• The team behind Coffee Shop in Union Square is taking over the iconic Empire Diner in Chelsea. A name change and revamped menu will follow. [CN]
• Team Momofuku is now serving lunch at their new Midtown location. [ML]
• A chat with Danny Abrams, who just opened his new Mermaid outpost. [VV]
• Michael Psilakis is planning a pop-up food cart in the meatpacking district. The food will be free and it's all part of a promo campaign by Ketel One. [TONY]
• Troubling news for those who love rating raw oysters year-round. [NYT]
• Gwyneth Paltrow's famous friends list their most memorable means. [GOOP]
• A roundup of food-related events taking place this weekend. [SE]

• David Burke's Townhouse closes tomorrow for renovations. Cafe Boulud will shuts its doors for a revamp beginning in a couple of weeks. [Eater, TFB]
• Mermaid Inn owner Danny Abrams says he'll open the Mermaid Oyster Bar in the former Smith's space on MacDougal Street next month. [GS]
• Michael Huynh, the man behind Bar Bao and Baoguette, says his Bia Garden, the "city's first Vietnamese beer garden," will open next week. [GS, Thrillist]
• Gabriel Stulman's Joseph Leonard opens next week, too. (Photos here.) When it does, it will be the first restaurant in the city to offer boxed water. [VV]
• A roundup of other restaurants opening this week and next. [TONY, NYM]
• Did Publisher's Weekly jump the gun by posting a pic of Frank Bruni? [TFB]
• If you get an invite to dine at the White House and you're a captain of industry, be advised that you'll be expected to pay for your meal. [NYDN]

• Governor David Paterson's nightspot of choice? That would be the Taj Lounge on West 21st Street, at least if last night was any indication. [Gawker, NYO]
• A look around Agua Dulce, which opened for dinner this week. [GS]
• The Max Brenner outpost in the East Village has closed. [Gothamist]
• Matthew Schaefer, the chef at Danny Abrams' Mermaid Inn, is out. [GS]
• A symptom o' the times: Ads are appearing on bills these days. [Eater]
• One more: private dining rooms are now an "endangered species." [Crain's]
• Organic food isn't any healthier for you than non-organic food, according to a new study. So you may want to think twice about paying $11 a tomato. [NYDN]
• The House approved a set of new food safety laws today. [NYT]

• Silvano Marchetto is opening Scuderia across the street from Da Silvano on Sixth Avenue off Downing St. on March 9. It's a trattoria, naturally. [GS]
• Doug Psaltis is Danny Abrams' new partner at Smith's on Macdougal. [Eater]
• Starbucks' latest effort to to reinvent itself as an affordable brand? The chain's new value meal (or "breakfast pairings"), which run $3.95. [NYT]
• The News gives Josh DeChellis' La Fonda del Sol four stars this week. [NYDN]
• Bamn, the Automat-themed spot on St. Mark's, appears to have closed. [GS]
• Tribeca's Dennis Foy has closed, too. [Zagat]
• The yellow waffle truck known as Wafels & Dinges is on its last legs. [Eater]
• Bar Veloce, which became Bar Tonno and then turned into Room4Dessert, before reopening as Bar Veloce, is now named Veloce Club. Got that? [GS]