Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Marketers Now Going Bananas For Coconuts | Why did we all get together and agree to stop drinking water? Who knows, really, but we must have at some point because sales of bottled water have been falling fast over the past few months. Which explains why beverage companies are now in the process of coming up with all sorts of crazy new drinks to make up the difference. More

• Jeffrey Chodorow says he plans to turn his failed steakhouse, Center Cut, into a seafood shack-style spot called Ed's Chowder House. Ed Brown, the chef and owner of Eighty One, will be his partner in the venture. [NYT]
• Like father, like son, apparently: The new chef at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Perry Street is JGV's eldest son, Cedric Vongerichten. [TFB]
• John Fraser says he's planning to expand his UWS eatery, Dovetail. [VV]
• Butchers are the new food world rock stars, in case you haven't heard. [ABC]
• Bed-Stuy gets its first speakeasy, SarahJames, this weekend. [GS]
• The guy who owns most of the Burger Kings in Brooklyn and Queens has gone bankrupt, just in case you happen to be interested in that tidbit. [Crain's]
• Make of this what you will: Sales of bottled water have been going down while at the same time whiskey sales have been on the rise.

• More than 200 places will be taking part in New York Restaurant Week, which kicks off on Sunday. Here's a list of some of the notable newcomers. [Zagat]
• The outdoor courtyard at Locanda Verde has opened. [GS]
• A rendering of what the "sophisticated cocktail lounge" on the ground floor of the Empire State building will look like when it eventually opens. [Eater]
• Scandal! "Law enforcement officials are investigating several restaurants in the Hamptons where cheaper booze is poured into top-shelf brand bottles and served to clueless customers who can't taste the difference. [P6]
• A Q&A with Klaus Ortlieb of Table 8 and the Cooper Square Hotel. [Eater]
• Bottled water may be worse for you than tap water. Who knew? [Reuters]
• Rachael Ray had minor surgery to remove a benign cyst from her vocal cords. The good news/bad news, depending on what you happen to think of her: She'll be able to speak again in about a week or so. [People]

The Recession Bypasses Sardinia | A "luxury fair" designed to appeal to the world's richest people took place in Sardinia this past weekend. But if you were thinking the economic downturn would have put a damper on things, well, think again. Thirty bottles of "Exousia Gold Luxury Water," which is describede as a "gold petal designer label mineral water" and costs $2,800 a pop, were sold over the course of two evenings. And the water still isn't good enough to drink as is, apparently. "A spokeswoman for Exousia said sales were mainly to Russians, who 'like to use it to make tea.'" [DJ/Wealth Bulletin]