TRIBECA — Cocktail guru Eben Freeman says that when Michael White's newest restaurant The Butterfly is up and running, they're going to introduce a greatest hits list of his cocktails. This means that he'll probably bring back drinks that he made at places like Tailor, wd~50, and Eleven Madison Park. [Diner's Journal]
GREENPOINT — A trusted tipster writes in: "Tony, who owns Valdiano, a Greenpoint Italian mainstay on Manhattan Ave., has sold the business. He'll be done by the end of the month. He's retiring....But the new tenant is already lined up. It's the Cookie Road folks (Oak Street near Franklin). The Oak Street location is staying but the new one will be a nice big cafe." [EaterWire]
CUPCAKEWIRE— Zagat Learns that restaurateur/Atkins-spokesperson Donatella Arpaia is opening a cupcake shop on 34th Street sometime soon. [Zagat]
CHELSEA — Grub Street wonders if Scott Conant is planning to takeover the old XL space on West 16th Street. LDV Hospitality, which is the company behind Scarpetta, recently filed a liquor license application. Conant denies that he's moving in, and a rep says that "It might be a gastropub." [Grub Street]
[Photo: Valdiano by Will Femia]