dishes that she's going to be a producer on the show next season. [FoodCandy] Want a career in the culinary arts but can't afford it? The James Beard Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2007 scholarship program.......

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......

- The Daily News explores the world of the NYC gastropub, including the Spotted Pig, E.U., Spike Hill, recently opened Alchemy and the Inn LW12 (Augieland gives us a preview), and soon-to-come Borough Food & Drink, a Chodorow creation. - A hearty bowl of ramen will keep you warm, and Manhattan Users Guide has highlighted some of the best. - After being on Eater's Deathwatch for a while now, The Lonesome Dove is officially dead.......

The fall out from restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow's full page NY Times ad complaining about Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni continues, much to the delight of foodies, critics of restaurant critics, and mental health professionals. Last Friday, former Times food critic Mimi Sheraton wrote in Slate that Chodorow was an "idiot" to run an ad, given "the added exposure of the negative review to so many who may never have read the original." And then the......

Bruni two-stars David Chang's Momofuku Ssam Bar, calls Chang "one of this city's brightest culinary talents." He likes the food, the waitstaff, and the design of the restaurant. "By bringing sophisticated, inventive cooking and a few high-end grace notes to a setting that discourages even the slightest sense of ceremony, Ssam Bar answers the desires of a generation of savvy, adventurous diners with little appetite for starchy rituals and stratospheric prices," says Bruni. Eater......

- Note to self: Start hanging out at Republic more to stalk catch a glimpse of Top Chef's Sam Talbot. [Grub Street] - David Chang discusses the logic behind expanding the hours he offers his late-night menu at Momofuku Ssam Bar: "the late night menu + regular hours = asses in seats." [Eater] - The Times explores the culinary evolution and composition of Queens, from Greek, to Bangladeshi, to Mexican, to North African, to Chinese,......

- Momofuku Ssam Bar makes shakes up their menu -- the late-night selection is available earlier and Ssams later. - The Village Voice's Seistema visits the Smoke Joint and likes it "right out of the starting gate." [via Eating for Brooklyn] - The Black Pearl has been reborn in Chelsea -- long live lobster rolls! - Congrats to the winners of this year's food blog awards; a big shout out to Smitten Kitchen, Slashfood, and......

Adam Platt has started of 2007 with a bang -- New York magazine has released his "Where to Eat 2007" lists, a compendium of his picks for the year, divided into categories. "Haute Barnyard," a phrase that Platt coined a while back, is his term for restaurants focused on suppliers and the origins of the food, with countrified leanings. Cookshop, Peasant, Hearth, and Blue Hill qualify, among others. He takes us on two rambles, one......

-Bruni's back with his take on Harry's Steak and Cafe, giving it one star. He seems to be happy with the steakhouse portion of the restaurant, but is much less impressed by Harry's Cafe, where, although it shares the same kitchen with Harry's Steak, "the menu metastasizes in ways that often turn out to be ill-advised." The Eater boys were on the mark this week. - A good friend of ours told us he didn't......

Chefs are known to traverse New York by night, a choice number of restaurants saving their best cuts of meat and their best bottles of wine for the late night foodies who know to swing by. David Chang's Momofuku Ssam Bar, a second venture to follow the well-established Momofuku noodle bar, offers a late night Asian fusion menu full of superstar items from 10:30 p.m. - 2:30 a.m. (Wednesday - Sunday) including fatty pork......