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.

Meatpacking District hotspot Buddha Bar is upping the ante in the cocktail wars. They've introduced a seasonal cocktail, called the Gold Digger, a mix of Zuidam Gin and Dry Vermouth, and it'll set you back a cool fifty bucks. The extravagance doesn’t end with the price: the cocktail includes gold-encrusted olives and a golden designer toothpick by Rick Toscano. The Gold Digger is the latest addition to the array of novelty cocktails, and actually seems cheap compared to the former Guinness World Record-holding Ritz Side Car cocktail.

Landlocked Prague -- unlike, say, Venice -- has never experienced an influx of Far East cultural influence. So that the world's first Buddha-Bar Hotel is debuting in this most medieval of cities seems a curious incongruity (a second will open soon in Dubai, a more obvious marriage of flash and cash). But the Buddha Bar aesthetic has always been nothing if not shamelessly baroque, so perhaps it will actually fit quite comfortably within the Czech capital’s ornate cityscape.