Momofuku, Freemans, Spotted Pig Honchos Break Bread With Stephen Starr
Our favorite celebrity sighting of the week was, of course, Lindsay Lohan at Peter Luger on Tuesday night — that’s because we saw her with our own eyes. Of course, we can’t be everywhere and see everyone, so as usual we’ve combed the gossip columns for other stop-ins. We’re sorry we missed Tracy Morgan at the Plumm, shirtless and offering to father babies as usual, and boy do we wish we were a fly on the wall when partners Ken Friedman and Taavo Somer, along with David Chang, dined with Stephen Starr at Buddakan. Is there a Spotted Buddafuku in the works?
Celebrity Settings
Tom and Gisele Lock Lips at Nobu, ‘Full House’ Cast and the B-52sEarlier this week we linked to a Daily News item claiming Padma Lakshmi rudely refused complimentary dishes from Fiamma’s chef. A commenter wrote, “I was at Fiamma the night Padma was dining there and it absolutely did NOT go down that way. When the dishes arrived at the table, she thanked them profusely and apologized for being too full to eat any of them!” Whatever happened, Padma was just one of many celebs to chow down (or at least show up) at local restaurants this week, and here’s our gossip-column compendium of just who went where.
Mediavore
Kate Moss Digs Le Royale; FreshDirect Fires 85 WorkersApparently the opening-night party at Le Royale was a success, drawing the likes of Kate Moss, who made out with the D.J.[Imbible/Citysearch]
Related: Le Royale Might Just Bring Nightlife Out of the Doldrums
Frank Bruni applauds restaurants seeking out new forms of hospitality, but is wary of the WiFi availability: “Will the glow of laptop screens and the percussion of typing become pervasive visual and aural backdrops for our meals?” [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
A former Scores cocktail waitress is suing the owners for being told to act more like a stripper. [NYP]
Openings
An Early Look at Le RoyaleHere we have interior shots of Le Royale, the Good Samaritan of a club that’s attaching some big ol’ jumper cables to our fair city’s nightlife. Tonight’s weekly Robot Rock party kicks off at 10 p.m., with Jamie Hince from the Kills joining resident D.J.’s Alex English and Dimitry. Granted, not as cool as Snoop Dogg reportedly appearing onstage with Reverend Run at Touch’s opening, but we have a feeling Royale’s musical chops go deeper — on December 21, Bloc Party front man Kele Okereke has at the turntables. And! A food program is set to come sometime next year — we can only hope it will include a Royale with cheese.
NewsFeed
Le Royale Might Just Bring Nightlife Out of the DoldrumsThe Times was extremely dour about the state of NYC nightlife in Sunday’s profile of 1 OAK, but there’s hope after all! David Baxley, the owner of fondly remembered house-music club CentroFly is teaming up with Brit D.J.-producer Terrey Casey to open Le Royale this Friday in what used to be Luke & Leroy. That space, we’ll remind you, is equipped with a precious cabaret license, and who better to put it to use than music directors GBH, the team that brings top-tier rock and electronic talents — like their current resident D.J., Moby — to Hiro’s weekly Cheeky Bastard party. Alejandro Torio of GBH says that in addition to live music acts five nights a week, the weekly Robot Rock party (previous at nearby, now-defunct Movida) will be revived on Thursdays. So what will the door policy be? “If you like rock or electronic music,” Torio tells us, “you’re welcome to come in. It’s not about how much money you have in your pocket.” Now that sounds egalitarian!
Earlier: RIP Luke & Leroy, Birthplace of MisShapes
