About 10 years ago, at the after-party for a wine auction in New Orleans, a woman in her 20s walked up to Mario Batali to introduce herself. As a chef, she was excited to meet one of the most revered figures in the restaurant industry. When they started talking, she recalls, she realized that he’d been drinking and he became what she characterized as “creepy” — “just giving me this provocative, icky feeling.”

Minutes into their conversation, she recalls, he told her, “Come work for me, I’ll pay you double what you’re making.” Moments later, someone bumped her glass, spilling wine all over her chest and down her scooped-neck shirt. She alleges that Batali began rubbing her breasts with his bare hands while saying something like, “Let me help you with that,” as he groped her chest. “He just went to town, and I was so shocked,” the chef says. “Jaw on the ground, I just stepped back from him in utter disgust and walked away.”

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One day, sitting in the shed I live in, I had a revelation: within the current climate of misinformation, and society’s willingness to believe it, maybe a fake restaurant is possible? Maybe it’s exactly the kind of place that could be a hit?

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If just-announced changes to Department of Labor regulations go past the proposal stage, employers will be able to pool tips earned by servers, allowing them to share the tips with untipped employees like cooks, dishwashers, and others in the back of house — if they share them at all.

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Alessandro Borgognone’s Sushi Nakazawa — the only Japanese restaurant to hold four stars by the New York Times, and perennially one of the toughest reservations in town — has become the latest culinary establishment to be hit with a wage lawsuit accusing it of shortchanging employees on pay.

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East Village: Acclaimed San Francisco chef Sujan Sarkar is behind Baar Baar, a modern Indian restaurant in the old LApicio space. Dishes include kashmiri duck and apricot kulcha, tandoori mushroom with polenta upma and truffles, and lamb keema hyderabadi. The full menu is below. 13 East 1st Street between Second Avenue and Bowery

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After a week of reader’s choice voting, it’s finally time to announce the New York City winners of the 2017 Eater Awards — the eighth annual time Eater’s celebrating the top talent from 24 cities around the world. These are the restaurants and chefs that have driven the conversation and impressed the hoards in dining this year. Thanks to all who voted (except, ahem, the bots). Below, find out more about the editor’s choice winners, which will receive Eater’s illustrious tomato can trophies via FedEx. And stay tuned for features on all the winners.

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The NYC spinoff of Nashville country music icon Grand Ole Opry opens tonight with a whopping four levels for a restaurant and live music venue — an effort to be a country music hub in the city.

Opry City Stage, located near Times Square at 1604 Broadway, is a collaboration between SPK Hospitality and Ryman Hospitality Properties, the company that owns the historic Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee. Gadi Peleg, a co-owner of Breads Bakery, is also a partner here. It’s kind of like a Hard Rock Cafe, except it’s only for country music, it’s not a chain (yet), and it will host live music non-stop during meals.

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Welcome to the fourth day of the Eater Awards — the eighth annual year that Eater cities around the world honor the most talented restaurants and chefs of the year. Today’s category: the All-Day Restaurant of the Year.

All-day dining has been a huge trend in 2017, and New York’s been at the forefront of it. As with the awards earlier this week, this category will have both an editor’s choice winner and a reader’s choice winner. Both will be announced on December 5th. Below, vote in the All-Day Restaurant of the Year category.

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