Classy nonfiction author Eric Konigsberg's assessment of super successful thriller writer Harlan Coben's career begins on a slightly sour note—"What it takes to succeed as a thriller writer—even when the literary establishment doesn't acknowledge your existence"—and then just kinda keeps getting sourer. "Until I met Harlan Coben, I was only vaguely familiar with his name. It was one of dozens I would see on the short paperbacks that line the shelves of airport news shops." Hiss! A few sentences later, the seeming-vitriol is kinda-'splained.

"Charmingly disheveled," a touch of "mildew buildup"—never has a restaurant shared as many qualities with one of its owners as is the case with the Waverly Inn and Vanity Fair doge Graydon Carter. Today's Times yanks the reader by the tassles of his Belgian loafers into the gritty reality that is the Waverly Inn's hygiene situation. The conclusion: Meh, kinda dirty. In March, the restaurant failed a health inspection, garnering 38 violation points in the DOH's book. But, as Eric Konigsberg reports, "the Waverly Inn was reinspected by the city on Thursday, and passed this time, with a score of 22 points." That's still 9 points above average but good enough for a pass. A little less mouse excreta goes a long way. But today's write-up is less notable for who it names than for who it benefits.

Over the past couple months, you've probably become familiar with the work of New York Times writer Eric Konigsberg, who seems to have been hired to focus exclusively on rich people living on the Upper East Side. Today's piece, about how Upper East Siders have taken to dropping off their over-indulged spawn at nursery school in chauffeured luxury cars, is typical Konigsberg work: