• Keith McNally on the Minetta Tavern: “Minetta Tavern is not a ‘historic’ place. It’s a restaurant, not the Pantheon.” [Zagat Buzz]
• Häagen-Dazs is downsizing their “pint” from sixteen to fourteen ounces, in a move Ben & Jerry’s is calling “downright wrong.” [Ad Age]
• Eric Ripert will receive France’s highest honor, the Légion d’Honneur. [NYP]
• Simon Oren’s Tour de France Group (operators of several restaurants, including Five Napkin Burger and Nice Matin) will open a huge new bistro, bar, and bakery on 33rd and Tenth. [NYP]
• McDonald’s has done all right in the financial crisis so far, but company executives are worried about the future. [WSJ]
• César Ramirez, most recently of Bar Blanc, is now cooking at soon-to-open gourmet grocery Brooklyn Fare. [Eater]