This week Sam Sifton at the Times upgrades Strip House, the swank Greenwich Village steak house, to two stars. (The paper last reviewed it in 2000.) "William Grimes, in a review for Times that year, wrote that Strip House 'wasn’t so much a steakhouse as a catalog of hip references to the idea of a steakhouse.' He awarded the restaurant one star. Now it deserves two," Sifton declares. "Age has given David Rockwell’s design for the room a kind of gravitas, and with it the restaurant has gained some of the clubby appeal you used to be able to find at places like Gino, on Lexington Avenue, which has a similar layout, or in the bar room at 21. (As at 21, there is great fun to be had in snooping about the place. In addition to portraits of Viennese strippers, torch singers and ancient celebrities on the walls, there is a signed portrait of Thurgood Marshall near the bar.)... And the food is generally marvelous, the steak often superb." more ›

Arthur Emil, the man behind the late Windows on the World and The Rainbow Room, has won the coveted contract to operate the famous Oak Room and Oak Bar (pictured) in the Plaza Hotel, which is near the end of a three-year, $400 million makeover. The 18 story landmark building opened in 1907 and operated as a hotel until 2005, after being sold for $675 million. After delays blamed on “red tape”, the Plaza is expected to open by the end of March as an upscale condominium with retail space and a smaller hotel. more ›

Celebrate the extension of the vendors' permit through the end of their season in October and add on extra festivities for Mexican and Central American Independence Day. Caesar Fuentes, the organizing force behind the vendors, promises that "the food vendors committee will host a livelier than usual weekend event - more soccer games, pinatas, music, and a 2 day art exhibit featuring photographs taken by the food vendors." Sounds good to us. more ›

September 25-29: Latin Beer Tasting more ›

To celebrate its 2nd anniversary, The Biltmore Room will serve a complimentary glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne to each dinner guest through Sunday, September 18th. Starting September 18th, the restaurant will offer all bottles of wine at half-price every Sunday, until Thanksgiving. Ah, we love anniversaries. The Biltmore Room, 290 Eighth Ave. (bet. 24th & 25th Sts.); 212-807-0111. more ›

Omnium Gatherum, the new play at the Variety Arts Theater in the East Village, gets a write-up in the Times. However, in the food section, because the play centers around a lavish meal. And in a brilliant marriage between art and edible art, the play's publicist and its designer David Rockwell struck upon the idea of nearby chefs supplying the food - Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill will finish up his rotation, and Bobby Flay is next up, then David Walzog of Strip House. The lines in the play that concern food change with the new menus, and the chefs keep the actors food issues in mind, since it's 90 minutes of Method eating. more ›

Hurricaine Isabel forced the Harvest in the Square Event to be rescheduled tonight. In its eighth year, Harvest in the Square brings Union Square area chefs to offer tastings of food prepared from Union Square Greenmarket Farmers Market, accompanied by Long Island and other New York Wines. Tickets are $90 in person (cash only), $75 in advance, and will benefit the Union Square Local Development Corporation, which is currently looking to enhance the North Plaza of Union Square Park. more ›