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Diner's Journal caught up with Eben Freeman, the man who will be heading up Michael White's forthcoming Butterfly, and got him to reveal a few more plans for the Tribeca cocktail bar. First up, he eventually wants to offer all of the drinks he's ever made anywhere. That includes plans to serve the Waylon — the bourbon and smoked-Coke drink he made famous at Tailor — on draft. He's also collaborating with Wisconsin's Lakefront Brewery on a "Fernet Stout." He tells DJ, "I thought of making an amaro stout, a licorice stout ... Then I thought, Fernet being such a huge thing among mixologists, it would be stupid to call it amaro stout. I should just call it Fernet stout.” And Badget State transplants will be happy to know that Freeman is planning some version of the Brandy Old Fashioned that should fit in nicely with the place's Wisconsin "supper club feel." [Diner's Journa/NYT, Earlier]

Two interesting bits of information point to the possibility that Scott Conant is taking over the former XL club space at 357 West 16th Street, next door to the Dream Downtown. The first bit is an industry source familiar with the area, who tells us that, yes, he hears Scott Conant is taking over the space. The second bit is this recently filed liquor-license app, which lists LDV Hospitality as the principal on the location. Interesting, since LDV is the company behind Conant's Scarpetta locations and the more casual D.O.C.G. in Las Vegas.

Today the James Beard Foundation announced its nominees for the 2012 awards ceremonies — media awards will be handed out on May 4, chef and restaurant awards on May 7. Check out the full list of finalists below. Congrats to everyone, especially New York Magazine's Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld, who were nominated for best food coverage in a general-interest publication; and Grub Chicago's own Michael Gebert, who picked up his own fourth nom in three years for this Sky Full of Bacon video. Good luck to everyone!

2012 James Beard Foundation Nominees [PDF]

Dairy-forward places (i.e., 10 million pizzerias) continue to proliferate in the East Village, while the historically crunchy hood loses more and more of its longtime veggie eateries (RIP Curly's Vegetarian Lunch and Quantum Leap). The latest endangered meat-free spot is Kate's Joint, which is at risk of eviction in April, as EV Grieve reports. But the tofu-scramble specialist is not rolling over: A campaign is afoot to drum up enough dough to save the place. Perhaps they could start a Kickstarter, like everybody else these days? [EV Grieve]

Some new details today about the Brewster, that massive and ambitious-sounding Gilded Age–themed project that's marching into 177 Mott Street from developer Ross Morgan, industry vet Frank Roberts, and former Le Cirque chef Craig Hopson. Morgan tells the Post that the team is busy building a complex of food-related features inside the space, including a bi-level, 5,000-square-foot restaurant evocative of mid-nineteenth-century New York culture, with a menu matching the British, German, French, West Indian, and African influences of the neighborhood. Intriguing.