OMG, Is Frank Bruni Going to Ditch Food for Politics?We had a moment of panic when we saw his name on a front-page political analysis piece in the ‘Times’ this morning. But Bruni assures us he’s not leaving the dinner table.
Kidney Stones Won’t Come Between Lydia Hearst and Fashion WeekRead about the inner strength the socialite summoned to go on in the face of abdominal adversity. Plus, humiliating moments for Damon Dash and Mario Lopez, in this morning’s gossip roundup.
ByTim Murphy
gossipmonger
Diane Sawyer Forgets to Ask Katie Holmes About the HubbaspermDiane Sawyer interviewed Katie Holmes on Good Morning America yet neglected to ask her about the rumor that she was impregnated with L. Ron Hubbard’s sperm. New York Giants Plaxico Burress, Antonio Pierce, and Ruben Droughns went to Home nightclub in Manhattan after flying back from Dallas and ordered $1,000 of Bacardi, vodka, and Champagne, but forgot to tip their waitress. Waiters at Brasserie 44 in the Royalton Hotel thought they discovered Frank Bruni’s notebook, but it turned out to belong to someone else (and they slipped in some Bruni ass-kissing to boot!). Jil Scott picked up a male model at an Allure fashion shoot and took him to Nobu. Keith Olbermann’s quote to Playboy that “Fox News is worse than Al-Qaeda” did not go over well with many of the magazine’s readers.
company town
When All Fails, What Else? A Country SongFINANCE
• The nation’s largest mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial, almost out of credit. Oh. No. [NYP]
• Recent hedge-fund woes look far from contained — they’ve even inspired a country song. [DealBook/NYT]
• Chuck Schumer’s bright new plan for taxing private equity: raise taxes on all partnerships, not just big firms like Blackstone. How Democratic. [Reuters via DealBook/NYT]
gossipmonger
Oh, John-JohnJFK Jr. had sex with escorts and men, but never with Madonna, according to a new book. Another new book reveals that people throw up a lot at Per Se and that the name on Frank Bruni’s credit card is Dirk McKenzie. Al Pacino spits a lot when he acts. A new novel by Megan McCafferty unflatteringly depicts Park Slope moms as, well, Park Slope moms. Cynthia Nixon was concerned that the Tonys were up against not just The Sopranos but also the Puerto Rican Day parade. House-shopping Conan O’Brien was kicked out of a prospective home.
in other news
Today in Seemingly Required But Apparently Not Gawker Disclosures1. Gawker managing editor Choire Sicha worked for about a year and a half at the New York Observer, where he was involved in planning for the paper’s recent redesign but which he departed before the redesign launched.
2. Gawker managing editor Choire Sicha dated Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni for a few months a year or two ago.
That’s all. But, then, it’s only lunchtime.
UPDATE: Choire emails to inform us that he has disclosed these conflicts and many more in a catch-all innoculation published to his personal blog this weekend. We apologize for being unaware of it, although that might have something to do with its being, as stated above, not on Gawker and not in any way linked from the Gawker posts in question.
Reviewing the Redesigned ‘Observer’ [Gawker]
Frank Bruni’s LIVE NUDE GIRLS Review [Gawker]
gossipmonger
Also, There Were Parties After the OscarsLeonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, and Vince Vaughn cruised the Vanity Fair Oscar party at Morton’s solo. (Everyone who is anyone was there.) Except Brad Pitt, who was a no-show at the Oscars despite having starred in Babel and been a producer on The Departed. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard are leaving the West Village for Brooklyn because of the paparazzi. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams are fighting. Oprah says that Barack Obama didn’t start the Clinton-Geffen feud. Zero-star Kobe Club owner Jeffrey Chodorow has banned Frank Bruni from all 29 of his restaurants. At $70,000, a private soccer lesson with David Beckham was the lowest winning bid at Elton John’s Oscar-night AIDS benefit. Natalie Portman left an Oscars party with Gael García Bernal.
grub street
Apparently We’re Calling This ChodogateYesterday morning, as you likely saw and no doubt heard, Kobe Club proprietor Jeffrey Chodorow took out a full-page ad in the Times dining section to lambaste Frank Bruni’s previous pan of his establishment. In the seven-paragraph (and, we must note, poorly punctuated) screed, Chodorow claimed Bruni’s attack on him was personal and bashed the critic for having no real “food background.” (Remind us, by the way, not to eat in Chodorow’s restaurants, as, lacking a food background of our own, we’ll clearly be unqualified to know whether we enjoyed our experience.) He also named three critics who, unlike Bruni, liked the Kobe Club: New York’s beloved Gael Greene (who indeed fawned over the restaurant in her 240-word squib), and Bob Lape of Crain’s and John Mariani of Esquire (who are both known to be on the take). He didn’t mention that lots of critics hated it, including New York’s chief food critic, Adam Platt, who gave the Kobe Club no stars and called it “a bizarre agglomeration of restaurant fashions and trends, most of them bad.” But Platt earned a glancing dig, when Chodorow announced an “After Adam” feature on his new blog. Platt responded yesterday afternoon on Grub Street, and last night, Grub’s Josh Ozersky checked in with the ranting restaurateur to find out if there was more to say on the topic. Apparently there was.
The Gobbler Responds to Mr. Chodorow’s Broadside [Grub Street]
We Ask Jeffrey Chodorow If He’s Been Feeling Well Lately [Grub Street]
gossipmonger
The Berry Gordy Character in ‘Dreamgirls’ Is Not Berry GordyDreamWorks and Paramount took out a full-page ad in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter to say that Jamie Foxx’s character in Dreamgirls isn’t based on Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. Lindsay Lohan skipped out on “father figure” Robert Altman’s memorial service. Jeffrey Chodorow thinks Frank Bruni’s smackdown of his Kobe Club is personal, and he took out a full-page ad in the Times to say so. Rapper Common bad-mouthed the Duke lacrosse team; now he’s performing at the university. Vogue’s André Leon Tally went on a shopping spree with
gossipmonger
Danny Meyer Reviews His Critics, InhospitablyDanny Meyer doesn’t much appreciate the (mostly laudatory) reviews given to his restaurants by Frank Bruni et al, and lets them know it in his new book. Sean Lennon isn’t exactly a hit with the critics, either. Kevin Federline is trying to sell some amateur video footage to make some extra dough. (No, it’s not that kind of footage.) City Council speaker Christine Quinn cut the check-in line at JFK, and it angered her fellow passengers. Netscape founder James Clark’s divorce cost him $125 million; his new girlfriend won’t be nearly as fortunate. Media prankster Joey Skaggs is getting into the watch business. Katie Holmes couldn’t stick to Victoria Beckham’s recommended post-pregnancy diet of edamame, pretzels, sushi, and Diet Coke. John Krasinski loves David Foster Wallace. Dustin Hoffman makes sure that the hired help get to watch a screening of his movie. Leonardo DiCaprio is GQ’s Man of the Year. (GQ likes Lindsay Lohan, too). Arab royalty laughs at President Bush in Qatar, raises a lot of money for Asia. Former Hell’s Angel Chuck Zito — a.k.a. the guy who beat up Jean-Claude Van Damme — is launching his own radio talk show for men. You know, unlike all the other radio talk shows. A wealthy businessman was turned down by the co-op board at the Carlyle because he’s too much of a playboy. Know any unemployed grandmothers? The New Jersey Nets are hiring.
