At the New York Film Festival premiere of Broken Embraces:

● PENELOPE CRUZ - Favorite restaurant in New York? "Oh, I have many because I love food so much!" And in Madrid? "I go to many that are out in the countryside, but whoever goes there for the first time should go to Botin. It's the oldest restaurant in the world." What did you like about it? "Everything!"

● PEDRO ALMODOVAR - Favorite restaurant in New York? "Mr. Chow's -- we had dinner there the other day, and it was really very impressive." And in Madrid? "In Madrid, there are many. Casa Lucio is one of my favorites."

● Mandarin Oasis (Brickell/Downtown) - Friday nights are popular during the winter months; sip $20 cocktails on the bay, then head to Café Sambal or Azul for a bite. Transports you to tropical island getaway minus the travel, but def with the price tag.
● Le Tub (Aventura) - This local watering hole -- sitting in a rickety old spot on the Intercoastal -- may be known for succulent burgers, but it’s also a choice spot for winding down with a cold brew or two. If you opt to cruise in on your Sea Ray, bring a DD -- water taxis don’t frequent these waters.
● Monty’s (South Beach) - Pain Killers and Miami Vices will put you on the ground; the former comes in three mind-numbing doses of the devil’s tonic, and the latter is a delish concoction of pina colada and strawberry daiquiri mix with an equally dangerous shot of 151 floating on top. Help the booze go down with a trip to the raw bar.

Jeffrey Beers, the creative mind behind Bostonian restaurant tour de force Bond, on his many passions, pacing department stores, and the differences between New York and Dubai.

How would you describe yourself? I’m a passionate and intense artist. I’m an architect by training, but I’m also a glassblower. My interest is in the arts and painting in general. When I was in architecture school at RISD, I met Dale Chihuly, the glass blower. I became a glass blower under him as I was studying architecture. I had exposure to the world of glass art and all sorts of very talented artisans which made a huge difference in my perceptions as an architect. Glass blowing is all about form and balance -- being able to balance volumes and explore forms from a strict architectural sense to a fluid sense. So glass blowing allowed me to really explore form and color and things that were impossible to study on paper. The only way to physically draw these things was on paper. It taught me so much.

For weeks, the fashion industry has been in a frenzy trying to predict what Michelle Obama will don for her husband’s inauguration on January 20. (The Huffington Post even published a slideshow today of Mrs. Obama’s formal ensembles from events past in fruitless hope of revealing some sort of significant underlying trend.) But the First-Lady Elect isn’t the only figure designers have their eye on. According to the New York Times today, “fashion designers have been approaching the inauguration as if it were an extension of the Hollywood awards season.” Meaning: Dressing a pap-friendly guest is serious business in such a challenging economic climate. Katie Holmes’ rep recently told the Washington Post that this awards season was the first time she’d seen designers themselves solicit A-list stars to wear their designs.

Remember your very own small-town prom, and how you impressed your frilly date by scooping a table at the singular nice restaurant around? Then you put your glasses back on and realized you were surrounded by fellow high schoolers -- it was your first lesson in supply versus demand. Welcome to Washington DC next month, when America’s coolness crashes the capital, and the capital tries desperately to bring it in return. At this point, forget about inaugural balls, exclusive gold-specked VIP tickets, and the password-protected after-after parties. Where’s dinner? K Street’s been counting restaurants on fingers and claims it can handle all that glitterati -- just like New Orleans found everyone a seat in the Superdome. Where you dine on the night of the Second Coming defines how many degrees of separation lie between you and the Obamas. Inauguration also settles any longstanding office squabbles about Washington’s top restaurants. It’s quite simple this time: Who’s booked and who ain’t?

DC has a lot of balls -- when President-Elect Barack Obama gets sworn into office on January 20, the town will host more inaugural balls than ever before. Since election day, planners have been scrambling for space and wrangling talent. Meanwhile, Beltway Bandits (local business owners, not the politicians) are welcoming visitors with outrageous price gouging. Want to rent a hotel conference room for a bash? One day it's $20,000, the next it's $40,000. "Everyone knows that people are getting desperate," one event planner says. "And because the economy's so bad, the events industry has been hit very, very hard. The inaugural is kind of the one shot the events industry has to help make up for December and what we think will be a bad spring."

Leave the touring to the little people.
1. 60 Thompson (Soho) - Trendy but not too obnoxious, with fine dish Kittichai downstairs and A60’s unparalleled views up top
2. Hudson Hotel (Midtown West) - Schrager and Starck’s West Side claim brings two hot bars and a swanky comfort-food cafeteria.
3. Dream Hotel (Midtown West) - Room service from Serafina, Rm. Fifty5 for off-lobby tippling, Ava for sick views on two levels. Making midtown modern/bearable.

As it turns out, that trifecta of buildings on tap for The Strip in 2009 will offer hotel rooms fit for a sci-fi movie. Rooms in the Aria, Mandarin Oriental and the Harmon Hotel will be equipped with customizable settings for the television, music and curtains. Feel free to set the music and the television on blast for your triumphant 4:00am return from the Blackjack table, or instruct the curtains to never open when you’re in the room, should you choose to sin in this city.

Rise above the riff raff below and survey your tropical kingdom.

1. Smith & Wollensky - Where you can sip stiff drinks by the Deco Bar and watch the sun set while cruise ships steam by.
2. Level 25 - Miami has the sexiest city lights. Overlook them while you schmooze, 250 feet above ocean level, on the 25th floor of the chic Conrad hotel.
3. Mandarin Oriental - All rooms have balconies overlooking the bay or skyline. But the stars you'll see in the lobby -- celebs dig it.

Boston, like Philly, has avoided diving into true boutique hotel mania, preferring instead to populate its historic cityscape with a more, shall we say, dignified brand of hotel. The new Mandarin Oriental, opening this October after a rather serious fire-induced delay, should, as usual, work a veritable middle ground between the two -- a good dose of grand luxe, a bit of contemporary cool. With a poshie Back Bay address (where the prices could probably even make a New Yorker to recoil), the hotel will boast large, elegantly modern rooms, some with glorious bay views, a spa and fitness center, and the Amerasian Asana restaurant.