From Metromix: "File this one under 'Keeping It in the Family': Owners Frederick and Lynn Hill recently bought the former Giorgione 508 space from George DeLuca and … renamed it simply 508, installing their daughter Jennifer as co-executive chef alongside her husband, Anderson Sant'anna di Lima. Together, the duo will churn out Mediterranean-inspired dishes..."
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From NYTimes: "After an 18-month slog through a labyrinth of construction and permit problems, which helped cause the chef Scott Bryan to back out, there's a light at … the end of the tunnel. Jason Neroni will be the executive chef and Katy Sparks the consultant on a Mediterranean-American menu with what the Greenmarket has to offer: scallops with summer vegetable pistou, baked sheep cheese with mint and peppers. The airy, tailored cafe has an impressive display of graphic works by Alex Katz and others. Outdoor seating is coming, as is a wine room in an adjacent space, a former dry cleaner."
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From Metromix: "Amid a glut of tapas dens and sushi joints, first-time restaurateurs and longtime New Yorkers Ben Alter and his sister Christine bring their West … Indian heritage to the far East Village. Arcane's menu, Alter says, will combine both French and Caribbean styles." [link]

From the NYTimes: "Hisanobu Osaka, who was the sous-chef at Morimoto, will serve a French-Japanese fusion menu, with dishes like rouget confit with shiso mousse, in the … former Dani space."
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From TONY: "Ed Witt didn't fare too well at the now-shuttered Varietal, the wine-focused eatery he helmed for four months in early 2007. Curious then that he's handling the wine list, along with the menu of American comfort food, in the former Aix space." [link]

From the NYTimes: "David Bouley's new flagship for his refined French fare is the grandest yet, but maintains a vaulted ceiling, here glossed in gold. Workmen and … materials...have been brought from France to create a downtown chateau...The former Bouley, on the corner of Duane Street and West Broadway, will become a market, and Upstairs at Bouley Bakery will spill down into what is now the market and bakery, doubling its seating."
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From TONY: "It hasn't been a great year for high-end Middle Eastern eateries (see the short-lived Savarona), but this onetime Soho staple hopes to buck the trend. … Casa la Femme reopens in the West Village, with 200 seats aching to be filled, this September."
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This one didn't make it into any of the previews but we think it's worth watching. Waverly Inn's John DeLucie will consult on the "French-Med" menu, and tipsters on … the inside tell us the place is going to be a stunner. No confirmed opening date but we've heard it could be as soon as a couple weeks.
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From NYMag: "Corton, like Montrachet, refers to a Cote de Beaune grand cru, and its wine list retains its predecessor's Burgundian focus. The food will still be modern … French, too, as interpreted by Paul Liebrandt, a chef who garnered a cult following (and a sometimes culinarily controversial rep) at Atlas and Gilt. His $76 three-course prix fixe offers dishes like crispy amadai with garlic, Serrano ham, and young coconut juice, and desserts by Robert Truitt, late of Room 4 Dessert and El Bulli."
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From the NYTimes: "The team from Public, AvroKO and the chef Brad Farmerie, has gone beyond the land of Oz to evoke Asia in the days of the Raj, with cocktails that look to England, India and the Far East for inspiration."
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From TONY: "Part piano bar, part concert venue (G. Love takes the stage this fall), this nightlife newcomer serves $12 cocktails via an arsenal of servers decked out in … 20s-style garb. Beats another night at Le Souk." [link]

From NYMag: "Culinary Greek god Michael Psilakis's taverna gets bigger, but can it get any better? Find out when it moves farther uptown to a space with three times as many seats and a new reservations-and-credit-cards-friendly policy."
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From NYMag: "A post Tasting Room Colin Alevras embarks on a busy fall season with two new projects, both with Tillman's Lesly Bernard. La Otra is family-style Cuban..."
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From Metromix: "Nightlife honcho Lesly Bernard (now closed Opaline) is clocking in some major overtime this fall: He's opening five spots...Mr. Jones, a retro-inspired Japanese joint specializing in yakitori. This time, he's tapped Jean-Georges and Gray Kunz vet Bryan Emperor, who'll be grilling his meats on a special grill using imported … Japanese charcoal."
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Todd English's newest project, a clubby two floor venue with leather couches galore, is set to open this Monday.
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From the NYTimes: "Tyler Kord, who worked at Perry St., will venture beyond seasonal American fare to add touches of Eastern Europe and Korea to his menu in this elegantly windowed setting with an Art Deco-style bar and an inviting garden."
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From NYMag: " At the Plaza but under separate management, the landmarked bar and restaurant tries to recapture some of its former allure by installing Atlanta star … chef Joel Antunes, and enlisting architect Annabelle Selldorf to breathe new life into the storied premises."
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From NYMag: "Sara Jenkins (of 50 Carmine fame) dispenses the porchetta variety from a tiny East Village takeout shop, beans and greens on the side. A bit like Lidia … Bastianich whisking up zabaglione to order from a converted mail truck." [link]

From the NYTimes: "David Bouley kept Danube's Klimtish wall paintings and Wiener schnitzel but stripped out its plush carpeting and draperies to create this less formal brasserie-style place. Cesare Casella is helping with the French-Italian menu."
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From TONY: "Though the past year has seen an influx of serious UWS eateries, it was chef Tom Valenti who spearheaded the trend when he opened Ouest in 2001. Now he … reprises his Euro-American approach to dinner just a few blocks downtown."
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