Grub Street

Pros: Comes with a preloaded $400 to use at Starbucks, plus "automatic" My Starbucks Rewardsâ„¢ gold-level status and all the associated perks; can probably be sharpened on one side to use as a convenient and portable steak knife. Cons: Only 1,000 for sale; have to always remember to take it out of your pocket at the airport, where you will definitely be arrested for carrying a Starbucks card that's been turned into a steak knife. [Starbucks]

Former Time Out critic Jay Cheshes profiles Claus Meyer, who co-founded Noma with René Redzepi, for the December Holiday issue of WSJ. Magazine. The chef, who had a thriving career as a celebrity chef and cookbook-writer long before spearheading what would go onto become one of the world's most acclaimed restaurants, talks about growing up during "one of the darkest periods of Danish food history," in which tinned meats and frozen greens were a staple on dinner tables throughout the land. Meyer's role in creating "new Nordic" cuisine is always fascinating, but predictably, it's the parts about the friction with Redzepi here that are most interesting.

Hey, did everyone have a good Thanksgiving? I ate two full dinners and forgot the names of every single cheftestant on Top Chef New Orleans. It was glorious. Surely, after the week off, they’ll ease us back into ... oh, wait, no they won’t, because immediately it’s time for Restaurant Wars! Rosie the Riveter, Salooshian Lady, and the guy with the face seem excited about it. Let’s heat up some leftovers and dive in.

The well-loved Popover Café has lost its lease and will close at the beginning of next month, West Side Rag reports. The neighborhood brunch institution, which actually serves hot popovers with jam and butter, has been in business for 32 years. [West Side Rag]

In court this afternoon, as part of the trial of two former personal assistants to Nigella Lawson and her ex-husband Charles Saatchi, who allegedly made an estimated $1 million worth of unauthorized purchases, Lawson admitted to doing cocaine during two periods of her life: First, with her first husband (who died in 2001), after he had received a diagnosis of terminal cancer, and also in 2010, when she was going through a difficult time with Saatchi, CNN reports. "I've never been a drug addict, I've never been a habitual user," the celebrity chef and cookbook writer testified. "I did not have a drug problem, I had a life problem."

No longer do you have to squeeze into 28-seat Battersby to enjoy Joseph Ogrodnek and Walker Stern's food: Their new, 2,800-square-foot Carroll Gardens restaurant is about twice the size. It even has a 600-square-foot courtyard to rival Battersby's lovely outdoor space. You can choose between an à la carte menu or a seven-course tasting for $95 — and while the menus will change often, they currently include winter squash with oyster mushrooms, seared foie gras with huckleberries, and soba noodles with a generous serving of Maine sea urchin. Take a look at the food, the menus, and the space, straight ahead.

Welcome to December, the month of eggnog-fueled holiday parties and nutmeg-flavored hang-overs. If only there were something you could make for all the holiday parties you'll be going to (or hosting) that is better than eggnog, dead simple to make, and a guaranteed ticket to social-gathering micro fame. It turns out, there is. It's time to make a batch of homemade Irish cream.