This week marked the mad dash to the finish line before Thanksgiving's turkey-dinner onslaught, which meant some of New York's leading philanthropists were breaking bread together every night.

On Monday, Mayor Bloomberg dined on meatloaf while flanked by the chairwoman of the New York Public Library, Catherine Marron, and Oprah Winfrey. On Wednesday he ate chicken sitting between la Infanta Doña Elena de Borbon and Marie-Josée Kravis, for the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute's annual Gold Medal dinner. Ms. Marron was just across the table. Nearby was Spain's sexiest bullfighter, Enrique Ponce, not to mention Antonio Banderas. (Spaniards ruled that night, with Fe Fendi and Penélope Cruz hosting parties elsewhere.)

At the Spanish Institute party, Barbara Walters and Oscar de la Renta presented Mr. Bloomberg with one of the gold medals, citing his work to improve relations with the Latin American community. Mr. Bloomberg said he thought he was being honored for his performance at the Latin Grammy Awards.

Jokes, wine, and money flowed all week. Lenox Hill Hospital brought in $2.75 million Monday at the Waldorf-Astoria. A few blocks south at Cipriani 42nd Street, WNYC broke seven figures for the first time, raising $1,010,250.

The Museum of Arts and Design, which gathered Wednesday at Pier 60, has its eye on a much bigger number: The museum's director, Holly Hotchner, said the museum is twothirds of the way to raising the $90 million required for its new home at 2 Columbus Circle, which is set to open in 2008 with an exhibit titled "Making It."

The best tip I picked all week was from Barneys fashion arbiter Simon Doonan. "Payless [shoe store] is the best," he said after completing his emceeing duties at the Moth's annual gala, which included introducing Dominick Dunne and Malcolm Gladwell and refereeing an arm-wrestling contest.

agordon@nysun.com