On Barack's big night, guess where Michelle was? Dining at Aquavit in New York, which is owned by the White House's favorite hunky chef, Marcus Samuelsson. (Above) Michelle ate lobster salad while probably sending Obama dirty texts under the table.

• Didn't crash last month's state dinner? No worries. Marcus Samuelsson's Riingo will offer the same menu he served the Obamas next week. [GS, TONY]
• Closings: Pink Tea Cup in the Village will close its doors next month after 55 years in business; and nearby Gus' Place has been shuttered by the tax cops.
• The Wright, the new eatery inside the Guggenheim, opens on Friday. [Eater]
• East Side Social Club, the new Midtown spot co-owned by photographer Patrick McMullan, is the 2009 version of the Waverly Inn, apparently. [NYP]
• UWS deli Artie's has a new owner and will expand across NYC. [Crain's]
• A handful of local food-related holiday gift ideas for you consideration. [SE]

• The Breslin at the Ace Hotel has started serving dinner. [TONY]
• Marcus Samuelsson is cooking up the state dinner in DC tonight. The mostly vegetarian menu features curry, herbs from the White House garden. [AP]
• A few recommendations on where to eat out on Thanksgiving Day. [TONY]
• Murray's Cheese is expanding thanks a deal with a grocery chain. [NYT]
• There's a bit more Tavern on the Green drama today. [NYT]
• Alan Richman dragged Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert to Costco to go shopping. Ripert was horrified by the store, but pleasantly surprised with the food. [GQ]
• The tuna your local sushi spot is serving you may not be tuna. [Gothamist]

• The critics: Sam Sifton of the Times surveys the new Oceana and isn't overwhelmed, giving it two stars; the Post's Steve Cuozzo is pretty pleased with A Voce and hands it three stars out of four; Time Out's Jay Cheshes bestows three out of five stars on Travertine; and Gael Greene heads to Jeffrey Chodorow's Tanuki Tavern and is surprised to find she actually kinda likes it.
• The fanciest McDonald's in America is now open in Midtown. [AP, WPIX]
• Marcus Samuelsson will cook at White House later this month. [Eater]
• Openings/closings: Café Gitane's WV outpost has opened; cream puff spot Beard Papa has closed; and fro-yo chain Red Mango seems to be in trouble.
• In addition to his son, JGV is now employing his daughter, too. [NYT]
• David Waltuck has parted ways with Macao Trading Co. [NYT]
• Zach Braff is a restaurateur on the side, apparently. [GS]

• A round up of eateries that recently opened, or will open this week. [Eater]
• Una Pizza Napoletana has closed its doors. It will become the first Manhattan outpost of the Williamsburg pizzeria Motorino in a few weeks. [NYT]
• Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert was tasked with cooking (beef, not fish) for French president Nicolas Sarkozy during his recent visit to New York. [P6]
• How to establish yourself as a regular at the restaurant of your choice. [GS]
• Summer "food crawls" through the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. [NYDN]
• Not only is Padma Lakshmi is discussions to star in a NBC sitcom, but Mario Batali is joining the cast of Bitter Feast, a "darkly comic thriller." [Variety, GS]
• An extended interview with Aquavit's Marcus Samuelsson. [ObsesedTV]

The 2009 Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge held its inaugural match at the Bridgehampton Polo Club on Saturday. Polo heartthrob Nacho Figueras, Chace Crawford, chef Marcus Samuelsson, Kyle MacLachlan and Desiree Gruber, Star Jones and boyfriend Herb Wilson, and a handful of reality TV personalities (Jill Zarin, PC Peterson, Kourtney Kardashian) turned out for the action. Cityfile's roving correspondent Douglas Marshall took a few minutes to catch up with Beth Ostrosky, who turned 37 last week but gets a gold star for still fitting into her short shorts from high school.

• Rumor has it the end may be near for Marcus Samuelsson's Aquavit. [TFB]
• Café Noir, on the other hand, will live on. Following reports the Soho spot would be forced to close its doors this summer comes word that the owners have convinced their landlord to renew their lease for another year. [Eater]
• Danyelle Freeman of the NYDN gives four out of five stars to Andrew Carmellini's "thoughtful and imaginative" cooking at Locanda Verde. [NYDN]
• Philippe Bertineau, the executive chef at the now-shuttered Payard, speaks out about the UES pâtisserie/bistro's untimely demise. [TONY]
• Butcher Bay, the seafood spot in the East Village, has filed suit against Community Board 3 over its decision to deny it a liquor license. [Eater]

Chelsea's Lehmann Maupin Gallery played host to Glamour's "Glamour Project" last night, an art exhibit designed to celebrate the magazine's 70th anniversary. Glamour editor Cindi Leive and publisher Bill Wackermann welcomed the likes of Cynthia Rowley and Bill Powers (left), Iman, Lyor Cohen and Tory Burch, Kyle MacLachlan and Desiree Gruber, Yvonne Force Villareal, Thelma Golden, Nicole Miller, Thakoon Panichgul, Gilles Bensimon, Marcus Samuelsson, Alanna Heiss, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Evelyn Lauder, Rory Tahari, Diane Kruger, Amanda Peet, Olivia Chantecaille, Roopal Patel, Jane Lauder, Peter Som, Erin Fetherston and Hedi Ferjani, Gilles Mendel, Michael Stipe, Oscar Blandi, Lisa Airan, Charlotte Sarkozy, Alison Brod, Lela Rose, Patrick McMullan, Kai Kuhne, Waris Ahluwalia, Amy Fine Collins, and Jason Wu, who admired works by Kara Walker, Rachel Feinstein, and Marilyn Minter (among others), pieces that will be featured in the magazine's April issue. [PMc, VF, FWD, GOAG]

UNICEF's 5th annual Snowflake Gala took place on Wednesday night at Cipriani 42nd Street. Bryant Gumbel entertained the crowd of 500 and Lucy Liu was honored with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian award. Attendees included Michael Bloomberg, Jenna and Barbara Bush, Maggie Betts, Roland Betts, Lauren Bush and David Lauren (left), Marcus Samuelsson, Charlie Trotter, Charlotte Moss, Pamela Fiori, Gillian Miniter, Douglas Hannant and Frederick Anderson, Elyse Newhouse, Donny Deutsch, Alexandra Lebenthal, Jessica Joffe, Tea Leoni, Matt Lauer, Meredith Melling Burke, Cynthia Lufkin, and CNN's Sanjay Gupta. [PMc, Wireimage, Style.com, The Daily]

• Marcus Samuelsson has severed ties with the meatpacking restaurant/lounge where he promised to introduce Manhattanites to African cuisine, Merkato 55. [Eater]

A celebrity chef, restaurateur, and philanthropist, Samuelsson is the owner of four restaurants across the globe, including Red Rooster Harlem.