FergusStock Starts Now, Tavern Gets a Reprieve

WEST VILLAGE— Late this afternoon, chef April Bloomfield and visiting emissary Fergus Henderson (above) presented tonight's FergusStock 2009 menu to the staff on the third floor of The Spotted Pig. For those heading over tonight, a word of caution: It's no resy walk-ins, but this place is going to be chockablock with name-brand chefs from 7-10, so best to walk in on either side of that time if you want a reasonable chance of sitting without a monster wait. [EaterWire]

UPPER WEST SIDE— A federal judge has given Tavern on the Green permission to stay open during the lucrative holiday season. The new owner wanted them out on New Years Day, meaning they would have to close during Christmas and New Years Eve to pack up the place and auction everything off. The current owners were requesting three extra months. The compromise: two - four weeks. [City Room]

PRINT MAGS' GRAVEYARD—Ruth Reichl recently did an entire segment on NPR's "Fresh Air" program, and in the 40-minute interview, the former Gourmet editor recounts her initial shock at the news, among other noteworthy Conde Nast bits: "Everybody was stunned. None of us saw this coming. You know, we knew that ads were bad, but it's been a hard time industry-wide..." [Eater National]

MIDTOWN— The Times' Home section has a bit today on the redesign of the Lever House restaurant, now called Casa Lever, but what seems most interesting is its designer, William T. Georgis, is a real New York character. [NYT]