HOW much weight does a New York Times restaurant review carry these days?Apparently not much. Less than a week after Times critic William Grimes slammed Marika with a zero-star review, Times publisher Arthur “Pinch” Sulzberger Jr., and his guests were spotted polishing off the “flat” fare at the Upper West Side eatery.

* Before Steve Hanson boarded a flight to Italy with his new chef, Michael White, he filled us in on his new Italian eatery in SoHo. Hanson told us his new 130-seat restaurant will be called Fiamma – Italian for Flame – and is scheduled to open at 206 Spring St. in June.

White had previously honed his talents in Italy before landing at Rich Melman-owned Spiaggia in Chicago.

As far as his proposed sushi jazz club in the Meatpacking District – that’s been put on hold indefinitely. And that’s good news for the patrons of the Hellfire club and the Manhole, which presently share the space.