To Dish, or Not To Dish

December 13, 2006

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PARTY WITH CHEFS:
Tonight's Top Chef delivers exactly the kind of holiday spirit I like as it highlights all the food and booze that come with holiday parties. People have been asking why the chefs are often drinking and carrying on and if producers force them to do this. Producers only force them to execute challenges - their drinking is by choice and few occupations produce people who can party like chefs! (Maybe longshoremen can party like chefs?) We happen to have an especially feisty group this season.

PARIS DOES COKE?

The New York Post is looking into this question and apparently has evidence today on page 3. There is a massive photo of Paris in the backseat of a car with what the Post says is a chunk of blowcaine stuck to her nostril. I don't want to be accused of defending Paris, but to my eyes, it looks like a reflection or a blur. Her publicist says it is whipped creme or some sugar from her dessert, and then goes on to say that it does indeed seem like "a stray dessert." I eat a lot of dessert and I don't have to deal with a lot of excess sugar going up my shnoz, so his excuse is backfiring on me and now leads me to believe that it is indeed blowcaine.

WHEN TO WRITE:
I often find myself at a party or dinner with some interesting people and I sit debating whether or not to blog about the evening. Usually I factor in whether it is a public or private event, whether it is an event that is meant to generate publicity, whether I am betraying some (personal or Bravo) confidence or zone of privacy, and whether I was invited as a blogger or as me. I don't get invited anywhere as a blogger, so I usually have to consider the first few factors.

This is on my mind A LOT, and this weekend was an interesting case in point. I was at Bryant Gumbel's Christmas party the other night and wrote a few lines about it on Monday morning. I went back and forth about whether to include this (private) party in the blog, as I wasn't invited to "cover" this party. I decided that I could mention it with the rationale that Kelly Ripa would most likely talk about it on her show Monday morning (she did) and that Howard Stern was there and would most likely talk about it on his show. I didn't hear his show but Liza says he talked about the party on Letterman last night. My rationale for mentioning it still seems potentially paper thin because I am not Howard or Kelly, but I did and it's still on my mind.

The other day a famous friend told me he saw "Dreamgirls" and I excitedly asked what he thought. "Is this for the blog?" he asked. Oy vey. I am trying to draw the line here somewhere and - after a year - am still finding my way in a world where less and less is private.

CHRISTMAS ON JANE STREET:
Last week I wrote about the charming family that parks their camper on the corner of Jane Street and 8th Avenue and sells Christmas Trees and various fresh seasonal goodies. They are West Village institutions and their charm has been wearing off on me over the past few years as the kids are growing and the idea of them living in that camper is starting to turn my stomach. This morning I studied them from a bench sipping my coffee in front of (the legitimately charming) Bonsignoir and am officially disturbed. The mom is pregnant and I think that was my tipping point.

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