A Fondant Farewell: Food & Wine People’s Best New Pastry Chef Cicely Austin is leaving Washington for a gig at a Denver restaurant called Central that is not owned by Michel Richard. Does this mean we can count her out for the Top Chef season currently shooting in Seattle? [Westword]
The Name Game: Erik Holzherr told us he was bringing an arcade bar to H Street, but the name—already claimed by a chain of arcade-themed bars—caused a stir. [Washingtonian]
Actually, It Caused More Than a Stir: It caused said chain to issue a cease-and-desist letter. So now Holzherr is holding a renaming contest on Frozen Tropics. [Frozen Tropics]
RIP, AET: Eater DC celebrates the brief, wonderous life of America Eats Tavern with a timeline. [Eater DC]
Chefs on the Move: Addie’s alum Nate Waugaman has taken the top toque job at Tallula and Eatbar. [WaPo]
What, No Fedora?: Settling bar bets everywhere, Spike Mendelsohn revealed the name of his favorite Playmate in this interview, which received four out of five bunnies by people who totally read Playboy.com for the articles (about chefs). [Playboy]
Get Off My Lawn: With the Hank’s patio problem still unsettled, another DC restaurant grapples with a neighbor situation: Acqua Al 2 co-owner Ari Gejdenson says a few Logan Circlers are holding up the liquor license at his forthcoming Italian eatery and live music venue. [Washingtonian]
Back in Black: As bloggers around town gave “Jeff Black hates my blog” T-shirts their inaugural launderings, the City Paper’s Jessica Sidman pulled the Pearl Dive restaurateur back into the spotlight with a (very good) profile this week. [WCP]
Mystery Meat: Meatballs has closed, and nobody will take responsibility for the ill-fated fast-casual restaurant. [WCP]
