Attention, Manhattanites! If you're out walking your dog—or thinking about innocently petting one on the sidewalk—be wary of a wheaten terrier named James. He belongs to Eliot Spitzer. And he's not exactly friendly. When this reporter unsuspectingly tried to pet him last night near the Metropolitan Museum, his dog walker issued a firm warning. "Those are the former governor's dogs," she said. "And that one," she said pointing to the aforementioned, seemingly sweet terrier. "He's mean, and he bites!"

The magazine bloodbath continues today. Condé Nast laid off staffers at Brides this morning, two days after shutting down Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. And rumor has it a big round of layoffs at Forbes is imminent. The good news? At least one former Condé employee got a free lunch today:

Despite the drama of the past few months (and Matt Taibbi's best efforts), Goldman Sachs' reputation doesn't appear to have been damaged much—at least as far as job seekers are concerned. According to Vault.com—and for the 11th year in a row—Goldman was named the most prestigious banking firm to work for. [Crain's]

You expected to hear Law & Order would be ripping the Jon and Kate Gosselin saga from the headlines to base an upcoming show on, didn't you? The episode airing on Oct. 16 revolves around a reality show called "Larry Plus 10" and "chronicles the struggles of a single dad who's raising 10 adopted special needs kids by himself—after his wife, Joy, is bludgeoned-to-death." But are budget cuts now taking a toll on the long-running series? The other main character is a woman who had 10 kids by in-vitro fertilization and is a stand-in for Nadya Suleman. [NYP]

You're not going to believe this, but according to the new edition of the Zagat guide, which officially comes out today, "New Yorkers are eating fewer restaurant meals than a year ago, and when they do, they're skimping on appetizers, desserts and alcohol." Crazy, huh? In other shocking news, the survey reports that people are "finding better deals" when they go out to eat and are having an easier time getting reservations.

Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of Sex and the City 2 in Brooklyn ... Alex Rodriguez walking to lunch in Midtown with his manager, Guy Oseary ... Hilary Duff kissing Penn Badgley on the set of Gossip Girl ... Rick Fox and Eliza Dushku walking in Midtown ... Olivia Palermo leaving the PIX11 studios ... Khloe Kardashian arriving at JFK and later shopping at the Apple store ... Tim Robbins talking to Matt Damon and Emily Blunt on the Adjustment Bureau set downtown ... Kate Gosselin getting out of an SUV in front her of hotel ... and Sienna Miller carrying her dog downtown.

How are banks repaying American taxpayers for providing them with billions of bailout dollars during the financial crisis? By jacking up ATM fees to the highest they've ever been in history. Thanks, guys! [Slate]

Mort Zuckerman's latest attempt to expand his media empire has failed, it seems. Reuters is reporting the real estate developer and owner of the Daily News and US News has decided to drop out of the race to acquire BusinessWeek, possibly because he sensed execs at the mag's parent company, McGraw-Hill, are more interesting in doing a deal with Bloomberg LP instead.

• Theater and movie producer Marty Richards is still trying to unload his River House apartment. It's been 10 years now that the 14-room maisonette has been on and off the market—with prices ranging from $11.5 million (in 2003) to $29 million (in 2006)—but Richards is giving it another go. The Oscar-winning producer has given the listing to broker Kathy Sloane for a third time, and it's currently listed for $13.5 million. [NYO]
• Brian Brille, Bank of America's former head of investment banking who was named president of the bank's Asia-Pacific region three weeks ago, has put his 5,473-square-foot apartment at Trump Park Avenue on the market. The four-bedroom pad, which Brille and his wife Leslie picked up for $8.6 million back in 2007, is listed for $14.75 million with Corcoran's Carrie Chiang and Loy Carlos. [Cityfile, Corcoran]
• Russian real estate investor Janna Bullock sold her townhouse on East 67th Street in January for $24.925 million. Now she's looking to sell her 21-foot-wide manse at 14 East 82nd Street. The home is now on the market for $20 million with Sotheby's SVP Nikki Field. [Real Deal]

Joy Behar, the View fixture and host of her own show on HLN as of last week, is turning 67. Former Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal turns 58. American Idol judge Simon Cowell is 50. American Idol winner Taylor Hicks is 33. John Mellencamp is turning 58. Toni Braxton turns 41. Rachel McAdams is 33. Nation editor-in-chief Katrina Vanden Heuvel is celebrating her 50th. Famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma is 54. Russia's most powerful man, Vladimir Putin, is 57. Sex columnist Dan Savage is turning 45. Tico Torres of Bon Jov turns 56. Nobel Prize-winning activist and cleric Desmond Tutu is 78. And Oliver "Ollie" North turns 66 today.

