Estela Expansion Rumors, Starbucks Art Theft, and More A.M. Intel

— Rumor has it that the Estela team is planning a pasta restaurant somewhere on Spring Street. Partner/sommelier Thomas Carter will neither confirm nor deny the rumor. But the move would make sense, considering that Estela is more popular than ever, almost two years into its run. It is the place that every out-of-town chef and restaurateur visits when they're in New York. And Eater's own Bill Addison believes that it's one of America's most essential restaurants.

[Daniel Krieger]

Years before he served fluffy ricotta dumplings with mushrooms at Estela, Ignacio Mattos worked at the original Il Buco in Noho and Chez Panisse in Berkeley. With that kind of experience under his belt, he must surely know a thing or two about seasonal pasta. He might even be some kind of Jedi noodle master. If you hear anything about the Estela follow-up — or any other big project coming soon to NYC — please let us know.

— Did Starbucks steal artwork from a Greenpoint muralist for use in its new mini-Frappuccino campaign? That's what the artist claims — she's suing the coffee company for $750,000.

— Here's a video of Danny Meyer, AKA the Sir Isaac Newton of Hospitality, discussing the notion of "being right" at the Welcome Conference.

— Luke Pettigout, a former Giants lineman, is being sued for allegedly punching a guy at Rockefeller Center bar 48 Lounge a few years back. Apparently the victim was chatting up the footballer's wife before the punch.

— Smith & Wollensky just opened a new location in London.

— Take Root's chef Elise Korcak explains why she is literally the only person in the kitchen of her Michelin-starred restaurant: "I realized that I didn’t really like the kitchen life...I’m not a team-oriented person; I am not terribly social. It wasn’t really my gig. But I really wanted to keep cooking, and I wanted to cook for people and create, and continue to do that."

— And finally, the Bowery Meat Co. just sprouted a patio, where you can eat a steak across the street from an alleyway where The Ramones smoked cigarettes with Blondie and the guys from Television, many moons ago:

Dining al fresco now available @bowerymeatcompany! Enjoy a Cote de Boeuf under the stars!

A photo posted by Josh Capon (@chefcapon) on Jun 24, 2015 at 2:49pm PDT