• Rumor has it that Old Homestead Steakhouse will soon unveil a new private dining room designed by Julian Schnabel. [Feed/TONY]
• Franklin Becker, late of Sheridan Square, has signed on as chef of Abe & Arthur’s, the new restaurant slated to open in the former Lotus space. [Feedbag]
• The former owner of Niman Ranch refuses to eat the company’s products because of what he sees as a destruction of the brand. [SF Gate via Eater]
• Before a dinner for the nation’s governors last night, Michelle Obama invited top students from a Maryland culinary school to tour the White House kitchen, giving a plug for locavorism in the process. [NYT]
• The Economic Development Corporation is reviewing the way vendors get space at the Essex Street Market. [NYT]
• Payard Patisserie & Bistro has reopened after being temporarily closed by the Department of Health last week. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
• McDonald’s isn’t worried about Starbucks eating into their breakfast market share. [WSJ]
• The razing of a beloved ice-cream shop in Bellerose, Queens has exposed the neighborhood’s ethnic tensions. [NYT]
