Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times gives Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecôte one star; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton says Blue Hill "needs work"; Jay Cheshes of TONY has mixed things to say about Ed's Chowder House; Steve Cuozzo visits Ed's, too, giving it 2 1/2 stars out of four; Gael Greene checks out Casa Lever; and GQ's Alan Richman picks his fave fried chicken in NYC.
• Cru, which faced eviction this summer, is back with a new chef/menu. [NYT]
• The Soho Italian spot Piccola Cucina has reopened. [Zagat]
• Bruni's top burger is at Shake Shack; Colicchio picks The Spotted Pig. [TONY]
• Michelle Obama will make a cameo on Iron Chef in January. [NYT]
• Want to lose weight? Try eating tomatoes. [NYDN]

• Jonathan Benno, Per Se's acclaimed chef de cuisine, has confirmed his plans to move on: He'll be part-owner and executive chef at a new (and as-yet unnamed) restaurant under construction in the plaza of Lincoln Center. [NYT]
• Has Minetta Tavern stopped accepting reservations from people who don't happen to be close, personal friends of owner Keith McNally? [GS, Eater]
• If you don't have a credit or debit card, don't go to Commerce. As noted previously, it's one of the only NYC eateries where cash isn't welcome. [WSJ]
• The '21' Club auctions off 640 rare bottles of wine at Christie's tomorrow. [BN]
• Yet another cupcake bakery chain is planning to open its doors in NYC. [VV]More

• In its fall preview issue, New York surveys the nine spots opening soon in the meatpacking district, four of which happen to be at the Standard. [NYM]
• Related: Metromix's fall restaurant preview is now online. [Metromix]
• Amy Sacco is on the move: She's opening a Bungalow 8 in Amsterdam. [P6]
• A sneak peek at Yerba Buena Perry, which opens later this week. [Eater]
• Musical chairs: Ryan Bartlow, formerly of Sam Mason's Tailor, is now running the kitchen at Bar Carrera, the sister restaurant to Bar Veloce; and Shlomo Kashy is the new executive chef at Cafe at Country. [TSB, NYT]
• Danny Meyer finally tackles the questions that have been on your mind forever: He prefers flat water to sparkling and pancakes over waffles. [YaH]
• Speaking of Meyer, a few new details on his upcoming Maialino. [Zagat] More

Happy Birthday | Your favorite art-collecting, Greenwich-living, publicity-shunning hedge fund billionaire, Steve Cohen (left), turns 53 today. New York's  most famous drag queen, Lady Bunny (right), is turning 47. Marcia Gay Harden is 50. Photographer Terry Richardson is turning 44. Halle Berry turns 43. Steve Martin is 64. Oscar-winning composer James Horner is turning 56. Tony-winning playwright Thomas Meehan turns 80. Magic Johnson is 50. Actress Mila Kunis is 26. Susan Saint James, the actress and wife of NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol, is turning 63. Musician David Crosby is 68. E! host and Top Model regular Jay Manuel is turning 37. And romance novelist Danielle Steel is celebrating her 62nd birthday today. Weekend birthdays are below.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]

• Starbucks is testing out stealth coffeehouses. They're logo-less and feature "neighborhood-inspired names," though the coffee's the same. [ABC News]
• Chanterelle's Karen and David Waltuck say they're closing for a month for refresh. They'll reopen with a new, "intimate" bar and expanded menu. [GS]
• Hope you can make do without tomatoes in your salad: "A highly contagious fungus that destroys tomato plants" is spreading quickly. [NYT] 
• Are you a model? Do you have an appetite? This spot's for you. [NYP] 
• Kogi, the Korean taco truck that's the rage in LA, is not NYC-bound. [Eater]
• Tom Colicchio and wife Lori Silverbush say they're expecting a son. [People]More

• Michael Psilakis's Gus & Gabriel was scheduled to open this evening. But then the air-conditioning stopped working so it didn't. Oh, well. [TFB, TFB]
• Ama in Soho has closed its doors after four years. [Eater]
• Le Pere Pinard on Ludlow Street has been shuttered. [Eater]
• Zen Palate in the financial district is no more. [EVGrieve]
• One more bit of bad news, in case all those closings weren't quite enough: the Dean & Deluca on University Place and 11th Street is gone. [Eater]More

• The words "fresh food" and "Port Authority Bus Terminal" don't usually go together, but an indoor Greenmarket will debut inside the terminal this week. In related news, the Greenmarket in McCarren Park is moving. [NYT, BP]
• Mark your calendars: NYC Restaurant Week kicks off July 12. [NYology]
• Mexican food cart Calexico opens its first physical location next week. [GS]
• An update on Ed "Jean Luc" Kleefield's faded restaurant empire. [Curbed]
• Tom Colicchio appears in a viral ad for "Tru Blood," a "synthetic blood nourishment beverage" featured on the HBO show True Blood. Classy, no? [GS]
• DJ Cassidy on his fave eatery (Sushi Seki) and guiltiest pleasure (JAPs). [BB]
• Canada Dry's "heart-healthy" ginger ale with green tea will probably not reduce your chances of developing heart disease, just so you know. [WSJ]

