Grub Street

Time was, Taco Bell introduced a new product and the world went crazy. Then Taco Bell would go on to sell hundreds of millions of units. But this week, some other chains have stolen the Bell's social-media thunder (such as Domino's and its questionable new chicken hunk "pizza" and the return of the KFC Double Down). How could this happen? And what's Taco Bell going to do about it? Here now is a look at what is most likely happening inside the chain's Irvine, California, headquarters right this second.

Last week, chef Katy Sparks told Grub that she wanted to serve "accessible food — the kind you want to eat regularly" at the reboot of Tavern on the Green, which opens to the public on April 24. The menu relies heavily on high-quality ingredients sourced from local purveyors, like La Quercia speck and Finnish Ruis bread. Take a look at a few of the dishes, straight ahead.

Danny Bowien's world has recently seeming been all about Mission Cantina — double-decker tacos and all — but now some great news has arrived that the chef's shuttered Mission Chinese Food will return from 5-11 p.m. tonight, for one night only at Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli's Frankies 457. The menu includes the restaurant's salt-cod fried rice, kung pao pastrami, and mapo tofu, and more, such as Benton's bacon-and-rice cakes. It's most likely going to be a mob scene, but those missing the old Mission Chinese should give it a try: In other news, Bowien has now confirmed his former LES restaurant, which closed at 154 Orchard Street last fall after nearby construction sent mice teeming into the restaurant's basement, will not reopen in the same address. [James Daniel Bowien/Twitter, Related]

The best breaking food news in the last few weeks is that butter is back, and better for you than ever (or something — we're not totally convinced it's health food, only that it's delicious). It's great timing: There are plenty of New York restaurants making saturated fat worth your while, offering next-level butter made with bonito flakes, roe, lavender, seaweed, and, of course, uni. To celebrate butter's big comeback, Grub rounded up 13 rich, excellent butters around town.

A Basque-inspired restaurant in the East Village has brought together a talented team of young up-and-comers: executive chef Jonah Miller, who just spent three years cooking at Maialino; Nate Adler, former Blue Smoke beverage director, and Luke Momo, mostly recently of Sirio Ristorante. By offering two distinctly different dining experiences within one restaurant (and no à la carte menu), these three aren't afraid to take chances.