The monkey-carrying, procedural crime drama guest-starring, Biggest Loser-visiting chef fameball Rocco Dispirito got himself a televised cooking competition series on Bravo called Rocco's Dinner Party. From the press release: "DiSpirito sizes up some of the country's most promising aspiring chefs to see if they have…
• The Tavern on the Green saga continues: The LeRoy family has hired a marketing firm to sell the restaurant's name, but that may not be legal. [NYT]
• La Goulue closed this summer after losing its lease. Now it has a new location on East 63rd Street, though it's unclear if it'll be allowed to serve booze. [GS]
• The…
Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter and the man you can blame for destroying your productivity at work, turns 33 today. Fashion designer Calvin Klein is turning 67. Meg Ryan is 48. Today show news anchor Ann Curry is turning 53. Former GE CEO Jack Welch is 74. Ted Turner is turning 71. Jodie Foster is 47.…
• Today in restaurant reviews: Frank Bruni of the Times isn't the least bit impressed with Goving Armstrong's Table 8; Danyelle Freeman is pretty happy with Brooklyn's Prime Meats; Adam Platt thinks Locanda Verde is way better than Ago; and Time Out's Jay Cheshes pays a visit to Locanda Verde, too.
• Ron Perelman is…
• The Spotted Pig sells an estimated $1.2 million worth of cheeseburgers a year, making it NYC's top-grossing dish. Balthazar's steak frites is No. 2. [GS]
• Frank Bruni doesn't have too many good things to say about the food at Monkey Bar in his one-star review today, not surprisingly. Graydon Carter's "social…
• Hell freezes over: Rocco DiSpirito says he's been in talks with restaurateur— and onetime enemy—Jeffrey Chodorow about opening a new restaurant. [GS]
• The Standard Grill started up breakfast service today. [TFB]
• New York isn't the only magazine with a "Cheap Eats" issue on newsstands this week. It seems Time Out…
• The Grill at the Standard hotel is in friends-and-family mode at the moment. (It should be open to the public sometime next week.) In the meantime, though, you'll be pleased to hear (and see—left) that some serious bartender training is currently underway. [HotelChatter, Flickr]
• New York's very first spot for…
Peggy Siegal invited a media-heavy crowd to the Oak Room last night to watch the Super Bowl. Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell was in attendance (apparently, budget cuts prevented him from flying to Tampa in person); and some folks, such as former HarperCollins chief Jane Friedman, left, even donned 3-D…
Do you know who Whitney Casey is? She's an author, occasional TV presence, and a "relationship expert" for Match.com, but that's not the interesting part. It's what she had to say about Rocco DiSpirito on Howard Stern's satellite radio show that might make you run to the toilet. Casey says the unemployed chef provided…
Rocco DiSpirito used to be a critically-acclaimed chef, but then he did that show the Restaurant and then Top Chef and The Biggest Loser and finally Dancing With the Stars. Now nobody respects him!
• There isn't much that impresses Frank Bruni at David Bouley's new Secession. Described as "the menu of an unfocused, distracted mind," the Tribeca spot comes up star-less in today's Times. [NYT]
• Bobby Flay is opening two restaurants next year in the Mohegan Sun. [Eater]
• Top Chef contestant Sam Talbot will…
Adrian Grenier and Jessica Stam hosted Scott Harrison's third annual Charity: Water benefit last night at the Metropolitan Pavillion. Attendees at the event included Richie Rich, Olivia Palermo, Whitney Port, Byrdie Bell, Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict, Rocco DiSpirito, Jenna Elfman, Emma Snowdon-Jones, Jamison…
Calvin Klein turns 66 years old today. Chef (and axed Dancing with the Stars contestant) Rocco DiSpirito is celebrating his 42nd. The Today show's Ann Curry is 52. Larry King may look 100, but he's (only) turning 75. Former GE CEO Jack Welch is 73. Ted Turner is 70. WNYC president Laura Walker is turning 51. Book…
We'll start out by saying we've never really been a Dancing with the Stars person, just like we've never been a cat or coconut person. Not that we aren't amenable to garish talent competitions—but there's something so pungently desperate about this particular affair, so, "Look at me world! I've found my Z-list…
Poor reality show also-ran Rocco DiSpirito. The "celebrity chef," who used to date New York gossip maven Deb Schoeneman (best friend of Gawker profiler Vanessa Grigoriadis! circles!), has had to watch not only his TV show but also his restaurant fail with the NBC reality mess The Restaurant, and has recently been…
♦ The NYC Wine & Food Festival came to town this past weekend and just about every chef, foodie, and critic was on hand. Among the highlights: Rachael Ray hosted a Burger Bash on Friday (Katie Lee Joel took first prize); Tom Colicchio broke out his guitar and later chatted with Eater about his upcoming plans;…
♦ Restaurants are adjusting to the economy by lowering prices and offering coupons. Coupons? Things are worse than we imagined. [NYM]
♦ A handy map of the bars on Bowery. [DBTH]
♦ An armed robber stole $7,000 from Dylan Lauren's Dylan's Candy Bar this weekend. [NYDN]
♦ Rocco DiSpirito is happy to talk about the…
1) Bronson van Wyck and Andrew Fry (left) held a "Sunset Supper" at their house in Southampton for guests including Aby and Samantha Boardman Rosen, Peggy Siegal, Eric Villency, Fernanda Niven, Alex Kramer, and Peter Davis, who were served caviar in little lumps on their hands. According to Davis: "Caviar is the new…
The former star chef Rocco DiSpirito doesn't have a kitchen to cook in these days, but Rocco fans need not despair: The fame-hungry chef will probably turn up somewhere any moment now.