• It's a big night for Jean-Georges Vongerichten: He's cooking dinner at the United Nations for three past presidents (Carter, Bush I, Clinton) and one current president. Halibut's on the menu, in case you're wondering. [Crain's]
• Scott Sartiano and Richie Akiva of 1Oak and Butter are taking over the West 14th Street bar/club formerly known as The Plumm. [Page Six]
• Tom Colicchio's 'wichcraft is creating the menu for a Southwest Airlines-sponsored "pop-up lounge" in Bryant Park, slated to open June 19. [NYT]
• Merkato 55 (or Le 55, as it was known recently) is now bankrupt. [Crain's]
• Locanda Grande has a bakery café and it's now serving up breakfast. [GS]
• The city is evicting Citarella from its Harlem location. [NYT]
• Christian Albin, chef at the Four Seasons, died over the weekend. [NYT] 
• What you missed at the Big Apple BBQ this weekend. [Gothamist, Metromix]

• Today in restaurant reviews: Frank Bruni gives Zak Pelaccio's new Fatty Crab two stars; the Post's Steve Cuozzo is pretty pleased with Josh DeChellis's La Fonda del Sol; and Jay Cheshes hits up Minetta Tavern. [NYT, NYP, TONY]
• The good news/bad news about the Cooper Square Hotel's Table 8. [Eater]
• Ryan Sutton on Monkey Bar: "A-listers and alcohol are the main event" while the "food is a simian sideshow." All things you knew, undoubtedly. [Bloomberg]
• It's what every chef dreams of: Tom Colicchio is on the new cover of Guitar Aficionado magazine. Yes, the mag exists and, yes, Tom loves guitars. [GS]
• It looks like the space once occupied by Florent/R&L will reopen as 69 Gansevoort Cafe shortly. It will probably remain a 24/7 diner, too. [Eater]
• NYC will look like LA pretty soon: A second Baja Fresh is on the way. [ML]More

Dining with Tom | If you spot Tom Colicchio eating out and he appears to be displaying bad table manners by not having his napkin on his lap, keep in mind it may have been an intentional move on his part. Colicchio's biggest pet peeve at restaurants: "I do not want the server to pick up the napkin and put it on my lap. I know it belongs there; maybe I don't choose to put it there." Duly noted! Oh, and if you should happen to invite Tom over for dinner and he takes you up on your offer, avoid preparing any dishes with okra or grated mountain yam, and make sure your fridge is stocked with Fresca. He'll be forever grateful. [NYT]

• Rumor has it that Gilt is doomed: "Employees are looking for new positions, services are being canceled, and the end is in sight." [TFB]
• Yesterday, Charles took a pounding from Times critic Frank Bruni. Today, the restaurant responded by covering up the windows with Bruni's review. [GS]
• Tom Colicchio appeared on Charlie Rose's show last night. [CharlieRose.com]
• The 50 best new restaurants, according to Travel + Leisure. [T+L]
• A roundup of eating options at the new Yankee Stadium. [GS]
• The IKEA in Brooklyn is turning Wednesdays into "$7.99 rib night." [Eater]
• Another thing to steer clear of: packaged sandwiches from Walgreen's. [ML]
• How did we not know that today was National Eggs Benedict Day? [GS]

• David Burke's Fishtail and the Oak Room come up short in this week's New York: Adam Platt calls the former "decent," while the latter goes away with no stars and is described as "overpriced," "outdated" and "oppressive." [NYM]
• There's a new chef at the meatpacking district's 5 Ninth. [TFB]
• Karen and David Waltuck's Chanterelle is offering an à la carte menu. [TONY]
• Balthazar's bathroom attendants are back, thank goodness. [GS]
• A report from Above Allen, the new lounge at the Thompson LES. [DBTH]
• Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm have tapped former Sheridan Square chef Franklin Becker to run the kitchen at Abe and Arthur's. [TFB]
• A tour of the White House kitchen, courtesy of Michelle Obama. [NYT]
• Tom Colicchio starred in a Coke commercial during last night's Oscars. [GS]

• Payard Patsserie was shut down by the Dept. of Health today. [Eater, NYT]
• Susur Lee's Shang only earns one star from Bruni in today's Times: "The magic that Mr. Lee reputedly made in Toronto hasn't followed him here." [NYT]
• Is chef Damon Wise saying goodbye to Tom Colicchio's Craft empire? [NYO]
• More mixed reviews for L'Artusi in the West Village. [Bloomberg, TONY]
• Is Anita Lo's Annisa up for sale? [Eater]
• Drew Nieporent is joining Danny Meyer at Citi Field. [Crain's] 
• Is foie gras torture? Not so much, says Sarah DiGregorio of the Voice. [VV]
• Be on the lookout for new Heinz ketchup labels! [NYT]
• What's on the menu for dessert tonight? Breakfast, naturally. [NYT]

• What's that 20% surcharge on your bill? It seems a bunch of restaurants are now secretly adding gratuities to diners' checks even though it's illegal. [NYP]
• Tom Colicchio's latest gimmick: He's calling Craftsteak's front dining room "Halfsteak" and serving half-sized portions for $15 or less. [Eater]
• Drew Nieporent and Terrance Brennan discuss the lousy economy. [GS]
• It's not just the high-end that's hurting: Bodegas are suffering, too. [NY1]
• A look inside the newly-opened Butcher Bay. [Eater]
• Are Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud launching a line of frozen foods? [Eater]
• Starbucks is trying its best to make people think it's super-affordable. [WSJ]