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The health department’s gone undercover -- and their new inspectors are “younger and hipper-looking than the stereotypical bureaucrat,” reports The New York Times. Why should healthy department spies need to dress up quite so much, just to ferret out nicotine junkies?

We’ve bemoaned the smoking crackdown for quite some time: we ranted, we raved and with a little (misguided?) inspiration, even tried “quitting.” Now, The New York Times reports that Bloomberg’s forces may be one step closer to “winning:" M2 went on trial last week, and if all goes according to plan, the club could be shut down as early as this Thursday -- making it the first venue to go down in non-smoking flames. Though we might not weep over M2’s demise (see above), the mega-club’s 300-plus employees are sure to feel otherwise. It’s a cruel irony that the very people Bloomberg is trying to protect from workplace smoking are facing unemployment. The fate of the Health Department’s other targets -- Lit Lounge, The Box, and other venues to be determined -- is still up in the air.

With Spring comes a veritable shift in nightlife. Not only are rooftops reopening and patios getting their shine on, but people start feeling inspired to jumpstart their social life and there are plenty of new offerings vying to be the jumper cables. Simonez makes a jump to Pravda on Wednesday nights (an attendees sardonic review: "Like the Vanity Fair Oscar party combined with being backstage at Woodstock"), and Mike has started using his Apartment to shoot rap videos. Meanwhile, all wait with baited breath to see what will become of the old Nells/new Scott and Richie spot, which is set to open next month.

Lowdown: This is Manhattanites' Friday night. Whipped has moved to Baddies, the hipster alcoholics moving closer to their hipster roots. Hot Now: ● CV (Lower East Side) - Something has finally been done with the over-saturated spot formerly known as 105 Rivington. Let's see how long this minor revamp will last. ● BEast(Chinatown) - Main Man, Ryan McGinley's night of debauchery, is still in swing. Expect a Misshape or two, Sophia Lamar, and a band of insiders. ● Coffee Shop (Union Square) - One of the true day clubs, chocked full of promoters networking via text message; the basement named USL will be making random appearances throughout the week. Avenue, Boom Boom Room and 1Oak are still great standbys for good times, while the down-belows like Macao's basement opium den, is also great. ● Baddies (West Village) - The former Butter party was screwed with until it finally flew the coop to the basement bar of Kingswood. Resident hipster DJs Matt & Maia draw out big name fashion folks like Alexander Wang and the Ronsons.

Well that was fast. Mardi Gras is fin, and most New Yorkers were too distracted or bleary-eyed from the long weekend to get truly fat on Fat Tuesday. Now Lent is here and people have rushed into giving things up and fasting and otherwise resorting to being good and decent people for the next 40 days. What does this mean for New York nightlife? Judging from the long lists of places to-go and people to-see, I'd say not much. This week we've got Brooklynites saying Bryant Park what? as they host a fashion week(end) of their own, while Oak takes it upon itself to get its own magazine credits by releasing another issue of their popular Oak.a.zine fashion rag. Hotel Rivington tries out a new party with the old dogs from Stereo, people flood Rose Bar to see if they can't shmooze their way into Nur Khan's new Kenmare, StyleCaster hits up Goldbar and free booze tries its damnedest to revive Happy Endings.

New York's hottest spots on its hottest nights

The original punk rock princess retakes her throne

Just heard a very realistic rumor that East Village hipster standby The Annex has been sold and will become, of all things, a sports bar. In honor of the decline of yet another club kid landmark, the infamous electro-nu-rave Ruff Club party will be throwing a final hurrah for the sweat den it made popular on September 11, bringing out some underground all-stars: the Misshapes, Spencer Product, and the Ruff Kids. Another fond farewell to a Friday night hotspot that many called home.

An immensely talented actor, 34-year-old Hugh Dancy has tackled many tough roles: an amoral hedonist in Savage Grace, a troubled alcoholic in Evening and a teacher immersed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide in 2005’s award-winning drama Beyond the Gates. But to most American audiences, he’s best known for his wildly charming parts in lighter fare such as Confessions of a Shopaholic and Ella Enchanted. All that’s about to change, however, with the release of Adam, a thoughtful, heartfelt story about a young man with Asperger Syndrome looking to confront the death of his parents and the odd sensation of love. Here, Dancy -- profiled and photographed as various iconic rebels in BlackBook’s August issue -- discusses his new film, his fall engagement to actress Claire Danes and the best place in New York to find a good pint of stout. Plus, see a full gallery of behind-the-scenes pics from his photo shoot.

Here at BlackBook, we pay a lot of attention to where cool customers go out -- bars, clubs, restaurants, shops, hotels, you name it. So why not flip the frame and let you see where we go out? Here's a periodically updated, exhaustive list of hotspots currently favored by everyone at BlackBook, from the mighty bosses down to the humble interns, from the charming local lounges around the corner to the jet-setting temples of luxe living.