Freemans Eyes LES Expansion; David Chang on Umami

LOWER EAST SIDE ? Taavo Somer and the Freemans crew are looking to expand their LES mini-empire, having applied for a liquor license at 8 Rivington. It sounds like their plan is to expand their next door menswear store Freemans Sporting Club into the 8 Rivington space and install a bar with small plates and apps in the basement. The liquor license app calls for a 4 a.m. closing time. [The Lo-Down]

DITMAS PARK ? A new pizzeria called Wheated is coming to Ditmas Park, though the husband-and-wife team that owns it, David Sheridan and Kim McAdam, lost $30,000 worth of equipment when their Coney Island storage unit flooded. Despite having their insurance claim denied and being ineligible for city recovery money (because Wheated was not yet open at the time), Sheridan and McAdam are still targeting a January 2013 opening. [Ditmas Park Corner via Serious Eats]

IVY LEAGUE CHEFS ? Chef and Momofuku overlord David Chang gave a talk recently as part of Harvard University's Cooking & Science Lecture Series, talking about Momofuku's scientific pursuit of umami. Chef and olive oil expert Carles Tejedor kicked it off, with Chang then discussing how he never thought mold and microbes could be delicious: "I firmly believe it is the future of food in terms of how we perceive flavor, how we cook and, quite frankly, it was how we understood olive oil." Eater National has the full video. [Eater National]
[Freemans Sporting Club via Racked]