Considering City magazine is published by restaurateur John McDonald (co-owner of Lure, Lever House, Brasserie 44, and Chinatown Brasserie), the urbane monthly's new Taste issue is a welcome inevitability. Portions of it are reproduced online, including a pretty cocktail photo feature, suitable for the desktops of mixology geeks; a piece on summer satays with recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; a roundup of new wines and liquors; and a kitchen-tools guide that even got our aspirational juices going.

Related: What Restaurants Serve Themselves When You’re Not Around

As Grub Street predicted last week, Bradford Thompson has been named the new chef of Lever House. Owner John McDonald tells us that Thompson will start in three weeks. Will the Beard-winning Thompson wow the critics here the way he did at Mary Elaine's, in Arizona? Time alone will tell.

Related: Bradford Thompson Near the Top of the Lever House List

Heather Bertinetti has replaced Deborah Snyder at Alto. Bertinetti is the restaurant's third pastry chef in less than a year: Snyder, who came in after Tim Butler left last fall, plans to open her own place in Brooklyn. Both Snyder and chef Michael White say the parting was amicable.

Previously, Bertinetti worked the whisks at Per Se and Gramercy Tavern, and White is excited about his new hire. “We share the same vision for the use of Italian products. Heather has a great sensibility for use of sugar and great balance on acidity,” says the chef. “Her desserts are very clean and straight to the point.”

We're told by several sources close to Lever House that a leading candidate has emerged for the chef job in Bradford Thompson, of Mary Elaine's at the Phoenician resort in Arizona. Thompson, a Daniel alumni, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2006, and was one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs two years earlier. Besides being a major force in the kitchen, Thompson also loves New York — he creates elaborate gourmet tailgates as he follows the Giants from as far away as Scottsdale. Ownership tells us that there are other candidates still being interviewed, but if Thompson is announced as the restaurant's new chef, don't be too surprised.

Bradford Thompson Bio [Culinary Vegetable Institute]
Earlier: Scott Bryan Leaves Lever House at the Altar

Scott Bryan’s done it again! In much the same way that he jilted 10 Downing Street, Scott Bryan, who signed on as chef at Lever House earlier this month, has changed his mind and quit before he began. "There's no hard feelings, but I'm glad we found out now. He was supposed to have started this week," says owner John McDonald. According to McDonald, Bryan was offered a position, or is anticipating an offer, from a restaurant near Washington, D.C., that may involve ownership. Chefs, prepare your résumés. Lever House is hiring again.

Earlier: Scott Bryan Named New Chef at Lever House

Scott Bryan, one of the city's most widely admired chefs, has been hired as the chef at Lever House, succeeding Dan Silverman, says owner John McDonald. “He will start in a few weeks and will introduce his new menu about six weeks or so,” McDonald says. Questions about Bryan’s future, raised often since he left Veritas in October 2007, can now be put to rest.

Earlier: Dan Silverman Out at Lever House, But Who’s In?

A new restaurant marriage has been consummated! Lever House GM Steven Eckler has joined the Red Cat’s owner Jimmy Bradley. The two are now operating partners in the Red Cat and are developing further plans. Bradley tells us that he hopes to have the Red Cat open for lunch within the next couple of months and is also looking to add a private dining room to the restaurant. “We’re still working on the lease, but there is space here for us to do it,” he says. And that’s not all! Eckler and Bradley are planning a new eatery, in theory an 80-to-100-seat restaurant “somewhere between the Thirties and Canal Street on the West Side.” So why move on this now? “Steven wants to open his own restaurant, and that’s something I want to do with him,” Bradley says. “We’ve known each other a long time, and now it’s time for us to do something.”

At last night's Bid Against Hunger, a benefit for restaurant charity group City Harvest, the champagne was flowing and the food was off the hook. But much of the event's energy seemed to emanate from the chefs, who were abuzz over the announcement yesterday of the Michelin Guide's new ratings. "Who knows what their inspectors are like?" asked one chef, who, fearing their wrath, refused to be quoted. "I don't think they really get American restaurants." The cooks who got some love from the red book were happy to talk. Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, one of the city's three three-star restaurants (Jean Georges and Per Se are the others), was visibly psyched. "It was great news! We were a little bit worried, you know? But we're definitely going to celebrate later, at the restaurant. Definitely." (Later, a dinner from Ripert was auctioned off for $24,000.) We asked Lever House chef Dan Silverman, an especially clear-eyed observer of the restaurant scene, what he thought about the ratings. Were they fair? "I'm good with them, obviously," he said. "We kept our star."