Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Happy Birthday | Portly chef Emeril Lagasse turns 50 today. Indie filmmaker Todd Solondz is turning 50 today, too. Fellow director Mira Nair is 52. Artist Brice Marden is turning 71. The least appreciated Jackson brother, Tito, turns 56 today. Director Penny Marshall is turning 67. Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca is 85. Paige Davis, the host of Trading Spaces, is turning 40. R&B singer Ginuwine is 34. Singer Keyshia Cole is turning 28. Billionaire media mogul Haim Saban is 65. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is 50. And singer Eric Benet, who may be best known as the idiot who cheated on Halle Berry, is 43 today.

• Julianne Moore's West Village townhouse is up for sale. Moore picked up the five-story, six-bedroom home on West 11th Street for $3.5 million in 2003. It can now be yours for $11.95 million. [NYO, Sotheby's, Curbed]
• Emeril Lagasse has closed on the purchase of developer Penny Bradley's 6,900-square-foot townhouse at 158 East 61st Street for "around" its most recent asking price of $11.5 million. Now that he's found a new place to store his pots and pans, the chef and Food Network fixture has put his condo at the Beekman Regent up for sale for $5.995 million. [NYP, BHS]
• Chris Burch, the entrepreneur and ex-husband of Tory Burch, has picked up a new Hamptons home. Burch paid "around $9 million" for the Southampton estate of disgraced Bear Stearns exec Ralph Cioffi. The property had been listed at $10.7 million when it went into contract last month. [NYP]More

• Still looking for a place to celebrate the inauguration? You're in luck. A long list of restaurants and bars have special events planned. [GS, Eater, Metromix]
• Newly opened restaurants have been hit the hardest by the recession. [NYT]
• A few more gloomy indicators: High-end eateries are allowing diners to bring their own wine and Daniel will host a beer-tasting next month. [NYP, CNY]
• The dining crime wave may be over: Cops have nabbed two suspects. [NYP]
• Sad news for hot dog fans: The original Nathan's may be forced to close as part of the plan to "revitalize" Coney Island. [NYP]
• Emeril Lagasse will guest-judge the final two episodes of Top Chef. [Eater]

Happy Birthday | Filmmaker Todd Solondz (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Storytelling, etc.) turns 49 today. He shares his birthday with fellow director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) who is 51. Artist Brice Marden is 70. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is 49. TV chef Emeril Lagasse is 49, too. Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca is 84. Singer Eric Benet, the man better known as the guy who cheated on Halle Berry, is 42. R&B singer Ginuwine is 33. Director Penny Marshall is 66. Last but not least, Michael Jackson's brother, Tito, is 55 today.

• Inside The Libertine (left), Todd English's latest venture, which will open next week in Jason Pomeranc's Gild Hall hotel. [Eater]
• Johnny Utah's, one of the very few venues with a mechanical bull on the premises, is now being sued by an injured patron. [NYDN]
• Emeril Lagasse, who sold his company to Martha Stewart Omnimedia for $50 million in February, has signed a 10-book deal with HarperCollins. [Crain's]
• David Rabin says construction on the new Double Seven will begin next month. [NYM]
• Le Madeleine will be replaced by another French bistro. [NYO]
• A look at some of the restaurants that have tried to clone themselves and have failed in the process. [Zagat]
  
• Starbucks has a new line of healthier breakfasts, which won't reek like the chain's previous breakfast menu. [SeriousEats]
• A map of all the restaurants around town opening this month. [Eater]