In case you missed it, earlier this week, Rebecca Charles, owner of Pearl Oyster Bar, filed an intellectual property suit against former sous-chef Ed McFarland, alleging that he had stolen recipes and design ideas when he opened his new restaurant, Ed's Lobster Bar. Here's what has gone down since then. Ed held a press conference. Grub Street describes Ed's response: “I am deeply saddened to learn that Rebecca Charles has brought an action against me,”......

Rebecca Charles, NYC lobster roll pioneer and owner of Pearl Oyster Bar will do whatever it takes to protect the formula she has created to make Pearl such a success. She has brought suit in Federal court against Ed McFarland, her former sous chef and owner of Ed's Lobster Bar, claiming that he copied “'each and every element' of Pearl Oyster Bar, including the white marble bar, the gray paint on the wainscoting, the......

- Is New York going to go the way of LA with posted letter grades for restaurant health inspections? - If you are getting your Seder meal planning underway, feel free to ping the experts over the NY Times with any questions you may have. Click here to email them a question or send it direct to diningqa [at] gmail.com. Funny how the Times even knows Gmail has great spam protection. - Sometimes not eating......

If you've ever been to Pearl Oyster Bar, you might recognize Ed McFarland, who was the sous-chef there for six years. Ed has now struck out on his own with Ed's Lobster Bar, a spot for "New York seafood cuisine inspired by New England's long tradition." We stopped in on opening night for a peek and found a crisp bright interior dominated by a long, white marble bar, with appropriate sea-themed artwork adorning the......

Damon Wise, formerly the chef de cuisine of Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak, is the now executive chef of all the Craft restaurants. Shane McBride, most recently of the now defunct 7Square is now working for him. [Restaurant Girl; NYMag] Billy Barlow is now the head chef at Zak Pelaccio's 5 Ninth [Eater] Eric Lind, the chef who opened Flatbush Farm, has left to pursue some consulting gigs. [NY Mag] Joël Robuchon will be behind the counter......