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.”

Last night, at Casa Tanteo in Soho, two mixologists went head-to-head in a boozy battle for the tequila brand’s popular “Mexican Standoff” series. Kevin Denton of The Roof Top at Gramercy Park Hotel and Ben Demarchelier of L'oubli were put to the test behind the bar, where they whipped up drinks for a panel of judges that included Tanteo’s in-house mixologist Jason Mendenhall, Johnny Swet of Hotel Griffou, James Jung of NBC’s The Feast, Renee Lucas of CITY magazine, and CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Serena Altschul.

This week temps dipped a bit, but that didn't stop partiers from putting on their best spring impressions. Posers were Patrickmcmullaned at top spots like the The Ace Hotel, for Ruffian's party and the Hotel Griffou for the launch of the new fashion brand Porcelain for which Sting showed faced. Other faces from a week of parties after the jump.

I'm not sure how to pronounce the name of the flat iron restaurant Ilili. I don't know the origins of its name. Alls I know is that I had dinner there the other night with publicist Kelley Blevins and a special friend, and it was great. I'm not sure if my blog readers read BlackBook magazine as well; I have an article in there every month. I and all the other people associated with the magazine are asked each month to list their current favorite hangout. My entry from the August issue was "Nightlife Correspondent Steve Lewis Ajaxx (NYC)." Ajaxx was the rooftop restaurant/lounge my partner and I were designing for Greg Brier at the Stay hotel in Times Square. It's Tokyo 2050 graffitti design has not seen the light of day due to tip-toeing by economy-influenced decision-makers and all sorts of bureaucratic bureaucracy.

So, are restaurants really the new nightclubs? Check out these multitasking contenders.

"This seems like one big Republican party," an unnamed guest with a distinct southern accent noted last night at The Gates. "Either that or it's a Yale reunion." Amid all of this week's summery soirees, I was most happy to find myself at UNICEF's Next Generation Launch Event. With Jenna Bush Hager as a committee chair, Grey Goose-sponsored cocktails, and Josh Madden playing DJ, this one particularly disinterested party guest could not sour the bunch -- regardless if the bunch was made up of Republican Yalies or not. The event was hosted by the members of UNICEF's Next Generation Steering Committee, a group composed 30 thirty young scenesters, including Barbara Bush, Lauren Bush, Maggie Betts, and David Lauren, who banded together to party for their very first initiative: Project Sprinkles, as they pledged to raise $175,000 for the program. Not to worry -- the program isn't raising awareness for your Crumbs habit, though the delicious cupcakes were passed at the event. These sprinkles are sugar-free and save lives.

Larry Poston officially opened the West Village resto Hotel Griffou with business partner Johnny Swet on July 1. Poston made his name in New York restaurant circles as a manager at Pastis and the Waverly Inn, and Swet gained his hospitality know-how at Balthazar and Freemans. Most recently occupying the 9th Street space was notorious speakeasy Marylou’s, but the name of the new joint is after the original, French 1870s occupants. The modern dining rooms are themed as a salon, library, and artist's studio with a French-inspired classic cuisine menu. Poston gives us an inside look at the new spot.

Cold cocktails and summer go together. Whether you're sitting by the beach or running from your office at the stroke of five to cool down at the nearest bar, the only question is: what is the most rockin,’ balls-to-the-wall, delicious, sunshine-inspired beverages out there? This list will get you started on a summer journey through NYC’s nooks and crannies, keeping your taste buds tantalized through at least October 1.

My mom tried lemonade as a little girl, hated it, and never sipped it again. One day, at a family picnic in Alley Pond Park out in Queens, on the hottest day ever recorded -- 147 degrees in the shade, you can look it up -- she was in need of a beverage. The only thing available, my momma told me, was the lemony stuff. Dying of thirst, melting in the summer heat, she forced herself to drink it -- and she loved it. A valuable lesson not lost on my wise mom. She had spent so many long years not enjoying something she really liked because she only gave it one try. So my mom taught me to try everything in life twice, just in case the first time you got a bad batch. This advice has caused me some grief, but some great rewards as well. Indeed, a 12-year relationship after a horrible one-night stand resulted from heeding my mom's guidance. Funny thing is, mom never liked her. Dad taught me some stuff as well, but this is a family blog.

Did some Nostradamus-type advertising guru from T.G.I. Friday's invent textese, therefore predicting the SMS revolution me and my Blackberry are now celebrating? I went to the T.G.I. Friday's website to check and was bombarded with heavy metal music and images of violently searing meat, bottle-tossing bartenders and sexy Midwestern waitresses. Too much before my morning lemonade. I'm in love with my Blackberry. It doesn't mean I want to marry it, but I do plan on taking it on vacation. Some say I'll have a better time if I leave her at home and go with some random gal, but I told them to gft.