Jeffrey Chodorow, owner of China Grill, Asia de Cuba, Kobe Club, Ono, and other esteemed global eateries, dishes on Schrager, disses on DiSpirito, then row-row-rows his colorful boat ashore.

Point of Origin: I was born in the Bronx, but my father died the year I was born, so my mother and I moved to Miami. I grew up in Miami Beach, where we lived with her sister. They were both manicurists in a Cuban barbershop, and they used to go to Havana for the weekend -- which, incidentally, is how Asia de Cuba eventually came to be. I opened China Grill because I knew the Asian and Cuban pantry, so it seemed like a natural. I grew up very poor in a very wealthy Miami area where we went through school drills, hiding under our desks during the Cuban missile crisis. Some friends built a bomb shelter in their property which was nicer than our apartment! This was before Castro came in.

Shiny. New. Can we play with it?

1. Florida Room at the Delano - Designer Lenny Kravitz makes old school new again. Super tight entry for live music that shifts to latenight DJ tracks.
2. Gansevoort South - Bringin’ the party to vaunted 1926 landmark. Rooftop pool packs more heat than even the New York original.
3. Pacific Time - Chef Jonathan Eismann finally reopened his famous Pan-Asian haunt. Trendier Design District incarnation trumps Old South Beach version.

It's easy enough to ignore the avalanche of press releases one receives on a daily basis, but there are often gemstones among the rough. For example -- a branded "hot list" collection of summer cocktails may be refined and expanded, since it happens to include some our favorite places (and beverages) in four cities nationwide. Check it out, and chillax.

Hennessy Fire-Five, Rooftop Lounge of the Empire Hotel
Manhattanites can sip the Hennessy Fire-Five martini while absorbing floor-to-ceiling views of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Central Park, and Lincoln Center. With alleged frequenters such as Kim Cattrall, Kelly Ripa, Jimmy Fallon, Teri Hatcher, A-Rod, Kim Raver, and Lindsay Price, the luxurious rooftop lounge and outdoor patio is the perfect setting to watch a summer evening sunset while sipping perfection.

“I’ve got too much on my plate,” a buxom blonde whines over a mound of Kobe beef in a slick corner booth at the Kobe Club. She has no idea. In one night we’re tempted to traipse through most of Manhattan, fitting in Richie Rich’s Rox and Riley Footwear Launch Party at 205 downtown, uptown to the Kobe Club to celebrate the opening of Kobe Beach Club uptown, chat up Eva Mendes at Calvin Klein, and gawk at the Bravo Awards after-party. We certainly have a lot on our plate tonight, and it's not sirloin.