MEATPACKING DISTRICT— A reader brings word of a Merkato 55 lunch: "This may be old news, but I walked by Merkato 55 today and saw this 'Now Open for Lunch' sign. I can't imagine that's a sign of robust business--also, the place was entirely empty. And I got an evil look when I stopped to take a picture." [EaterWire]

RIPERT'S UNIVERSE— And today we learn about a new shiny blog from Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert called Avec Eric. There's a big team behind it, so the look is glossy, the cooking segments, well produced. Who know if he'll keep posting videos, but we have to admit it's easy to like his little mini toaster oven cooking demos. [Avec Eric via Cutlets]