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Famous Faces
Mel Watching in Montana
It may soon become a little easier to catch a glimpse of Mel Gibson in the flesh. Instead
of treking to the land down under to see the Australian superhunk, panting fans can try
riding up to Montana. The star of "Lethal Weapon," among other films, plans to make a
little addition to his ranch there. The manager of his property says the famed landowner
usually stays in Australia. But maybe the expanded holdings will be more enticing.
Gibson plans to add some 5,000 acres to his estate.
Michael's Social Life
Those who call Michael Jackson weird and antisocial should hear how the rocker spent
the first Saturday of the 90's. The former child star invited 80 abused children to his 3,000
acre California ranch. He gave them the grand tour, cooked hot dogs and burgers for
them and then turned them loose in his toy room. A couple of Michael's most faithful
companions helped host the event. His chimps Max and Alexandra played with the kids.
They were fully attired for the occasion, but opted against sequined gloves.
Peter Pan Gets Her Dues
The woman who gained fame as an adorable boy is about to become the object of a
yearly tribute. Mary Martin, also known for her Broadway role in "The Sound of Music,"
will be honored every year with an annual concert by the Dallas Symphony. "Dallas" bad
guy Larry Hagman, the son of Mary Martin, has contributed $150 thousand to the pro
ject. The first concert is scheduled for May 4th and Ms. Martin is expected to attend.
Roll Over Chucky, You Bad Boy
The legendary performer of "Roll Over Beethoven" is being sued for some pretty
embarrassing habits. Hosana Huck, a former cook at Chuck Berry's Southern Air restau
rant in Wentzville, MI charges the rock and rolling boss with secretely videotaping her
and other women at the lady's room of the eatery. The suit says that Berry's action, to say
the least, caused Hosana humiliation and emotional distress.
Touch your lover’s heart
on Valentine’s Day with
a special steak dinner,
served with a dozen roses.
$65.00 per couple
itUuju_
Unicorn
"Where we proudly fly gay colors."
Roses by the Dozen, Specially Arranged by Terri $50. c
All orders and dinner reservations must be made by Feb. 7,1990 8754395 1821 Piedmont Rd.
Tasting Key West
M: To escape the end of December chaos, J and I
went to Key West for the holidays. Off we went
with great expectations of warm weather, laid
back atmosphere, and good food. The food was
wonderful. There are no longer great restaurant
bargains in Key West, but we didn't regret a penny
we spent
J: I expected Key West to be filled with mostly
gay and lesbian tourists. Wrong again. The city
was flooded with Europeans and mostly straight
Amercians who unloaded daily from big cruise
ships and brought their children along. However,
most of the service personnel in this funky resort
mecca are gay, and so, I felt at home.
M: We walked, talked, looked, fished, danced,
listened to music, wiled away the time, and sam
pled restaurants which is exactly what everyone
else does in Key West So here's a partial list of
some of the great and not-so-great places to eat
J: On Christmas night, we dined in the Savannah
on Duval Street (the noisy main street in Key
West). The food is. nouvelle
Southem/Carribean/Cuban. I ate the specialty of
Key West, sauteed yellow tail snapper. It was a
mild, delicious fish. I also loved the
Cuban/Southem biscuits.
M: While J was munching away, I was eating a
wonderful, fresh grouper and totally getting into
the decor. Savannah advertises itself as serving
Southern cooking, and I don't have the faintest
idea why. Imagine yourself sitting in a grand old
two-story conch house dining on the front porch or
in one of the gardens. Imagine it is 1955, and
you're eating old Miami Beach seafood cooking.
It's simple, fresh, and mildly seasoned. That's
Savannah.
J: The next evening, we dolled up in our only cold
weather outfits to eat in the tres elegant Buttery
restaurant on Simonton Street Simonton is my
favorite street in Key West because it's not crowd
ed and has the finest architectural renderings of
Key West homes of the 1880's. The Buttery has an
excellent wine list that accompanies the continental
food fare. Again, I ate yellow tail snapper along
with escargot salad, and the famous Poor Richard
chocolate pie. The current owners paid 10K for
the pie recipe which consists of four different
chocolates. Hie pie tasted like a bland mousse to
me and I give the Buttery a B+ rating overall.
