HISTORIAN TALKS “LITTLE EDIE” AT SHOWROOM SCREENING

“Grey Gardens” historian and thirty-year friend of Little Edie, Walter Newkirk talked everything Edie and more to an enthusiastic crowd at The Showroom in Asbury Park, Sunday. 

The Showroom- the best morphing of cushy living room, high-tech media room and fancy-pants big-screen cinema -also screened HBO’s Emmy-winning film, “Grey Gardens.”  

Newkirk with Edie (1976)

After the event, Walter took a moment to speak dish further with TheBPlot.  Click here for TheBPlot’s interview with Walter, published in The Coaster and online two weeks ago.  

TBP:  PAINT US A PICTURE OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE WALKING IN TO GREY GARDENS FOR THE FIRST TIME. 

Walter:  I went with two other guys from the newspaper.  None of us were ready for the smell in the house which was overwhelming.  It was like a barn with kitty litter, animal urine and feces.  

We sat and did the interview at a very small table in the hallway at the top of the stairs – down the hall from her mother’s bedroom.  She was charming, eloquent, intelligent and very sweet.  I discovered I liked Edie very much and a thirty-year friendship was born.   

It was a chilly April day and when we got back into my car to depart for Rutgers, I turned on the heat and when the hot air hit our clothes, the stench in the car was like ammonia – all three of us simultaneously threw open the car doors and jumped out of the car because we could not breathe.  It was hilarious but also horrific.

TBP:  HOW DID YOU GAIN HER TRUST? 

Walter:  Believe it or not,  I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was a college student and that I was going on into the world…I dunno how I gained her “trust”…I think trust is part of a friendship/relationship and I  guess she liked me or she would’nt have kept giving me her new phone #s after she moved to NYC. 

She would change her phone number periodically when she got tired  of certain people calling her.  She would then write me a letter with her new phone number and write “don’t give this number to ANYONE!” 

TBP:  SPECIFICALLY, WHAT DID SHE SAY ABOUT THE KENNEDYS AND JACKIE?

Walter:  She wrote to me more about Lee Radziwill than Jackie Kennedy and didn’t have much to say about any of the Kennedy family.  She mentioned Jackie about the original filming of the documentary.  There was no real dirt or mug slinging or anything negative in any of her letters to me about Jackie or the Kennedy family.  When I interviewed Edie she said she had met Jack Kennedy…”but he dated models and showgirls…”

TBP:  JACKIE SENT LITTLE EDIE CLOTHES, YES?  

Walter:  That is what I have been told or read…I never asked her that.

TBP:  WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSION OF HOW SHE FELT ABOUT BIG EDIE?  MEANING, AT THE TIME SHE WAS LIVING WITH HER MOM AND THEN AS SHE REFLECTED BACK ON HER LIFE IN HER LATER YEARS, HOW DID HER VIEW OF GREY GARDENS AND HER MOM CHANGE?

Walter:  She had no regrets she wrote in a letter…she always loved her mother and the life she had with her.

TBP:  WHAT DID SHE LEARN FROM LIVING AT GREY GARDENS? 

Walter:  She spoke to me about RESPONSBILITY during the 1976 interview…and I think she felt that it was a daughter’s responsbility to take care of her mother if she was alone and or sick.  There’s an interesting section she discusses on the CD I sell about “responsibility.”

TBP:  WE SAW A BIRTHDAY IN THE DOCUMENTARY.  WHAT WERE THE HOLIDAYS LIKE FOR LITTLE EDIE AT GREYGARDENS?

Walter:  Edie and I exchanged Christmas cards.  I think she may have spent holidays with her mother’s sisters when she lived in NYC but I am not sure. 

TBP:  HOW DID LITTLE EDIE MAKE MONEY AND SURVIVE FINANCIALLY DURING HER LATER YEARS?  I LOVE THE LETTER SHE WROTE EXPECTING HER PER DIEM FROM MONTCLAIR MUSEUM, FROM YOUR FIRST BOOK. 

Walter:  I believe her brother(s) invested her money after she sold Grey Gardens and had more to do with her money management than any of us might know.

TBP:  WHAT IS THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT LITTLE EDIE? AND / OR GREY GARDENS IN GENERAL? 

Walter:  The biggest misconception about Little Edie is that she was nuts…a looney tune.  

Her behavior in GG was not like her behavior with me in real time…she fought with her mother a lot, the camera caught it and she definitely performed a lot on screen because she thought she was in a “movie.”  She never quite understood the concept of a “documentary.”

TBP:  YOU ALSO KNOW OR KNEW A NUMBER OF THE ANCILLARY CHARACTERS OF GREYGARDENS.  COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEM?  WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE FOR THEM AFTER GREYGARDENS?

Walter:  Lois Wright is still alive and well – and has written a book My Life At Grey Gardens 13 Months and Beyond – she creates and sells Grey Gardens inspired art now.   She also has a television show called The Lois Wright Show which has aired in East Hampton for over 20 years. 

I love the men who created the Broadway musical - very talented and very nice guys.  I was thrilled that Michael Sucsy gave me a credit at the end of the  HBO movie and that he mentioned me during his director’s commentary on the DVD.  I gave him copies of some of Edie’s letters to me and also a copy of the interview on a tape back in 2005.

