• Paul Boettcher, the owner behind Busby’s and Ye Olde King’s Head, is frustrated that banks aren’t lending them money to expand their businesses and create jobs, unlike in those heart-warming ads featuring the owners of Pink’s. [LAT]
• Pete Wells has been named as Sam Sifton’s replacement as food critic for The New York Times. [Grub Street]
• Harvard and Stone bartender Lindsay Nader wonders why the West Coast gets no love for the evolution of cocktail culture. [LAist]
• Carl’s Jr. is giving away free breakfast sausage biscuits this morning over breakfast hours. [LAT]
• An Occupy L.A. demonstrator (or at least someone living among them) is being tried for attempting to set a food vendor on fire. [Mercury News]
• If America’s youth are fat and have gnat-like attention spans, it probably starts with Congress counting pizza as a vegetable. [Salt/NPR]
• Living Social is getting into the food-delivery arena, debuting Living Social Instant in D.C. The company also rolled out Living Social Room Service, with fancier touches from nicer restaurants. [TechCrunch]
• Bon App’s resident kvetcher turns his griping to getting rushed at restaurants. When you’re out, he’ll be the guy screaming, “No, I’m not ready for you to clear my plate!” [BA Daily/Bon Appetit]
• If you’re wondering why every new restaurant these days seems to label itself “farm-to-table,” it’s probably because people will pay more for this kind of food (though doesn’t it also cost the restaurant more?). [NRN]
• Adventurous eating crew The Gastronauts are looking to expand to other cities, with designs on their lamb eyeball and beaver tail supply. [Reuters]
