There's no word on what the space will next be.Photo: Shanna Ravindra The 14 27-year-old Murray Hill restaurant and, like, totally fab celebrity scene Asia de Cuba will close at the end of October, a spokesperson for the Morgans Hotel Group tells Crain's. It was reported in May that the hotel group had bought out all ownership from operator China Grill Management. Neither Morgans Hotel nor China... more.

Munchkins for everyone! Last week we told you that Goldman Sachs was advising its clients not to buy stock in chain restaurants. So this week seems like the perfect time for Dunkin' Brands, which owns the doughnut-and-coffee-and-terrible-bagels megachain, as well as Baskin Robbins, to go public with a $400 million IPO. Oh, did we write $400 million? Well, Bloomberg says the company is looking to... more.

Signs have been up for months announcing the coming of Beecher's New York to 900 Broadway in the Flatiron, and now Grub Street learns the cheese factory, retail store, café, and bar will open June 24. The shop has already been a player in the Seattle cheese scene since 2003, and founder Kurt Beecher Dammeier tells us the 8,000-square-foot space will be half devoted to cheese-making, and half... more.

CB3 is no fan of U2. U2 Karaoke, housed in the former Kim's Video space on St. Marks Place, stopped operating about a year ago. The joint is now under renovation and is expected to resurrect in mid-September as a fusion restaurant, private theater, and Korean Karaoke bar — with eight karaoke rooms situated on each of two floors (third and fourth) at the same heavily trafficked East Village ... more.

It's 4 p.m., and that means it's time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze in a couple for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don't guarantee the results.) Today: Meat specialists. Blue Smoke (Menu) 212-447-7733 Two for eight? No Best available: 9:15 p.m. BLT Steak (Menu) 212-752-7470 Two for eight? ... more.

Bourgeois Pig: Coming soon to Carroll Gardens.Photo: Melissa Hom An insider tells us that a deal has been inked for a second location of East Village fondue bar Bourgeois Pig, which will open in Carroll Gardens in about three months. Partners Ravi DeRossi, Luis Gonzalez (executive chef of Cienfuegos and Death & Co.) and Frank Cisneros of Dram are behind the project, which will have a brief, daily... more.

Ditch Plains UWS.Photo: Melissa Hom As mentioned earlier today, Five Guys is opening a location at Broadway and 110th Street on the Upper West Side — and that's not the only popular restaurant expanding to the hood. Yesterday DNA Info reported that UES Mex spot Cascabel will open a second outpost at Broadway and 108th in April or May, which will follow the recent UWS openings of Ditch Plain... more.

Photo: RJ Mickelson/Veras Not only does the Times love Michael Psilakis's new MP Taverna in Roslyn, but Newsday just awarded the Greek "gastropub" three-and-a-half out of four stars. Reviewer Joan Remnick gushes over dumplings that are a "pouf of ricotta and air," and meatballs that inspire an "OMG moment." She concludes: "Welcome back Psilakis." Sounds like fans of the chef's cooking might consi... more.

Zagat reports that the last official day at Mara's Homemade will be May 14. Mara also confirms the rumors that she's headed to Syosset, Long Island. She says she'll open a restaurant at 236 West Jericho Turnpike, while still looking for a new location in New York City. ... more.

RUB's new sign: so Vegas!Photo: Everett Bogue RUB, fresh off its coronation as the best place for barbecue, apparently cannot be confined by the bounds of our city. We hear from sources inside the restaurant that an immense 9,000-square-foot outpost is in the works at the Rio in Las Vegas, with a planned summer opening. It will look completely different from the cramped New York original, with an ... more.

Now in moving-picture form. New York has teamed up with NYC Media to produce short video companions for many of the picks in the annual Best of New York issue. A new clip airs every Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on NYC life, and you can find all of the previously aired clips here on Wednesday mornings — this week yours truly heads to the very lovely Soutine bakery to check out New York’s pi... more.

The latest celebrity who might release a cookbook is Beyoncé, as an unnamed source told the Daily Mirror. Allegedly, Bey would put her mom's soul-food recipes in the book; evidently a past admission that she's "not the greatest cook" isn't stopping the singer. Why not? Must be because she has that irrepressible force, her "good friend" and recently minted foodster Gwyneth Paltrow, encouragin... more.

The burger at Corner Bistro.Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev Practically hallowed 50-year-old West Village hamburger bar Corner Bistro will open in Hunters Point, Queens, most likely before the end of the year. (Feel free to take a look at the vitals on the very-famous burger in our Burger Register.) Blogger Why Leave Astoria noticed that Liqcity's rundown for next week's Community Board 2 meeting lis... more.

Photo: Stumptown Coffee Just in time for summer, Stumptown has introduced its cold-brewed house blend in 10.5-ounce “stubby” bottles — perhaps the best thing to happen to bottled coffee since Manhattan Special. According to Ristretto, the stubbies will be available here by July 1. In the meantime, New York Press reports that Stumptown growlers are being sold at Nolita Mart. Yes,... more.

Last time we checked in with Ben Sargent, a.k.a. “Dr. Claw,” his underground lobster lair in Greenpoint was being shut down by the Health Department. So did he go further underground? Actually, he tells us, it wasn’t an option: “I made the mistake of letting it be known who I was, so it was really hard at that point.” Getting into the legitimate restaurant business di... more.

Photo: Brooklyn Paper Several months after Ben Sargent was introduced to the world and then assumed the Ali G–esque identity of Dr. Claw, a.k.a. the Lobster Pusher Man, after his hidden lobster lair received a visit from the Fire Department, the Health Department is now turning up the heat on him. According to the Brooklyn Paper, the DOH has affixed a notice to his Greenpoint pad demanding ... more.

Andrew Carmellini.Photo: Melissa Hom Well, this is interesting: Excerpts for two upcoming cookbooks have hit Scribd. Andrew Carmellini's American Flavor and Mario Batali's Molto Batali will be out in the fall (looks like October 18 and 25, respectively), but the publisher of both books, Ecco, has posted some mini-previews. We're a little confused as to how they got put up with zero fanfare, but w... more.

The guy in the hat is the one getting the book deal.Photo: Courtesy Liza de Guia / Food Curated Beyoncé mulling a cookbook isn't today's only literary news. Fisherman, newly minted Cooking Channel host and former illegal food service establishment operator Ben Sargent has landed a book deal. Here’s the blurb from Publisher's Marketplace. Host of Cooking Channel's Hook, Line & Dinner... more.

If you just don't want to drink a fruity coffee anymore now that you're accustomed to manly cold-brew growlers, La Colombe's latest rollout, Pure Black, promises to be the veritable beef jerky of brews, both "smoky" and "meaty." Over on the Feast, owner Todd Carmichael describes the obsessive process he went through to reach the final "masculine" flavor of the coffee: "We used the cuisine and liqu... more.

Photo: Hannah Whitaker A rep for the Oak Room tells us that, just days ago, the restaurant parted ways with Joël Antunes, the Atlanta star chef who was brought on to restore the refurbished dining room to its former glory. “The chef and the ownership had differences about direction,” says the rep, who believes the higher-ups wanted more traditionally American food and Antunes was... more.