Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Happy Birthday | Director Baz Luhrmann turns 47 today. Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle is turning 40. Joe Bastianich, the restaurateur and partner of Mario Batali, is 41. Russian supermodel Eugenia Volodina is 25. Supreme Court Justice David Souter turns 70. American Idol contestant-turned-Broadway star Constantine Maroulis is turning 34. One of the Miller sisters, Princess Marie-Chantal, is 41. Rapper Doug E. Fresh is turning 43. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson is 64. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley turns 76. And Paula Jones is 43, although she probably shouldn't expect a birthday card from Bill Clinton.

• The Shake Shack expansion cannot be stopped. Late last week, word dropped that Danny Meyer's burger chain was planning to open seven locations in the Middle East and three new outposts in Manhattan; today comes word that the first of these three will be at the corner of Mulberry and Prince Streets.
• A Voce will soft open this evening in the Time Warner Center. Here's a peek inside. And here's an interview with chef Missy Robbins. [Eater, Zagat]
• This week's reviews: New York's Adam Platt gives one star apiece to DBGB and L'Entrecôte; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton is very pleased with what he finds at the Standard Grill; TONY's Jay Cheshes visits Brooklyn's Prime Meats; the New Yorker's Shauna Lyon checks in on to Locanda Verde; and the Village Voice's Robert Sietsema finds the food at Joseph Leonard "often spectacular."
• The John Dory closed on August 29. Now the eatery's landlord has filed suit against Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich for $75,000 in unpaid rent. [NYDN]
• Josh Picard (Chinatown Brasserie, Lure, Locanda Verde) is taking over the old Cub Room space; meanwhile, Jason and Joe Denton of 'inoteca will be taking over the space formerly occupied by Frederick's Downtown. [Eater]More

• Anita Lo hopes to re-open her fire-damaged Annisa next month. [TONY]
• Closings: Frederick Lesort's Frederick's Downtown closed up shop last Friday; and the UWS outpost of Blondies has been shuttered by the tax cops.
• Frank Bruni shares his thoughts on Bastianich and Batali's Casa Mono. [NYT]
• A rooftop beer garden called Berry Park is coming soon to Williamsburg. [UD]
• The Eldridge had to do some renovations after a vandalism incident. [DBTH]
• The city is looking to support aspiring chefs by turning a 4,000-square-foot space in Harlem into a big kitchen for foodie entrepreneurs. [NYT]
• The boost its bottom line and make employees more "productive," Starbucks is now looking to limit unnecessary "walking, reaching, and bending." [WSJ]
• Tom Colicchio and wife Lori Silverbush welcomed a son into the world on Saturday. He's named Luka Bodhi Colicchio, in case you're wondering. [People]

• Payard has closed after more than a decade on the Upper East Side. [Zagat]
• The building at 347 Bowery, which until recently served as the Salvation Army's base in the East Village, may turn into another Koi sushi joint. [Curbed]
• Michael Psilakis reopens the former Kefi space as Gus & Gabriel Gastropub tomorrow. But Donatella Arpaia won't be involved this time around. [GS]
• Eataly, a Italian food market that opened in Turin two years ago, has signed a lease for 32,000-square-feet of "food halls and restaurants" at 200 Fifth. Joe Bastianich, mom Lidia, and Mario Batali are partners in the venture. [NYT]
• A roundup of where celebs were spotted eating/drinking recently. [GS]
• A Q&A with Leyla Marchetto, daughter of Silvano/Scuderia boss. [Zagat]
• The West Village's Jarnac closed over the weekend. Now everything in the restaurant is for sale through tomorrow, if you're interested. [Eater]
• The NYT panned Spice Market last week. Now Jean-Georges responds. [JGV]

• Rachael Ray says her long-awaited burger joint will open in 2010. [TFB]
• A roundup of all the restaurants that shuttered this week. [Eater]
• Eric Ripert says he is not planning to launching a line of prepared foods, despite what you may have read elsewhere. [TFB]
• Allen & Delancey is offering for half-priced cocktails on Tuesdays. [GS]
• Butcher Bay opens up on East 5th Street tonight. [Eater]
• Patrón is launching a new line of super high-end vodka. Great timing! [WSJ]
• A look inside the recently-reopened Holland Bar. [GS] 
• The yellow eel in John Dory's fish tank has gone missing, but Joe Bastianich has some theories on where it went. [NYT]

