Grub Street Grub Street Los Angeles

Former Misfit and Urbano Pizza chef, Bruce Kalman, is parting ways with The Churchill. The chef joined the West Hollywood restaurant last fall to tighten its menus through his market devoted point-of-view, and even found time to kick some butt on Chopped! this season. Kalman doesn't plan on leaving the kitchen for long, announcing his intentions to resurface in L.A. with underground dinners and pop-ups in the weeks to come. In the meantime, Kalman will pickle that (and is super-tired of Portlandia references). The chef has a new brine line called "Bruce's Prime Pickle Co.," in which he hand-packs jars with vegetables, spinning them into L.A.-appropriate pickle profiles like cucumber kim chi, and sweet Cabernet and black pepper pickled onions. Additional flavors include Mary's Bloody Spicy Asparagus, garlic, dill, and horseradish, and an olive relish that the chef compares to a New Orleans muffaletta.

The Grub stance on national food "holidays" is that they're ridiculous, irrelevant, and a vehicle for annoying press releases. Did you know that today is both National Quiche Lorraine Day and Pick Strawberries Day? No, you didn't. And you should not care. But it's extreme that Nutella, owned by Italian company Ferrero, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sara Rosso, who founded World Nutella Day in 2007 to encourage fans to express their appreciation for the product. The company's legal team is requesting that she not publish anything with the Nutella name, logo, or likeness. Rosso has a full-time job (she won't say, but it's probably this), and never wanted to profit off of the holiday she created. This isn't the first time Nutella's sent a cease-and-desist letter: In October, the company's legal team stopped Burrito chain Bolocco from using the product in milkshakes. Way harsh, Nutella. [Earlier, Earlier, HuffPo]

Gingham, the Western-themed San Diego meat palace that formed the fourth fabric-named concept in Brian Malarkey's pork-pie crown, is closing. La Mesa Patch learns that "closed for repairs" signage on Gingham's doors won't be coming off, contradicting earlier objections from Malarkey partner's, James Brennan, that the place was never on the chopping block. In a statement this week, Brennan is now saying that Gingham, which was reportedly never as packed as Searsucker or Herringbone, is closing so the company can concentrate on the existing concepts. On the plus side, their efforts will land a Searsucker location in Austin and right here in Los Angeles by the end of this year. Check out the New American menus right here and someone tell all the other Top Chefs to dust off the welcome mat. [Patch; Earlier]