Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Fashion's Night Out went down last night. Did you take part in the "largest single shopping event in the city's history" and actually do some shopping? Or did you just marvel at the spectacle of it all: Anna Wintour, Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg, and Kate Hudson stepping foot inside a Macy's in Queens; Justin Timberlake greeting fans at Saks; Charlize Theron putting in an appearance at Dior; Oscar de la Renta belting out a few tunes with Sarah Jessica Parker, Barbara Walters and Bette Midler; the Olsen twins bartending at Bergdorf, not far from where Posh Spice was signing t-shirts and Padma Lakshmi was judging a cook-off. (And on and on and on.)

If you missed the big event, you'll have to hope Wintour organizes a repeat performance next year. In the meantime, you'll find recaps of the most elaborate retail pep rally ever here, here, here, and here. Or skip the words and take a gander at a few photos of last night's festivities below.

Happy Birthday | Padma Lakshmi turns 39 today; let's hope Teddy remembered to pick her up something nice. New York Deputy Mayor Patti Harris is turning 54. Gloria Estefan is 52. Comedian and actress Lily Tomlin is turning 70. WNBC weatherwoman Janice Huff is 49. Actor Scott Speedman is turning 34. Billy Blanks, the man who brought you Tae Bo, is turning 54. Fall Out Boy's Joseph Trohman is 25. And Dr. Phil McGraw turns 59 today.

Padma Lakshmi Glistens Like Gold | Padma Lakshmi announced in January that she was branching out with a "food-inspired" jewelry line. The items went on sale at stores like Bergdorf this past spring, and they've been selling briskly, according to WWD. So now it's time to expand, apparently. An ad campaign for the collection kicks off this fall, one that, per usual, plays to Padma's passion for not wearing clothes unless it's absolutely necessary: "The photos show a glistening, nude Lakshmi draped in her delicate gold and gemstone spices, which take inspiration from foods such as lentils and cardamom pods." [WWD]

• Allen & Delancey has filed for bankruptcy, but will remain open. [Eater, GS]
• A peek inside the new Oceana opening near Rockefeller Center. [Eater]
• Le Souk is reopening on Ave B and now plans to open a second location. [GS]
• New NYT dining critic Sam Sifton on having his photo all over the web: "I look different now... I'm using a comb for the first time since the 1990s." [WWD]
• Which chain has better coffee: Starbucks, Mickey D's, or Dunkin'? [Slate]
• How does Padma Lakshmi keep thin? Exercise, believe it or not. [NYT]

• 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]

• News of Walter Cronkite's death on Friday evening didn't generate a Michael Jackson-like reaction, but the hour-long CBS News special honoring him on Sunday proved a ratings winner. In related news, the network will continue airing Cronkite's voice-over introducing the CBS Evening News. [NYT, NYT]
• Is Janice Min leaving Us Weekly? That's the rumor, at least. [P6]
• Fashion magazines are looking a little thin this fall, not surprisingly. [MW]
• Padma Lakshmi is in talks with NBC to star in a sitcom. [Variety]
• More changes are afoot at Interview: Evan Schindler is the troubled mag's new president. And Stephen Mooallem has been named editor-in-chief. [NYT]
• As expected, the new Harry Potter movie mopped up at the box office this weekend with $79.5 million in ticket sales. The big loser? Brüno, which fell to fourth place as sales plummeted 73 percent. [EW, Variety]

• Kogi, the Korean taco truck that LA residents have been buzzing about for months, opened in midtown today for an hour with Top Chef contestant Lee Anne Wong dishing out the food. Don't feel too bad if you missed out. New York should get a Kogi truck of its own by the end of the summer. [ML, GS, ML]
• A roundup of restaurants scheduled to open this week. [Eater]
• The UWS branch of Fatty Crab will start serving lunch next Monday. [GS]
• Adam Platt gives one star to Table 8 in this week's issue of New York. [NYM]
• Citysearch's guide to the best barbecue joints in NYC is online. [Citysearch]
• Have you heard about the 14-year-old chef from East Hampton who opened a catering company at 11? You will! The kid's getting a reality show. [THR]

Padma Lakshmi is no longer the owner of a spacious, full-floor loft at 211 East 2nd Street. The author and TV hostess has turned the apartment over to what we're guessing is a personal trust, considering it was sold to something called "The Delicious Trust" for the pricely sum of $0. (Delicious, indeed!) Lakshmi purchased the loft in early 2008 for $1.65 million; in addition to spectacular views from north, west and east exposures, it also features a "wonderful windowed cook's kitchen with butternut cabinetry, basalt countertops and modern appliances." After the jump, a few photos of Padma's "delicious" loft, as well as her autograph on the official property transfer report.

