Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

• Vong closes tomorrow. Moving in is Wolfgang's Steakhouse. [JGV via Eater]
• Mario Batali says he decided to change up Del Posto because he's planning to get a second Michelin star and a four-star Times review this year. [TONY]
• Rumor has it Scott Conant may take over the Table 8 space. [Eater]
• The Mermaid Inn team open the Mermaid Oyster Bar next week. [GS]
• MePa's Los Dados seems to have morphed into a sports bar. [Eater]
• The food cart hype was bound to lead to something like the lunch shelf. [SE]
• It's a pain when a restaurant screws up a dish, sure. But it's no reason to threaten your waiter with a knife. Unless you want to go to jail, that is. [NYP]

What's Mario Batali dressing up this Halloween? "Mario will be a 'dictator,'" a spokeswoman says. "He ties a piece of butcher twine to his belt on one end and a Yukon gold potato on the other." Points for cleverness! [Previously]

• 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

Happy Birthday | Chef and Food Network fixture Mario Batali turns 48 today. Adam Sandler is turning 43. Hugh Grant is 49. Michelle Williams is turning 29. Retired football great Joe Theismann is 60. Singer Michael Bublé is turning 34. Actor Tom Wopat is 58. And '90s model Rachel Hunter celebrates her 40th birthday today.

• 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]

• A round up of eateries that recently opened, or will open this week. [Eater]
• Una Pizza Napoletana has closed its doors. It will become the first Manhattan outpost of the Williamsburg pizzeria Motorino in a few weeks. [NYT]
• Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert was tasked with cooking (beef, not fish) for French president Nicolas Sarkozy during his recent visit to New York. [P6]
• How to establish yourself as a regular at the restaurant of your choice. [GS]
• Summer "food crawls" through the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. [NYDN]
• Not only is Padma Lakshmi is discussions to star in a NBC sitcom, but Mario Batali is joining the cast of Bitter Feast, a "darkly comic thriller." [Variety, GS]
• An extended interview with Aquavit's Marcus Samuelsson. [ObsesedTV]

• A group of 21 stores on the Lower East Side are coming together to offer a weekend of discounts in honor of the (capsule) trade show that's currently underway. [Pipeline, Cut]
• Modeling rates really must falling: A Hugo Boss model has been charged for taking part in the robberies of 15 gas stations and delis. [NYP]
• Eddie Bauer will survive, after all. A private equity firm is buying the company out of bankruptcy for a whopping $284 million. [BN]
• Rihanna half-shaved her head this week. Exciting! Don't think for a moment, though, it was an original move on Rihanna's part, says an outraged Joe Zee of Elle. [People, Twitter]More

• 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]

• The New York City outpost of Govind Armstrong's Table 8 opens tomorrow evening inside the Cooper Square Hotel. [Eater, Zagat]
• Now that Todd English is out, The Libertine has hired itself a new chef. [Zagat]
• Robert De Niro's universally reviled Ago has officially shuttered. [Eater]
• Some suggestions on where to take your mom for Mother's Day. [Zagat]
• Pinkberry is now making deliveries; a $10 minimum is required. [Crain's]
• Places to go to drink yourself into oblivion in honor of Cinco de Mayo. [GS] More

The James Beard Awards were held at Avery Fisher Hall last night, gifting Jean-Georges Vongerichten's eponymous flagship the title of "Outstanding Restaurant." Other notable winners included David Chang's Momofuko Ko (Best New Restaurant) and opulent dinosaur Daniel (Best Service), with Drew Nieporent (left) knighted Outstanding Restaurateur for his (apparently outstanding) work at Corton and Nobu. But, much like the Costume Institute Gala across town, the night was not without a bit of drama.More

• Gwyneth Paltrow's latest goal? To get Mario Batali to lose weight, apparently. She's supposedly already given him a free membership to the gym she's opening with Tracy Anderson, since he's "the only fat friend she has, and wants him to change." [P6]
• Poor Jennifer Aniston has been "holed up" in her room at the Greenwich Hotel since arriving in New York a few weeks ago, supposedly because she's terrified of "bumping into Angie" on the street. [L&S]
• Michael Phelps and Miss California, Carrie Prejean. are apparently dating, or at least that's what Prejean's grandmother is saying. [NYDN]
• In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Lindsay Lohan says she's "still in love" with Sam Ronson, and that their breakup "came out of nowhere." She's also lost a lot of weight, which you've probably already noticed. [OK!, People, NYDN]
• Tim Gunn says he hasn't been on a date in 26 years, but that he's okay with it because he's "very happy being alone." [NYDN]More

• Matthew Williamson's H&M line goes on sale tomorrow at 9AM. Prepare for a mob scene! [NYM]
• Lauren Conrad is teaming up with Kohl's to introduce "a casual California-inspired clothing line for young women." And she was kind enough to make a video about it, too. [NYT, Racked]
• It's official: Peter Copping is the new artistic director at Nina Ricci, where he'll have the unenviable task of filling the void left by Olivier Theyskens. [WWD, Style.com]
• André Leon Talley's "custom Obama tribute pin" is awfully chic, don't you agree? [FWD]More

Graydon Carter, Robert De Niro, and Ron Perelman hosted a Vanity Fair-sponsored dinner at the State Supreme Court House last night to celebrate the opening of the Tribeca Film Festival. They were joined by Carter and De Niro's wives (Anna Scott Carter and Grace Hightower) and Tribeca Film Fest co-founders Craig Hatkoff and Jane Rosenthal, as well as a long list of guests, including Bono and Ali Hewson, Kanye West,  Diane von Furstenberg, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Tory Burch and Lyor Cohen, André Leon Talley, Fran Lebowitz, Spike Lee ... (continued)More

Spotted | Kate Moss, in town for the Topshop debut, stepping out of a car in Soho ... Chloe Sevigny hailing a cab in the East Village ... Mario Batali carrying his kids' backpacks in the West Village ... Sean Connery apparently doing a little shopping at Wireless Warehouse on Third Avenue ... Claire Danes walking with a cup of coffee in Soho ... Anthony Bourdain and his wife Ottavia Busia eating lunch at Da Silvano ... Willem Dafoe and Giada Colagrande carrying grocery bags in the West Village ... Hilary Duff walking around with a shopping bag from Barneys ... Ed Westwick checking his phone on the set of Gossip Girl in Foley Square ... and Whitney Port leaving La Esquina.

Spotted | Ellen Barkin walking in the West Village ... Mario Batali having lunch with the family at Da Silvano ... Gisele Bundchen going to a photo shoot at Chelsea Piers ... Julia Roberts walking in Chinatown ... Jessica Alba leaving her Tribeca hotel with her daughter Honor ... Claire Danes carrying a shopping bag in Soho ... Leighton Meester walking in the Village ... Mickey Rourke sporting a new 'do after leaving a salon on Madison Avenue ... Jennifer Aniston standing on the set of her new movie, The Baster ...  Howard Stern walking a few blocks from his apartment building ... Mary J. Blige shopping with friends at American Apparel ... and Bernadette Peters hailing a cab outside Barneys.