M: The Buttery has been praised by Gourmet, the
New York Times, and Bon Appetite as one of the
great restaurants in South Florida. I agree. The
food is perfect as is the service and the charming
country European decor. I ate a seafood medley
of scallops, shrimp, and snapper seasoned with a
dill, basil light cream sauce. I also fork fought
with J across the table over who was going to eat
the most of the chocolate pie. I did.
J: Our next stop was lunch at La Te Da. As the
name implies, you might find characters from La
Cage Aux Folles dining in this quaint patio pool
side restaurant Unfortunately, I was grumpy from
having visisted too many art galleries on an empty
stomach at M's insistence. The 45 minute wait for
my green and red chicken dish seemed inter
minable. When it arrived, there were thin strips of
chicken served with aiola sauce and fried toma
toes. The food was worth the wait and I enjoyed
watching the gayish, elderly clientele.
M: I had a wonderful pasta seafood soup and blah
salad. The service at this very gay restaurant defi
nitely fits the name, La Te Da. While J was bitch
ing, I asked if the chef was on drugs. Also, there
is a charming gay and lesbian bar and cafe
upstairs, The Crystal Cafe, that charges $8.00 for a
glass of wine. Shame, shame on you boys for
having the highest priced drinks on the island.
J: That evening, we dined at Antonias, a posh
Italian restaurant My linguini entree of salmon
and scallops in a cream sauce were nirvana. We
asked the chef, Philip, for the recipe. He promised
La-Te-Da in Key West
to deliver it to us but never showed. Don't miss
this restaurant if you go to Key West. It's my pick
of all of them.
M: Actually, J's special, a salmon, scallop, sage,
basil, tomatoe linguini was fantastic. But for me,
this restaurant was a little too New Yorkey. When
I'm in Florida, I don't want uptown Nouvelle
dress-up cuisine. I want laid-back funk. But, I
have to be honest, Antonias is worth the visit for
the food.
J: A number of Key West restaurants are New
York offspring such as our next one, Cafe des
Artistes. This was the most pricey restaurant of
all. I ate duck with raspberry sauce that was a lit
tle too fat for me. The salad, however, was deli
cious, and 1 liked the decor. I wouldn't go back,
because the food isn't worth the cost
M: Hmm. Even though Cafe des Artistes is the
priciest restaurant in town, I would rate the food
comparable to the Dining Room at the Ritz
Carlton in Buckhead. J's duck (which I ate) and
my seafood pasta with sherry sauce and the
chocolate tone were incomparable. You also
have to go just to see the decor that is a charming
mix of California, French, and Key West. A+ for
this one.
J: In our never ending suicide of death by the
fork, we stumbled into the Pier House restaurant
for brunch where I gobbled up raw oysters. I
watched M eat conch salad served with a real
(huge) conch. This is a neat place to visit, if you
want to hang out and let the harbor waters hypno
tize you.
M: J is right The view is great The food pices
are reasonable, and our lesbian waitress kept
laughing at our discussion of the local women's t
bar, the 416 on Applerouth Street.
J: Many key lime pies later, I dragged my blimpy
self into the Bagatelle, which is touted to be the
best Cairibean restaurant via local ads. I was on
sugar overload, and all I remember is that the food
was good. Bagatelle means trifle, something my
body wasn’t even close to at this point in our trip.
M: J didn't mention that we were eating at
Bagatelle after a day of deep sea fishing on rough
waters. Imagine what mango chutney looks like
swimming around on top of your fresh snapper
after having spent the whole afternoon rocking on
a boat I had to keep swallowing hard every time
I looked at our plates. If both of us had not been
on tourist overload, I probably would have raved
about the fantastic Carribean dishes served on the
porch of this wonderful old house that Tennessee
Williams visited for parties.
J: When you're leaving Key West, a great last
stop is the Marriott on the beach. This is a lovely,
old hotel that was originally built in 1912. We ate
on the open patio overlooking the ocean surround
ed by lush subtropical foliage. I almost cried in
my last piece of key lime pie (and the best of all),
because I had fallen in love with Key West.
M: Key West is a wonderful, tropical
Carribean/American island designed for the sole
purpose of hanging out. Go, if you haven't been.
Go back, if you have been. And when you go, if
you try all of the restaurants, take along an extra
pair of sweat pants with an elastic waist band for
the trip back.
Happy New Year, M & J
January 18,1990 • Southern Voice/21