• A day after the city asked for bids on the Tavern on the Green space comes word the restaurant's been sued for failing to pay its meat supplier. [Eater]
• Soho's much-maligned Delicatessen has a new menu courtesy of its new consultants, club owner David Rabin and chef Franklin Becker. [GS]
• Embattled Soho eatery Lola shutdown last Friday. [NYO]
• Joe Bastianich is hoping to plant Eataly, a 60,000-square-foot Italian food market, in a space "between Union Square and Madison Square Park." [NYT]
• Philippe's expansion continues: The chain plans to set up an LA location. [P6]
• It looks like the end is near for the Hawaiian Tropic Zone. [TFB]
• Legendary Union Square veggie peeler Joe Ades has died. [NYT]

• The Cipriani saga continues: The family has filed suit against landlord Tishman Speyer for terminating its Rainbow Room lease and is asking for $1.8 million in damages. [NYP]
• Here's some good news (or perhaps some wishful thinking): A handful of America's priciest restaurants, including Masa and Per Se, say that business has not been hurt by the recession. [Bloomberg]
• Joe Bastianich is dropping the price of the tasting menus at Del Posto. [NYT]
• Klee Brasserie in Chelsea is now open for lunch. [GS]
• Scott Bryan is taking over for Neil Manacle as executive chef at Apiary. [NYT]
• What can you get to eat downtown for $1 or less? Quite a bit! [Metromix]
• Change is not on the way, at least as far as the White House kitchen is concerned. The Obamas are keeping current chef Cristeta Comerford. [WP]

♦  Mirco del Vecchio, the executive chef of Ago, says he'll sue Robert De Niro for breach of contract if he's replaced at the restaurant by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. [Page Six]
♦  Why is Alain Ducasse's Benoit earning such bad reviews? Ducasse blames American journalists who "don't quite understand French bistro." [RG]
♦  Ruth Reichl paid an early visit to David Bouley's recently-relocated Bouley and describes it as New York's "loveliest restaurant." [Gourmet]
♦  The reservation line is officially open for John Dory, the Brit-themed restaurant by April Bloomfield, Ken Friedman, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich that is scheduled to open on November 24th. [Eater]More

♦  John Dory, the Brit-themed seafood shack by April Bloomfield, Ken Friedman, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, looks like it's finally opening, possibly as soon as Saturday night. [TONY, Metromix, Eater]
♦  A look inside Center Cut, Jeffrey Chodorow's new restaurant inside the Empire Hotel. [Eater]
♦  Craftsteak and Thom Bar have a few specials in store for election night. [GS]
♦  Momofuku Ssam Bar will cater your Thanksgiving dinner with pork butt and potato puree. [The Feedbag]
♦  If it's any consolation, Tim and Nina Zagat don't think the financial crisis will do much damage to the city's restaurant economy. [WSJ]

♦  Just what you need in these lean times: a handy map of recession specials at restaurants across the city. [Eater]
♦  Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto went on a ramen tasting tour through the East Village and—surprise—gave David Chang's Momofuku top honors. [GS]
♦  Allen & Delancey chef Neil Ferguson has left his two-star home for "moral and personal reasons" to join Soho House as executive chef. [Eater]
More

Happy Birthday | Restaurateur Joe Bastianich turns 40 today. We're guessing lots of food (and wine) is in store this evening. Also celebrating: Director Baz Luhrmann is 46. Russian supermodel Eugenia Volodina is 24. Rapper Doug E. Fresh is 42. Supreme Court Justice David Souter is 69. LA Lakers head coach Phil Jackson is 63. Former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis is turning 33. And one of Bill Clinton's least favorite people in the world, Paula Jones, is 42.

• Amy Sacco's Chelsea restaurant Bette, has closed its doors after a three-year run. [Eater]
• If you plan on having an illegal BBQ in Prospect Park this weekend, beware the park rangers. [Brooklyn Paper]
• Florent Morellet isn't upset that his restaurant will live on without him, although some foodies feel "duped." [Eater, NYM]
  
• Those frogs' legs croquettes will have to wait 'til evening: L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon will discontinue its lunch service on July 20th. [Eater]
• Is Odeon the new Michael's?  [Radar]
• Andy Nusser of Casa Mono will oversee the new Mario Batali-Joe Bastianich pizzeria-trattoria project in Port Chester, Tarry Lodge. [Serious Eats]

Last night, Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall played host to the James Beard Awards, the Oscars/Emmys/Tonys/Grammys of dining. Grant Achatz, the 34-year-old Chicago chef whose cruelly poetic battle with tongue cancer is recounted in this must-read New Yorker piece, won the top award of the night, the Oustanding Chef Award. Hometown winners included Danny Meyer's Gramercy Tavern, for outstanding restaurant; Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, for outstanding restaurateur; and up-and-comer Gavin Kaysen of Cafe Boulud, who bagged the Rising Star Award. And what culinary event would be complete without some groveling display of deference to David Chang? The Momofuku chieftain was handed the award for best chef in New York City.