Deadspin has a fun post at how many hot New York City restaurants are falling over themselves to serve linternational Knicks star Jeremy Lin and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning: They called nine restaurants, posing as the athletes' assistants, asking for reservations for six at the coveted 8:00 p.m. time. While super high-end restaurants like Per Se and Masa wouldn't budge, The Lion and Nobu were happy to accommodate them. more ›

Get ready to start dialing, the annual rush to score one of those highly coveted White Castle Valentine's reservations is on! The slider emporium has finally released the numbers to call to make sure that you and yours can spend the February 14 holiday properly, uh, greased up. more ›

Hands down, some of the best ramen in the city can be found on Fourth Avenue in Manhattan at the only American outpost of Japan's Ippudo chain. But to slurp down their noodles coated in that delicious, delicious porky broth diners often have to deal with an endless wait at a crowded bar that can stretch for well over an hour. There has to be another way, right? There is. more ›

If wooing your lady with a romantic night of wine and chocolates by White Castle-scented candlelight just isn't romantic enough, it may be time to splurge for the real deal. White Castle's annual Valentine's day dinner is accepting your reservations now, and the New York dinners seem popular already. The line was busy when we called to inquire about locations! (Bring a roll of 20s to, ahem, grease the maître d). more ›

Is your restaurant spying on you? The Post wants to know. The answer? Of course they are. Especially if you are going to high-end eateries and using online reservation systems like OpenTable. But a) this really shouldn't surprise you in the least and b) it isn't necessarily a bad thing. more ›

On November 23rd, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia arrived in New York to undergo some medical tests, and he apparently ruined some tourists' Thanksgiving plans. Linda and Michael Morgan of Seattle tell the Times that they had booked four rooms in the Waldorf-Astoria hotel last summer for their Thanksgiving trip, but when they called to make a change they were told that their rooms had been given away to the King and his entourage. The Waldorf did help them find other accomodations and gave them a free night at the Hilton New York, but as Linda Morgan puts it, "come on, there were people in the elevators at the Hilton carrying pizza boxes." How déclassé. more ›

There's a pretty interesting article in the Times Dining section today about the increasing number of restaurants that don't take reservations, and why they insist on wasting your precious time. Did you know it costs a lot of money to take reservations? Besides having to pay someone to answer the phone and act peppy, most restaurants feel compelled to use OpenTable.com, which lets diners to make reservations 24/7 online. And that service isn't free. more ›

You know the drill: The Winter Restaurant Week (which actually lasts two weeks) was supposed to end Friday. But just like last year, it's been extended, giving you another shot at a three-course lunch for $24.07 or dinner for $35 at some of the city's best restaurants. The extension (supposedly) lasts through Feb. 28 at more than 190 restaurants. To guide your decision-making process, Eater has a handy roundup of some blogger reviews from Restaurant Week, when some establishments have been known to phone it in with lackluster menus and shoddy service. (We've had good experiences at Anthos, Indochine, and Crema in recent years.) more ›

Though it's not "officially" kicking off until tomorrow, this morning NYC & Company's Twitter followers got an early heads up on which restaurants are participating in NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2010. The two-week event will run from January 25th to February 7th, with participating eateries offering three-course prix-fixe lunches for $24.07 and three-course prix-fixe dinners for $35 (excluding beverages, tax and gratuity). If you want to get a jump on reservations, now's the time—some of the more expensive and trendy restaurants get booked fast, and there are some appetizing newcomers this year, such as The Breslin and A Voce Columbus. more ›

The gorgeous and funky Macao Trading Co. in Tribeca is throwing a "decadent" party with no cover. The fun-sounding shebang is intended to evoke the red light district of 1930s Macao, created by set designer Adam Aleksander (check it out). Starting at 11 p.m., there will be DJs on both floors, a burlesque performance and a midnight Fernet Branca toast. Before all that, they'll be serving their regular Chinese vs. Portuguese menu; details here. more ›

In what could be the toughest reservation to book since Momofuku Ko opened, the Statue of Liberty crown, which will be reopened on July 4th for the first time since the 9/11 attacks, will begin accepting reservations starting this Saturday at 10 a.m. Tickets will cost an additional $3 and will be combined with reserved ferry tickets, which are currently $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children. You can make reservations for up to a year in advance, but competition is going to be intense because the National Park Service is limiting the number of visitors to the crown to ten at a time, with about three groups ascending the crown per hour. more ›

The best place to dine on amateur night is obviously in the comfort of your own home, with the doors locked, windows sealed, a six pack of Drank by your side, and BetaMaXmas flickering on ye olde laptop. But you'll inevitably get dragged out by someone who can't resist the Gregorian calendar's charms, and you'll have to eat something to pad your stomach. Assuming that someone is "someone special," here are a number of dining options to make the best of it (and we also stand by last year's index). Time to start making reservations!
• Gothamist favorite Knife + Fork, that romantic little nook in the East Village, is doing a five course tasting menu with wine pairing. Chef Damien Brassel's menu that night will begin with Pacific Coast oysters with sweet and sour fennel, tarragon oil and peppercorn apple salad with wasabi fish roe. $85 later it culminates with warm chocolate, fondant five spice creme brulee and dried lemon panna cotta.
• L'Absinthe Brasserie: Don a blue blazer and khakis and go old school at this dramatic, ornate brasserie. L'Absinthe has a sexy website but an ancient, old money clientele that makes for fun people-watching. Chef-owner Jean Michel Bergougnoux's menu skews classic French with a bit of an edge, and it's not cheap. But judging by the NYE menu [PDF], you'll be getting your money's worth with his $84 three course prix-fixe. It's got a wide range of haute options, from his signature Dover Sole Meuniere, to a light poached Halibut, to the hearty Venison and Foie Gras Pie. Also, eight different varieties of absinthe.
• Or if you're in the neighborhood and want to go in the complete opposite direction, Slice organic pizza is offering a 5% discount on all take-out and delivery on December 31st.

It's that time of year again, to sneak into those off-limits nooks of New York! Today Open House New York, a favorite annual event, has opened up advance reservations for some of this year's tours (though some are on a first come, first serve basis). Hopefully you didn't have your hopes up to see McCarren Park Pool, as that one's been mysteriously cancelled. For the rest, they instruct that "advance reservations for participation will be listed online and in the printed event guide. Please follow the RSVP email or phone instructions found within the site or program listing." You can also purchase a passport for the weekend (which will get you into non-reservation events), and tickets for the Launch Party, being held in the raw space of the Penthouse at One York in Tribeca, on October 3rd. View Saturday's tours here, and Sunday's here. Something to note: today's NY Times has a OHNY Weekend Event Guide. more ›

Here we go again with another Restaurant Week, which actually occurs over two weeks (minus weekends): July 21st through the 25th and July 28th through August 1st. Over 200 restaurants around Manhattan – many of them fancy places like Bar Boulud and Anthos – will be offering prix-fixe lunch specials for $24.07 and prix-fixe dinners for $35.00. more ›

Heads up: David Chang's latest creation, Momofuku Ko, will be open for online reservations at 10:00 a.m. today, so cancel your meetings, bookmark the URL and prepare to crash the site's server. Will the dainty new baby live up to the breathless hype that swirls around Chang's burgeoning empire? Only the quick-clicking lucky few will find out anytime soon. more ›