Amy Gunther of the Williamsburg North skateboard mecca KCDC asked me to do the door at the Art Mosh opening in West Chelsea last night. The event, promoted by PAPER magazine and uber-trendy watch company Nixon, attracted a Jane-worthy hipster crowd. It was pretty much a no-brainer until the space hit its legal capacity and a large crowd of equally important folks got stuck outside. Then it was 3 out, let 3 in, and I had to actually work ... it's been a long time since I had to work a door. Four PAPER interns were on hand to help, as was PAPER's director of events Nicky Balestrieri. A hundred people were in the street and very few were leaving, as free booze and great music from cinematographer, filmmaker, and actor Shawn Regruto kept everybody happy. Oh yes, there was a great photography show as well. I controlled the crowd, whisked the super VIPs in as fast as allowed, and I thought of the problems over at the Jane and other hotspots where only a chosen few will ever get in.

As someone with a roommate who tends bar at Dutch Kills, and another who works door at its West Village cousin Little Branch, I've been privileged to sample a lot of carefully concocted cocktails lately, filled with as much blood and sweat as they are with gin and orange bitters. These are precise, creative libations worth every penny of the $12 ($9 at Dutch Kills people!) you dole out. That's why, when a bartender at the Roof Club of the Gramercy Park Hotel charged me $20 for a vodka soda , I wanted to spit up the beverage all over my nice clean boat shoes.

There are super-groups and then there is the Dead Weather, a serrated, rock-bluesy outfit featuring the White Stripes’ Jack White, the Kills’ Alison Mosshart, Queens of the Age’s Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence of the Greenhornes and the Raconteurs (White’s other handpicked band of musical brothers). But, a word to the wise, do not call them a super-duper group. On the eve of the band’s first New York performance (only their second live gig ever, after the opening of White’s Third Man Records space in Nashville, Tennessee), we sat down inside Manhattan’s Gramercy Park Hotel to discuss their debut record, Horehound, the danger of overzealous fans, and “weird fucking aliens.” (Also see our other Dead Weather feature.)

Marion Cotillard is having a New York moment. The new face of French cinema, who took home a treasure trove of gold statues from far-flung corners of the world for her memory-searing role as Edith Piaf in 2007’s La Vie en Rose, is slathering cream cheese on half a bagel as she readies for our daylong cover shoot. So much for the spread of organic salads, fresh vegetables and hot water with lemon she’d requested.

I attended the "Save the Beatrice" party at the brand spanking new Cooper Square Hotel. Paul Sevigny promised a free save the Bea T-shirt if I came. He has not kept his word. However, he does promise to keep his word to the New York City Buildings Department. A hearing today will clarify what the department will require the Beatrice Inn team to do in order to reopen. Paul promises he's "more than willing to fix anything that is required and to address any issues that they have." I asked him if the joint will open soon, and he replied, "Hell yeah."

The 25th anniversary of Gotham Bar & Grill finds Alfred Portale, the executive chef and co-owner, celebrating his restaurant's continued success but also reflecting wistfully on his own beginnings. He sounds off on the evolutions of both his career and the industry, oversized pork sandwiches, and Top Chef.

How would you describe your role in the kitchen?
In terms of the day-to-day operations, that's my role. Twenty years ago, I would cut fish, butcher lamb, get on the line, and cook. Now it's more or less being in the restaurant each night and overseeing the service. Spending time in the dining room and greeting guests. We have a huge amount of regular guests and friends of the restaurant who come each night. I'm now sort of splitting my time between here and Miami. I opened a new restaurant in Miami Beach at the Fontainebleau. It was re-opened after a billion-dollar renovation. It's a wild culture down there.

Syndicate PR’s founder Nathan Ellis on spearheading the popularity of the Fashion Week presentation format, earning Anna Wintour's approval and looking forward to the most imaginative designer each season.

What has been your most memorable Fashion Week moment so far?
One is the 2007 Petrescu project with Trovata, where we created characters inspired by the collection and then unleashed them on an unsuspecting Fashion Week. When WWD ran an article on the stunt mid-Fashion Week because Radar.com speculated it might be an Ali G prank, I knew we had created something that would really raise eyebrows. Page Six outed us the last day of Fashion Week, and we celebrated with a party hosted by, quite naturally, the faux Romanian socialites and Waris.

Celebrities are just like us! And just like the average john, they like to check into a hotel, draw the blackout blinds, and bang their lover on some high-thread-count sheets. To prove it, Concierge has a roundup of the top hotels where the rich and (in)famous like to play naughty games:

1. The Soho Grand in New York (Soho) - Favorite of J. Simp and John Mayer when they were hot and heavy, the rooms all have giant windows (good for exhibitionists!) and pets are allowed (hmmm).
2. The Palms in Las Vegas (Off-Strip West) - Michael Phelps has been known to get extra-friendly with the hired help here, and he's now seriously dating one Caroline Paz who works at the hotel's Moon Nightclub. Pam, Paris, Snoop, and Britney are all known to get down here, and it is also the famed spot where George Clooney met ex-girlfriend Sarah Larson.

Lori Levine, founder and CEO of Flying Television Talent Booking & Brokering, divulges her penchant for matchmaking, loathing for the über-VIP VIPs, and 2009's imperative social calendar

Where do you go out? Lunetta. They have a perfect menu. The meatballs with raisins and pine nuts are worth the trip. Also, it is so close to my office. I take all my lunch meetings there. Gemma at the Bowery Hotel. I love lots of different bites, so the option to order tons of small plates is fantastic, and the atmosphere is perfect for two or twenty. Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel. You can count on a comfy chair, a warm fireplace, and perfectly mixed drinks. I adore the penthouse and plan as many events as I can there.

What's your story? I am a talent broker bringing together Hollywood and corporate America through marketing, advertising, celebrity events, spokesmanship deals, and celebrity personal appearances.

Mr. West's exuberant Italian door person Fabrizio Brienza on looking marvelous, not being a crackhead, and how he selects New York sexpots to cross his velvet ropes.

Where do you hang out? When I don’t work, I never go out. For me, it’s like going to the office on a Saturday. I don’t want to do that. I live in Tribeca, and I go this little Italian place called Capri Café. It’s very low key, but they are my friends who run the place, and they cook just like my mom. So I go there all the time. I like the Tribeca Grand sometimes. For places to go out, I like the Box and Rose Bar. I like places that are a little bit underground and not commercial at all. I like to hide sometimes. I don’t like to be in the club with all the club people all the time. I like to be the opposite. Low key. For outdoor bars, I like the rooftop at the Gramercy Hotel.