Justin Boober’s hideously created monsters hand-painted on his Australian hotel room walls, which horrifies everyone. Everyone wants it, him, his fingers, the suite, his managers and his parents pooped on — but the OK Hotel loves it?
I experienced Sydney’s oddball OK Hotel opening week two years ago when I was flown down to report on it. The doorman? A lady tarted up as a clown. Fright wig. Wacko outfit. No outside logo identified the place. Strangers hunted for the doorway. Replacing a lush entrance, a soda fountain. An elevator to the lobby. The lobby featured dressed-up department store dummies.
Individual rooms? Equally quirky. Its ingenious management approved unJustin’s handiwork, which they pronounced “crappy” but great. No wonder. In that hotel, nobody would notice it.
Out of Woods
A new hot West Palm Beach restaurant, on Belvedere and Dixie, just opened. So crowded you can’t get in. Name’s Kitchen. Owner? Tiger Woods’ old chef . . . The Regency Hotel’s Jan. 16 opening will feature a new upscale high-class, big-time (they hope) restaurant. How about Tiger Woods’ new chef? . . . Count Down calendars are hung in Bloombergers’ offices. About-to-be-unemployees rip off a page daily.
A new Jew?
Hearing Mariano Rivera’s visiting the NY Board of Rabbis VP and planning a trip to Israel, a Flex Mussels waiter cracked: “If he converts, we’ll call the mohel ‘The Yankee Clipper.’ ” . . . Lawyer Picard, investigating Madoff, collects $10 million monthly. Fees will overlap 1 billion for recovering what the SEC should’ve stopped when it could’ve. Note: Madoff was filing fraudulent statements back when Picard was counsel to the SEC.
Fire ravages NYC classic eatery
Barbetta’s, West 46th’s landmark, possibly NYC’s oldest Italian restaurant, suffered a freak kitchen grease fire last week. Says owner Laura Maioglio: “Firemen, 105 came. Smashed our kitchen. We have a strong maintenance policy. Our kitchen ducts exhaust system’s last examination, obviously not done well, was Oct. 21. Parties, bookings, reservations. This is our most productive month.
“I can’t get beyond bureaucracy. Engineers, blueprints, laws, orders. The health department won’t work with the building department. And nobody can reach us. Our telephone lines were cut.
“Places have caterers so I considered food cooked elsewhere, but they won’t let us even serve it. I thought of tenting over and heating our adjoining garden but, despite steel double doors fronting our kitchen, they’re saying even the garden can’t be used . . . We don’t know how it happened. We don’t know what happened. This is our busiest season. I don’t know what to do. It’s heartbreaking.”
What I hear
Everybody has something to say: Bryan Bantry on Monday’s screening of Disney’s Tom Hanks-Emma Thompson Mary Poppins movie “Saving Mr. Banks”: “Stay for the credits. There’s a surprise.” . . . Kristen Wiig on director Ben Stiller’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”: “He’s generous and present. So thoughtful about character relationships.” . . . Nicki Minaj: “2014, I’m bringing out a new album. Very different. It’s the next level.” Whatever.
Odds & ends
Anyone know that, back aways, Billy Bob Thornton sent truckloads of baby wipes to our troops overseas because they couldn’t shower in the desert? . . . Julie Harris’ memorial today reminds me of her Actors Studio fights. Al Pacino, Eli Wallach, Dustin Hoffman each had rights to a portion of Lee Strasberg’s instructional tapes. Julie fronted the fight for everyone to have access to them. All sides finally acceded. Julie won.
Sunnyside shop does footwear for needy Medicare patients. It’s called Sole Solutions.
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.