France Bans American Evil: Ketchup; Park Avenue Autumn Serves Up Saddam Hussein’s Old China

Could petit fours be the next cupcakes? Probably not, but here’s hoping. [Wall Street Journal]

Todd Wilbur, a recipe hacker, has spent years trying to decode restaurant chains’ most famous recipes. [NY Times]

France has banned school and college cafeterias from serving ketchup with anything but french fries. [LA Times]

As part of an ongoing art series, Park Avenue Autumn restaurant has enlisted artist Michael Rakowitz to make a dish served on china looted from Saddam Hussein’s palaces. [NY Post]

A slump in sales has Taco Bell hinting at plans to “reinvent the taco” next year — hey, it worked for Domino’s. [Nation’s Restaurant News]

Four new four banh mi chain concepts around the country have national growth aspirations, including Michael “Bao” Huynh’s Baoguette empire. [Nation’s Restaurant News]

Food ads have more impact on kids than parents, according to a new study. But parents aren’t completely powerless, it says. [USA Today]

Friendly’s has started closing locations across the country as the restaurant chain files for bankruptcy. [Wall Street Journal]

A space shortage is forcing Manhattan’s growing Koreatown to expand beyond Fifth Avenue. [Wall Street Journal]

A new study has found that rats and mice suffered substantial organ disruptions from eating genetically modified foods. [TG Daily]