Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

• An early, unofficial list of places taking part in NYC Restaurant Week. [W&D]
• Interested in a Michael Jackson-themed wine pairing this evening? Too soon? That's what City Winery has planned anyway. [City Winery, GS]
• A few closings in restaurant-land. [Eater]
• Pret A Manger is in expansion mode. Four new locations have opened in Manhattan in the past two months and more are on the way. [Crain's]
• Free cups of Pinkberry's "summer fresh flavors" available this eve. [GS]
• Some bartenders are now asking that people call them "bar chefs." [Eater]
• The Gay Pride parade takes place on Sunday. A few recommendations on where to drink and party when it ends. [Metromix, AMNY, Newsday]

• The restaurant formerly known as Ago will reopen next Tuesday under the name Locanda Verde. Andrew Carmellini is executive chef and a co-owner with Robert De Niro; Ken Friedman consulted on the new design. [NYT]
• Rumor has it Per Se's Jonathan Benno may be going off on his own. [TFB]
• Tasti-D-Lite isn't intimidated by Pinkberry or Red Mango: It plans to open 35 new outlets over the next decade. Related fro-yo news: Pinkberry is opening stores abroad and a chain called Yogurtland is expanding, too. [AMNY, NRN]
• Famed Coney Island pizzeria Totonno's won't be back in biz until July. [LC]
• Style.com's list of the 13 dumbest boomtime cocktails saves special mentions for local spots like The Eldridge, PDT, and World Bar. [Style.com]More

• 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

• A bunch of expensive restaurants are slated to open over the next few months. That kind of sucks for them, yes, although construction costs are down and rents are now negotiable, so it's not all bad news. Sort of. [NYT]
• Frank Bruni offers up his take on a bunch of "recession beaters" in today's Times, including Anthos Upstairs, Craft's DFF, and the lounge at Per Se. [NYT]
• Will swine flu finally kill the pork-belly trend? [GS]
• Despite the recession, steakhouses still seem full, says the Post's Steve Cuozzo, and Wagyu beef is still selling, "strangely." Strange, indeed. [NYP] 
• Snapple is giving away free pizza from May 4 to May 7. [Slice]
• More immediately: 31-cent scoops at Baskin-Robbins tonight. [TFB]More

Pinkberry's Expansion Will Not Be Stopped | And you were thinking that the fro-yo trend was fizzling out. Pinkberry just revealed that it's secured another $5.8 million in venture capital financing, funds that will likely go to expanding the 73-store-strong chain. Pinkberry isn't the only frozen yogurt enterprise in growth mode. Red Mango recently raised additional funding, too, and says it plans to open 550 locations across the U.S. over the next five years. One small glimmer of hope: One of Pinkberry's big backers is Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, so there's always the possibility that the two chains combine at some point, thereby placing mediocre, overpriced coffee and mediocre, overpriced frozen yogurt under one roof. [WSJ, peHUB]

♦  It seems the closure of Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg's Marquee this summer had more to do with a drug-related sting operation than a water main break. [NYO]
♦  Frank Bruni gives one star to Socarrat Paella Bar in today's Times: Although Socarrat's signature dish isn't perfect, it's "better than the paellas at many other Spanish restaurants in New York." [NYT]
♦  The fro-yo wars are heating up: Both Pinkberry and Red Mango have hired branding firms to help define their places in the fro-yo market. [AdAge]
♦  The East Village nightclub Mr. Black has been shut down after failing to pay taxes. [VV via Gawker]

More

• New York's Adam Platt visits Convivio and gives Michael White's kitchen three stars. [NYM]
• Not all Upper West Side residents are excited about the Shake Shack's opening on West 77th Street in October. [NYT]
• Why isn't there more high-end Chinese food? The Wall Street Journal will tell you. [WSJ]
• Rob Walker of the Times weighs in on the fro-yo wars and quotes Pinkberry's CEO, who claims the arrival of Red Mango hasn't impacted business. [NYT]
• The Food Network is launching a magazine. [Gawker]
• A few pointers on cooking seafood at home, courtesy of Eric Ripert. [WSJ]
• Cocktails at The Eldridge will be the highest in the city—$26. [GS]
• Delta will begin selling Junior's individual-sized cheesecakes for $5 a piece on transcontinental flights. [The Lede]