EaterWire: Palmetto Musings, Randy Lewis Found, MORE!

COW HOLLOW—While we await word on today's Healthy SF court happenings, a very solid source passes along word that Palmetto's shuttering likely had very little to do with the health care mandate as the restaurant suggested: "The real reason they closed is due to the economy, the location, the fact that it just didn't take off. Palmetto never even inquired into the Healthy San Francisco requirements." Also, if the health care ordinance is allowed to stand in court, the deadline for restaurants to comply with the mandate is the last day of April. [EaterWire, previously]

SANTA ROSA—Randy Lewis, the talented chef last seen at Mecca, has resurfaced: "As of Sunday, Randy Lewis -- most recently chef at San Francisco's Mecca and previously executive chef for Kendall-Jackson and a founder of Popina in Santa Rosa, which morphed into 707 before it closed -- takes the helm at Bistro Des Copains in Occidental. The bistro's chef, Melissa Gonyea, was recently married and is taking time off to travel and cook around the world with her husband. Her last day is Saturday." [SRPD]

TELEVISION—For the first time since his public shaming a few months ago, Food Network personality Sir Robert Irvine is ready for a fresh start: "In his monthly e-newsletter for April (there was none for March), Irvine describes how 'the past few weeks have been filled with a lot of ups and downs' [Ed. note: what were the ups?] ... Further in, he attempts to rectify past mistruths, or, alternatively, perform a little history revision: The intro to his Food Network show Dinner Impossible used to claim, until it was edited out, that he had 'worked for three presidents,' but in the email newsletter he now claims that he 'train[ed] many of the cooks and staff who work in the White House Mess.' [Serious Eats]

FROYO WARS—It took three years, but Pinkberry is finally and officially serving frozen yogurt: "The company changed its formula, now lists the ingredients on the website, and started making the product off-site as it should've been all along. (A press representative told us they just didn't know.) But now, ho NOW, three years after the craze began...drumroll please...the National Yogurt Association has given Pinkberry the live and active culture seal of approval." [Eater LA]

EAST BAY—SFist has a thorough rundown of the rash of East Bay restaurant robberies, and also the best line of the evening: "Be careful, Chez Panisse denizens!" [SFist]