Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

♦  Frank Bruni gives Double Crown two stars in today's Times: "It's an intensely pleasant place to hang out, the friendly service and festive atmosphere papering over the menu's weak spots." [NYT]
♦  Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton probably won't be returning to Jeffrey Chodorow's new steakhouse ("Center Cut serves a variety of items that should have died in the previous century"). But he's pretty pleased with Tom Valenti's West Branch. [Bloomberg]
♦  Where to eat out, order in, drink, and party for Thanksgiving. [Eater] More

If you needed any proof that models are the way they are due to a blessed combination of genetics, speedy metabolism, and an active lifestyle, the group of mannequins surveyed by The Cut mostly insist—and why would they lie?—that tomorrow they totally plan to stuff themselves with food. Chanel Iman says "I love to eat," Ali Michaels says "of course!" she plans to overindulge, while Lindsay Ellingson's favorite Thanksgiving food is her mom's pumpkin pie "with lots of whipped cream." Vegan Ali Michael, though, will eat "a simple meal of steamed greens, beans, avocado, and maybe even a little piece of raw dark chocolate." Sounds tragic, but at least she won't be obliged to purge/spend five hours on the treadmill/cancel her next shoot after.

Snoop Does Martha | Further evidence that hip hop is dead: Snoop Dogg's appearance on Martha Stewart's show yesterday during which the rapper showed off that timeless Thanksgiving favorite, cognac-laced mashed potatoes. Click on the video to watch as the self-described "homegirl from New Jersey" picks up a few new vocab words from the former resident of Compton.

♦  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

♦  Alex Raij, the former chef at Tia Pol (left), is opening her 28-seat tapas bar named Txikito (pronounced chee-KEE-toe) tonight. [GS] 
♦  A play-by-play of what went down at Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz's $1,500-per-person dinner at Per Se on Tuesday night. [NYT, NYT]
♦  Another look inside David Chang's forthcoming Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar, which is set to open on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. [Eater]More