[EDITOR'S NOTE: Sure, the media world shuts down in late August — and our Lunch At Michael's column takes a breather to regroup — but we wouldn't let those of you chained to your desks down. This week and next we're running favorite columns from the past year, handpicked by our LaM scribe, Diane Clehane.]

We're always kept more than occupied checking out the bold faced names in the main dining room on our weekly visits but today our radar was truly put to the test when the usually celeb-free Garden Room was the hotbed of activity with an estrogen-fueled, invitation-only lunch hosted by Peggy Siegal for Arianna Huffington. The luncheon (where no one touched dessert) brought out the most head-spinning cross-section of alpha females, power blondes and social swans we've seen in a long time.

The Gotham gals we spotted: Joni Evans, Karenna Gore, Naomi Wolff (who must be so proud of Al Gore's newfound mojo), Zoe Baird, Nora Ephron (who seemed to be traveling incognito in her dark sunglasses while checking out the dining room on her way inside), Fern Mallis, Dayle Haddon (who somehow lost her cellphone in the fray), Fran Drescher, Karen Duffy, Arlene Dahl (sporting her favorite black patent leather newsboy cap!?!), Deborah Roberts, Erica Jong, Maria Cuomo Cole, Somers White and InStyle's Cindy Weber Cleary. Lunchtime chronicler Diane Clehane, who was dining with OK! editrix Sarah Ivens, got the lowdown on the crowd from Joan Rivers, who summed up the afternoon thusly: "You're better off out here! That was a roomful of bitches in there!"

Here's a rundown of the rest of the crowd:

Table 1. A pow-wow of beauty industry bigwigs: GCI (Global Cosmetic Industry) editor-in-chief Karen A. Newman, Marc Rosen and a table full of colleagues. A photographer from Cosmetic World/Beauty Fashion hovered nearby to capture the big doings.

2. Uberagent Esther Newberg, who was spotted picking at the plate of her guest.

3. John Josephson.

4. Herb Siegal.

5. Stanley Schuman.

6. Henry Schlieff toting a Hallmark goodie bag to his lunch with newsgals Lynn White, Rosanna Scott, Jane Hansen and Penny Crone. The tireless showman was overheard asking Charles Stevenson who was seated at David Patrick Columbia's table about his golf game and promising to hit the links with him soon .

8. New York Social Diary's David Patrick Columbia and Mr. Stevenson, an investor, we're told ...

9. Beth DeWoody.

11. Stanley Tucker and PR legend Helen O'Hagan.

12. The write stuff: Jesse Kornbluth, Wendy Goldberg and Marshall Cohen.

14. Martha Stewart Omnimedia's Susan Lyne and Charles Koppelman.

15. Ron Meyer.

16. Suzanne Gluck.

17. A tieless Donald Trump, Jr.

18. Jim Abernathy.

19. The gorgeous cherry blossoms blocked our view ...

20. Scott Greenstein.

21. Richard Perkins.

22. Nick Rubenstein.

23. Marlene Hess.

24. Those darn cherry blossoms ...

25. A Ms. Ireland who is an interior designer, we're told ...

26. Diane Clehane and Sarah Ivens.

27. Jim Mitchell.

Please send comments and corrections to DianeClehane AT mediabistro Dot com and lunch at mediabistro DOT com.