David and Nicole Bouley.

At a time when even socialites have publicists, it was intriguing to find that superstar chef David Bouley worked more or less without one. Aiming to do an interview with him for his new Bouley restaurant, I went through the proper channels and called his main office. After a few days with no response from even an underling, I resorted to more direct methods: I called Bouley's wife, Nicole, on her cell phone (full disclosure: my co-worker had the number because her sister is working on a book with the Bouleys). And Nicole, as it turned out, was intimately involved in the project -- from buying antique doors with David in the South of France to handpicking artist Wouter Dolk to design the lobby's mural. She put me in touch with her husband.

Donald Trump for years has been the poster child for the confident developer. The Donald may be more bombastic and boastful than most, but he shares with other developers a high tolerance for risk and the audacity to believe his multibillion-dollar projects will succeed. But developers and real estate executives don't seem so self-assured these days. With the global economy in free fall, their world decidedly changed from one of plenty -- available capital, myriad retail concepts, willing partners -- to one of scarcity. "The deals we hear about are dying," said a Manhattan-based retail broker. "My clients' sales are off. They don't want to go forward with anything now."