Famed illustrator Hilary Knight contributed sketches of six "classic" New York restaurants to Vanity Fair. If you guessed that this esteemed list would include the "renowned," "sophisticated" Monkey Bar, which just so happens to be owned by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, give yourself a pat on the back. Update:…

Midtown is really, really happening these days, have you heard? At least that's what the owners of restaurants that recently opened in—yes, you guessed it—Midtown are saying! And you can give all the credit to Monkey Bar co-owner and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter since he "arguably foresaw and guaranteed the…

Graydon Carter—the George Washington of Vanity Fair—was (allegedly) on a jet to Bermuda when layoffs hit the magazine last week. That's okay! Graydon (allegedly) has a very generous way of making it up to the layoff victims.

"Socialitopoly," from Vanity Fair. Its unbiased rankings: Graydon Carter's Monkey Bar has above-average prestige, but the disgustingly easy-to-enter Waverly Inn is nowhere to be found. Take heed, board game-playing social climbers. Click to enlarge. [VF]

Monkey Bar is Graydon Carter's Exclusive Lair of the Famous and Awesome. It's so exclusive, even NY Times dining critic Frank Bruni had a tough time getting in. You know who didn't? Levi Johnston. And two of his bodyguards.

It's a good thing that author Fran Lebowitz is so tight with editor/restaurateur Graydon Carter that she can walk into Monkey Bar (or the Waverly Inn) without a reservation and get a table a moment's notice. If she had to use the phone—or Monkey Bar's email reservations system—she'd be in serious trouble. WWD asked…

Most magazine editors spend their days discussing story ideas with writers and editors, reviewing copy, and deciding what pieces will appear in upcoming issues. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter? He does that, too, but the part-time restaurateur also carves out a chunk of time every day to tend to the "daily process…

Caricature-coiffed Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter co-owns two restaurants where Manhattan's most insufferable douchebags go to get their "look at me" on. Each day these establishments field "thousands" of table requests and Graydon alone decides where the arses will park.

• The Grill at the Standard hotel is in friends-and-family mode at the moment. (It should be open to the public sometime next week.) In the meantime, though, you'll be pleased to hear (and see—left) that some serious bartender training is currently underway. [HotelChatter, Flickr]
• New York's very first spot for…

Vanity Fair was kind enough to put together an "all-access" guide to summer in New York City, a document the magazine handed out to its advertisers recently as a token of Graydon Carter's affection. The PDF, which you can download here, is full of advice on places to eat and drink, summer concerts to attend, and even…

From Steve Fishman's chat with Vanity Fair editor-in-chief (and restaurateur) Graydon Carter in this week's issue of New York:

Graydon Carter appeared as a witness yesterday at the trial of Anthony Marshall, the son of Brooke Astor who stands accused of swindling his mother when she was suffering from Alzheimer's. The Vanity Fair editor recalled the three articles he asked her to write for the magazine in the late '90s (she was paid $1,000…