• Sign of the times: Henri Bendel plans to stop selling clothing this summer and will focus instead on accessories and beauty products. The Fifth Avenue flagship is giving up one of its three floors, and the company is cutting 8 percent of its staff, too. [NYT]
• More cheerful news: Save Fashion, the pop-up shop at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, makes its big debut tomorrow. [Save Fashion]
• The Jimmy Choo sample sale today was kind of crazy. [Racked]
• Beauty treatments you can do at home for cheaper. [NYDN]
• Padma Lakshmi talks jewelry as she gets set to debut her own line. [WSJ]
• A preview of Matthew Williamson's second shipment of clothes for women and his first batch of clothing for men. [NYM]

• After 115 weeks in business, Jeffrey Chodorow's Kobe Club closes its doors tomorrow night. The Miami outpost is probably history, too. [Eater]
• One of the two Starbucks in Astor Place is closing tomorrow. [Eater]
• A roundup of places that just opened, or will be open next week. [TONY]
• Charlie Palmer is giving away bottles to vino in honor of Aureole's 20th. [GS]
• The Minetta Tavern's "preferred-customer line" is sort of useless, FYI. [GS]
• Rise, the rooftop bar at the Ritz in Battery Park City, has closed. [Zagat]
• Sangria and lobster salad was on Padma's mind on Today today. [TFB]

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)

Padma Lakshmi takes it off for the April issue of Allure, which the mag dubs its "Nude Issue." In the accompanying Q&A, Padma says she enjoys spending her free time in the buff, since she's a "sensual-leaning woman." Let's all take a moment to be thankful that Padma's boyfriend, Teddy Forstmann, doesn't spend his free time attired in quite the same manner:

Padma Likes It Extra-Spicy | When Padma Lakshmi said she planned to put her "passion for meat" into a new commercial for the fast food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, she wasn't kidding, clearly. Her new TV spot for the company has finally debuted, and well, we certainly hope Teddy has no objections. [YouTube]

• The James Beard Foundation announced the final nominees for its 2009 awards today. The names in the mix for New York's "best chef": Michael Anthony, Terrance Brennan, Wylie Dufresne, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Gabriel Kreuther. The two New Yorkers competing for the "outstanding restaurateur" award: Keith McNally and Drew Nieporent. [JBF]
• JGV and partner Phil Suarez plan to open 10 restaurants in 2009.  [Fortune]
• Tonda is planning to open in the former E.U. space tomorrow. [GS]
• Rumor has it Katie Lee Joel is getting into the restaurant business. The spot will be called "Logan County" and will be located in the financial district. [TFB]
• As for Padma Lakshmi, she's branching out into comedy, apparently. [GS]
• It looks like restaurant publicist (and regular Iron Chef judge) Karine Bakhoum is working on a reality show. [TONY]
• Another season of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is on tap. [THR]

• Bruce Willis tied the knot with Victoria's Secret model Emma Heming this weekend at his home in Turks & Caicos. He's 54; she's 30. Guests at the wedding included his daughters, Madonna, and Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. [NYP, LAT]
• Natasha Bedingfield got married on Saturday, too, to a California businessman in Malibu. [People]
• 64-year-old tech billionaire Jim Clark married his 28-year-old girlfriend this weekend with a four-day event on Richard Branson's Necker Island. Guests included Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber and Ed Norton. [NYP]
• Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart finally got engaged. [People]
• Alas, it's not all happy news: Agyness Deyn and Albert Hammond Jr. have reportedly broken up. [NYM]