• Jeremy Piven, now fully recovered from his bout with mercury poisoning, has been squiring lots of women around town in recent days. He was out with "a super-pretty African American girl" last Friday; a day later, he was at the Rangers season opener with "a gorgeous blond." Let this be another reminder, however, that short, balding guys can date whoever they want as long as they're on a hit TV show. [P6]
• Producers for Tinsley Mortimer's reality show are reportedly having a hard time getting her friends to sign on. Peter Davis, the Tinz's half-brother-in-law, wrote on Facebook that he has "zero interest in playing a warped, twisted version of myself on television." And socialites Zani Gugelmann and Dani Stahl have also passed. So far the only person confirmed is her sister, Dabney Mercer. So does that mean her ex, Topper Mortimer, is out, too? [P6]
• Padma Lakshmi has said she'd like to keep her pregnancy a private matter. And judging by pictures of her at various parties this week, she's barely showing. But none of that stopped her from telling a reporter that she needs to keep her belly "really lubricated" these days: "Every morning, there's a buttering ceremony after I get out of the shower," she said. "It's really like basting a turkey with body butter." [People]

• Despite rumors to the contrary (and a recent surprise visit by inspectors from several city agencies) the Jane Hotel's Ballroom is still open. [Eater, NYP]
• Daniel Boulud is pumped about his three Michelin stars, unsurprisingly. [GS]
• The Voice's Robert Sietsema, however, would like to see Michelin disappear: "Get your radial-tire ass in gear and lay rubber out of here, Michelin Man. We've already got plenty of unreliable sources telling us where to eat." [VV]
• Hill Country is planning to open expand with a fried chicken place. [TFB]
• Chefs and restaurateurs mourn the closing of Gourmet after 68 years. [GS]
• Esquire magazine's "Best New Restaurants" list is out. [GS]
• The age-old (and elusive) hunt for NYC's best bagel. [Serious Eats]

According to a new study in the medical journal Addiction, abstaining from alcohol will not only make you a lot less fun to go out to a bar with, it will also leave you at a greater risk for developing depression and anxiety. Meanwhile, a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry indicates that those who stick to a "Mediterranean diet" and don't overdo it with the booze are 30 percent less likely to develop symptoms of depression. Needless to say, if you find yourself feeling a little bit down today, it's nothing a trip to Italy or Greece and a visit to a local wine bar can't fix. [Time, Guardian]

In case the first dozen didn't satisify your desire to smell like a pop star past her prime, Jennifer Lopez has another perfume coming out this week called "J. Lo Glow." (Be sure not to confuse it with previous scents like "Glow by J. Lo," "My Glow," "Sunkissed Glow," or "Miami Glow.") As part of the ad campaign for the new perfume, People reports that "Jennifer naturally assumes a maternal role in domestic scenes meant to reflect the coziness of the new floral fragrance." So to achieve this natural maternal role—and convey what Lopez says is a natural feeling of "intimacy and love"—Lopez must have posed with her own twins, right? Naturally, no. They're actors. [People]

• The Condé Nast shake-up continues: A day after the company shuttered four titles, it's ousted the publisher of Details. And rumor has it the Condé cuts may now "inspire" similar such moves at Hearst and Time Inc. [AdAge, NYT, NYP]
• Ruth Reichl says she was completely surprised by the news Gourmet was closing. (She says she's planning to write a book about her years there.) And Gourmet's offices have since been completely cleared out. [NYT, Gawker]
• David Letterman should apologize on his show every night. His latest mea culpa generated better ratings than anything NBC aired during primetime. [AP]
• CBS is talking to Nancy Grace about hosting a Judge Judge clone. [B&C]
• The only big media company hiring and not firing? Bloomberg LP. [Crain's]

Some people have been a little troubled by the news a shady Russian billionaire is now buying up a local sports franchise (the Nets), as well as part of the arena that will eventually be the team's new home in Brooklyn. But not Jamie Johnson. The pharmaceutical heir and filmmaker thinks it's, like, the greatest news ever:

Were you waiting to hear that David Paterson has decided to drop out of the race for governor in 2010? That hasn't happened yet, but he has come to a decision on another matter of great political import. The governor declared yesterday that he wholeheartedly endorses the selection of Jay-Z as MTV's "Hottest MC" for 2009:

"Nearly one-third of Americans say they are less likely to watch Late Show host David Letterman following the funnyman's admission that he has had affairs with women who work on his CBS show, according to a poll released today." Really? But what will all these people watch on TV instead?

Dominick Dunne—chronicler of crime and society, best-selling author, Vanity Fair contributor, and cable television host—died in August after a long battle with cancer. His weekend house in Connecticut is now up for sale. The three-bedroom home in Lyme, which was once featured in Architecural Digest (above) and which, according to the broker, is "immediately recognizable from Mr. Dunne's television shows and documentaries," is listed for $2.1 million. You'll find a few photos of the house below.

Not only is NYC's calorie-posting law annoying—who wants to be reminded that the drink they're about to order is not only overpriced but is packed with 400 calories, too?—it doesn't encourage people to eat (or drink) healthier either. Although nine in ten people who saw the calorie counts posted claimed they "made healthier choices as a result," when researchers at NYU and Yale "checked receipts afterward, they found that people had, in fact, ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer had before the labeling law went into effect, in July 2008."