Just what we need on this grey Friday afternoon: an epic Q&A sesh with Jeffrey Chodorow. Find out about his upbringing (very poor in a very wealthy Miami), his first restaurants success, a $30k hostess stand he was forced to buy, and how he first met heavyweights Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell (and it wasn't in jail). [BlackBook]

El Chod Junior, that is: "Zachary Chodorow, 22, a recent Wharton grad, is now selling $20 kobe frankfurters from a hot-dog cart outside the Lily Pond nightclub in East Hampton from midnight to 4 a.m...next door to his father's Kobe Club...he wants to expand to other late-night locations." [NYP]

El Chod himself responds to last week's upcharging post, and the man is not pleased: "I'm glad to know you are not biased against Kobe Club. Otherwise you might have said a punch bowl was $500. Especially since we don't have (and never have had) a punch bowl for $350. The punch bowl is $225, the price of which is on the menu (which you could have easily confirmed). And by the way, if somebody wants two glasses of 'punch' and are brought a gigantic trough of punch as they describe, why did they take it when served (and what did they THINK it would cost?)". [EaterWire]

El Chod spotted. From the tipline: "At my sister's birthday dinner at Cabrito last night, we sat next to Jeffrey Chodorow. He was drinking a martini (which I think is weird in a Mexican restaurant) and saying that the menu needed to be more Americanized." [EaterWire]

Re El Chod's punch: "Who is this waitress, and where can I find 10 like her for my restaurant." [Eater Comments]

Re El Chod's punch: "For $350 that punch bowl better come with a canoe or something." [Eater Comments]

"Hey there, Eater. Quick story from Kobe Beach Club [More—Ed.] for you. Me, my husband and our two friends, another couple, were there for dinner last weekend. Scanning the drinks menu me and my girlfriend both opted for the house punch. $17 a glass for punch but we're at the beach, so whatever. Anyway, the waitress says, "Well, if you're both getting the punch, you should just get the punch bowl." So we do, and out comes an absolutely gargantuan bowl of punch. I mean big like, if we both wanted to both drink ourselves to death right there in the dining room, our husbands would have plenty of punch left to get wasted drowning in their sorrows. Later, out comes the bill. The punch bowl cost $350. Two $17 drinks converted up into $350. Chodorow, you are a genius." [Eater Inbox]

Gael Green has an El Chod encounter at the KBNetwork/HallPR party on Monday: "Chodorow finds a rooftop bar launch is a great place to go over blueprints with your architect...I didn’t tell him I like even my mini-burgers rare. He was busy penciling up plan with his architect for the redesign of Ono, his sprawling spot behind the Gansevoort Hotel. Finally wife Linda persuaded him it was time for dinner – their 27th anniversary celebration at Gordon Ramsey." [Insatiable Critic via Cutlets]

Gridskipper has the pics from the opening party of El Chod's newest venture, Kobe Beach Club. Richard Johnson makes an appearance, along with the signature swords, and of course the man of the hour, El Chod. [Gridskipper]

As Memorial Day weekend quickly approaches, El Chod puts up an ad for his newest venture, Kobe Beach Club: "The notorious NYC steakhouse located on 58th and 6th Ave arrives in East Hampton in June for the Summer...this chic yet comfortable restaurant is sure to buzz with excitement...Work with us! We have an immediate need for qualified and energetic food & beverage professionals..." [Craigslist]

The Strongbuzz has it that Jeffrey Chodorow is expanding his deathwatched Kobe Club out to the Hamptons. Maybe there was a El Chod/Real Housewives connection after all. Strong's steakhouse news: "Jeffrey Chodorow is planning to open a Kobe Club in East Hampton, and Oso Steakhouse will open in the Southampton Inn with chef Peter Dunlop, who previously cooked at Café des Artistes." [Strongbuzz]

Last week the Observer's Doree Shafrir presented a thesis that there was some connection between Jeffrey Chodorow and the Bravo show Real Housewives of New York City, because the characters dined in two of his restaurants. This week there's further damning evidence: "In the season finale of Real Housewives last night, Jeffrey Chodorow managed to get in one last plug for Kobe Club—I think it was Jill (maybe Bethenney?) on the phone, and she says something to the effect of, 'We’ll take them to Kobe Club, it has to be somewhere really special, these are JP Morgan bankers.'" [The Doree Chronicles]