I had figured that the first week of January would be a great time to go away, because nothing would happen—wrong! Some of this will be old news to you, but old news is better than no news, right? Isn’t that what they say?

Because there’s too much for one item, here’s one chunk devoted to restaurants.

••• Well, I’m annoyed to have missed this: “Black Board Eats, a newsletter launched by former Yahoo! Food editor Maggie Nemser, is seemingly putting the quality of the discounts over the quantity. Today’s [i.e., no longer valid] inaugural deal gets you a whopping 30 percent off of dinner at the Harrison (sign up and you get a code that you can use at the restaurant within a month), and we hear that the next offer to hit in-boxes will be for 30 percent off of lunch at Il Buco.” P.S. I keep reading the site’s name as Black Broad Eats. (Grub Street)

••• I wrote about RBC NYC back in July (see photo), because there was a poster in the window (on Worth, just east of Church). And then, nothing—so I figured someone was playing a joke (after all, the poster said RBC stood for Really Bad Coffee), or the poster was there for a movie, or something. Well, guess what? “RBC NYC, opening next week in Tribeca, has purchased the city’s first $18,000 Slayer espresso machine, crafted in Seattle by the sort of obsessives who rail against the industry’s increasing automation, and described online by one of its creators as ‘a notoriously, horribly, beautifully manual machine.’ The Slayer’s selling point is its barista-controlled pressure variability, intended to highlight the flavor nuances of individual roasts—a function RBC owner Jodi Richard will exploit by showcasing a rotating roster, starting with San Antonio’s Brown Coffee Co. and Dallis Coffee in Queens. Also in the works: cuppings and classes, plus Downtown Cookie Co. treats and a light menu.” I’m into good coffee, but I have to say I hope as much thought goes into the cookies as it does the Slayer. I <3 cookies! (Grub Street)

••• Similarly, I recently wrote how something called Barzinho was opening in the J. Marc space on West Broadway, only to vaguely recall later that perhaps that sign had been there a while. Anyway, I was walking my angry little monster dog just now and I ran into Leo, the dapper man who has just opened Leo’s Bar & Restaurant Tribeca there. I told him I’d come by tomorrow or the next day, so stay tuned….

••• The restaurants participating in New York Restaurant Week (Jan. 25–Feb. 7) have been announced. The ones in Tribeca are Capsouto Frères, Centrico (had a terrific roast chicken there a couple of weeks back, fyi), City Hall, F.illi Ponte, The Harrison, Il Giglio, Industria Argentina, Matsugen, Megu, Mr. Chow, Nobu, Nobu Next Door, The Palm, Thalassa, and Tribeca Grill. Some are only doing the lunch special; some are only offering the discount on certain days; some have already posted their menus. The above link has all the details; click on “neighborhood” and Tribeca starts on page 20.

••• Locanda Verde has cast a spell on the New York Times. First, the restaurant makes the New York Times‘s list of 2009’s top new restaurants: “Andrew Carmellini, cooking like the hippest Italian grandmother you never had, in a dining room that’s drop-dead pretty, with desserts by Karen DeMasco. Reserve now.” (Yeah, for the fall.) And then critic Sam Sifton included the restaurant’s maple budino (Italian for pudding) on his list of top 10 dishes: “At Locanda Verde, [Karen DeMasco] brings deep flavor and mischievous intensity to a dessert menu that sees its heights in a dark maple budino with candied pecans and cranberry sorbetto. Make it at home and serve it to friends exactly as if you were serving overstrong cocktails or recreational drugs. Taxonomically speaking, they are all of a piece.” (Is it just me, or does Sifton tend to push his writing one sentence too far?) Finally, the Times’s wine-tasting panel included Locanda Verde’s beverage director, Joshua Nadel, for an article on brunello di Montalcino.

••• Food guru Michael Pollan ate at Bubby’s, per his New York Diet (more of a diary than a diet, btw): “I had a book event downtown at Barnes & Noble and afterward we went to Bubby’s. I had a salad and pulled barbeque pork butt. The reason I had that was I had met the owner earlier in the day and I’d learned a lot about how he sources his meat; I know he’s getting really good pork from small farms who are growing it sustainably, Snowdance Farm. Normally I don’t have meat in restaurants unless I know that kind of information. The pork was excellent. It had been very slow cooked, eighteen hours or something, over applewood. We had a Cabernet. I don’t eat like this at home.” (Grub Street)