David Santos is excited about the heat. One afternoon last week, the Executive Chef at New York's Hotel Griffou impatiently awaited the arrival of late spring cherries, “jet black and loaded with sugar,” and later strawberries, peaches, and nectarines, which will flavor the many menus he's planning for the restaurant’s summer season. Santos has a compulsive need to change at least a quarter of his menu every month, especially the most popular dishes, which he sees over and over again while expediting a busy dinner service. “I have menu ADD,” says the 32-year-old. “I’m always very much into a menu when I create it, but soon I start to get bored with it and can’t wait to change it.”

Now that summer’s finally on the fritz (sniffle) 'til next Memorial Day and Manhattanite weekend chatter is more catwalks than beachwalks, Julie Marcley, tireless first lady to Montauk’s longstanding standout Dave’s Grill, finally has time to take a breather, enjoy a Chocolate Bag, and answer our questions -- from the Hamptonization of Montauk to her ‘Dirty Dancing’-esque forbidden summer romance with a young chef that took her from Weekender to gatekeeper. And after 22 years behind her hostess station, Mrs. Chef Dave is speaking her mind.

Albert Trummer is the Austrian bar chef and brains behind Chinatown operation Apothéke. With business-minded partner Heather Tierney, Trummer serves his liquid medicine from behind the bar to an eager clientele night after night at the booming corner spot on Doyers Street. While growing up in his family's restaurant in Austria, Trummer learned his way around the bar and turned his father's private club into a booming hotspot at the age of 15. He's since worked for the likes of David Bouley, the Chambers Hotel, Home Bar on Shelter Island, and 60 Thompson. The master mixologist speaks about who does nightlife best, the apothecary premise and his plans for the future. And for a special video clip, he even mixes up his famous flaming inferno beverage for BlackBook's Cayte Grieve and Eiseley Tauginas.

At the opening of Hair on Broadway, March 31:

Last night, booze behemoth William Grant held a cocktail party at David Bouley's test kitchen in Tribeca. The vaunted chef and owner of his eponymous Tribeca trifecta -- Bouley, Bouley Market, and Bouley Upstairs -- started this culinary laboratory as a way to bring chefs together to share trade secrets and techniques. Think of it as cooking school for the world's best cooks. "We’ve had chefs from about 35 countries here so far. We don’t get involved in their prolific or esoteric style of cooking, but we want to understand from a cultural standpoint about an ingredient or technique, and apply that to what we do already,” said Bouley, who showed up towards the end to help his staff with dessert. After the jump, exclusive pictures of Bouley at work inside the test kitchen, and how the economy is affecting his food empire.

Heather Tierney, apothecary-at-large for Chinatown destination Apothéke on comparisons to Amy Sacco, being the bad twin, and dealing with Chinese landlords.

Not that supreme chef David Bouley needs a celebrity endorsement or anything, but what the hey. I just had a delicious slice of eggnog cake and I'm feeling philanthropic. All the way from Dubai, supermodel Petra Němcová rang me up with the news that her favorite New York dining spot is Bouley, the chef's flagship French restaurant in Tribeca. "It’s amazing. It’s very chic there. The men have to wear a jacket, no jeans. It’s very romantic, and when you enter, there are barrels of apples, so right away you have the smell of fresh apples. And the people who work there have a great sense of humor."

Jon B. is a behind-the-scenes kind of owner. Shy and relatively unrecognized -- considering he has owned some very successful nightclubs -- Jon is often found with his cellphone glued to his ear. Very much like me, he is loved by many and not loved by others. I once said the thing I missed most about my time working with Peter Gatien was the business banter. Gatien knew this business; he understood and enhanced concepts which are lost on so many owners. I can talk business with Jon. He has a quick, mathematical mind and is very aware of the pulse, aware of the scene. He's able to grasp the value of promoters and has a keen awareness of the bottom line. Jon B. knows how to make money in clubs -- not an easy thing.