TBP:  YOU HAVE A NEW BOOK.  WHAT CAN GREY GARDENS FANS EXPECT?  

Walter:  Edie loved Clinton and seemed disgusted that his “little affair with that ushetette (intern) ” should be punished so severely within the public eye.  Edie wrote out of NOWHERE to me during the last year of her life that the “incident” at the Maidstone Club never happened – she never lost her bathing suit while swimming and got out of the pool naked and someone rushed her a towel.  That was written in  THE BOUVIERS a book by her cousin Jack Davis and also used in the musical.

Walter’s new book “Letters from Little Edie Beale of Grey Gardens” is available online.  GreyGardensBook.com has more info about his previous books and CD.  Click here for TheBPlot’s exclusive first-look at the new book, August 2009. 

For TheBPlot’s exclusive four-part interview with Bouvier Beale – Little Edie’s nephew, click below.  NEW:  “Grey Gardens” column category.  Scroll to the bottom on the homepage.

Part 1 – Memorial Day with Little Edie

Part 2 – Little Edie After Grey Gardens

Part 3 – Pride with Little Edie

Part 4 – Grey Gardens Web Exclusive

Richard@TheBPlot.com

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“GREY GARDENS” HISTORIAN TALKS LITTLE EDIE

The HBO film “Grey Gardens” won six Emmy awards thanks, in part to one of the contributing researchers noted for the film, “Grey Gardens” historian and author Walter Newkirk – friends with Little Edie for more than three decades.  She trusted few and allowed fewer into her life as she did Walter. 

Newkirk with Little Edie, 1976

In anticipation of Walter’s revealing lecture next Sunday (Oct. 18) at The Showroom – his only appearance in our area - along with a exclusive screening of the HBO film, I spoke with him about his thirty year friendship with the stars of the cult-classic documentary, named one of Entertainment Weekly’s “Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time.”

SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE…

THE SPRINGSTEEN BACKSTORY TO THIS PHOTO...THURSDAY IN "YOU SAY WHO"

TheBPlot:  Everyone has a story about how they became interested in Grey Gardens.  What is your story?

Walter:  The first time I heard about “Grey Gardens”, I was a senior at Rutgers University and noticed a full page ad for the documentary in The New York Times.  The photo in the ad was alluring and mysterious – who was this woman in the ratty fur coat standing in front of that haunted house?

  

GLAM GRANOLA GIRL AT MAYOR’S BALL… AN ESCORT’S AD…BURNING OCEAN GROVE MEMORIES… ‘BURNING MAN’ CLUB IN ASBURY…LOUDMOUTH FINALLY DE-CLINED…AND MORE IN “YOU SAY WHO” THIS WEEK

After seeing the film with Pat Loud (“An American Family”) at the Paris Theatre in New York, I knew I had to interview Edie for the Rutgers newspaper.  Surprisingly, I dialed Information, got the phone number, called and Edie answered.

TBP:  After the meeting you and she became friends until her death – three decades later.  What did you talk about? 

Walter:  I remember her asking me over the telephone in the 70’s…”who is this Fair- rah?”  Apparently Edie had seen some publicity about Farrah Fawcett and or Charlie’s Angels so I had to educate her a bit about the late Ms. Fawcett.  Edie loved politics.  She also loved to watch the news and sports on television.  Cher was a favorite entertainer. 

Little Edie and Newkirk, 1981

TBP:  Did she talk about Jackie O?

Walter:  She once wrote me, “I love when you write ’Edie, have you heard from Jackie?’  Walter you have always had such a terrific sense of humor…”  Apparently she heard from Jackie but not often.  She spoke more about Jackie’s sister, Lee Radzidwill.  More on that at The Showroom.

TBP:  Today, would she be emailing you or writing on your “wall” on Faceplace…err…Facebook?

Walter:  Absolutely not.  Years ago, she wrote me, “Beware of the machine world.”

TBP:  The magnificent family wedding jewelry is used to make a point in the HBO film.  Every fan wants to know what happened to that necklace. 

Walter:  I believe Bouvier Beale Jr. – with whom you spoke earlier this year – has that jewelry.

TBP:  What were Edie’s true feelings about the 1976 documentary, which the HBO film being screened at The Showroom is in-part based on, and the guys who produced it – the Maysles brothers?

Walter:  Her feelings changed over the years for both the film and the Maysles.  Sometimes she loved it all, sometimes she was defensive about the film.  She said she did it because she and her mother needed the money for food.

Later, there were issues regarding royalties from the film and DVD.  She got on a soapbox about royalties in several letters.

More dish with Walter next Thursday (Oct. 15).

Ask Walter your questions at The Showroom’s screening and lecture, Sunday (Oct. 18), 4 p.m., benefitting the Monmouth County Arts Coalition.

More info about Walter’s books - including his yet-to-be released “Letters of Little Edie Beale of Grey Gardens” - and CD at GreyGardensBook.com and AuthorHouse.com.  Read TheBPlot’s exclusive “book first look” by clicking here.

Read TheBPlot’s exclusive three part interview with Bouvier Beale, nephew of Little Edie – search “Bouvier”.

THEBPLOT = THE AREA’S MOST-READ FEATURES SITE

FIRST LOOK: NEW “LITTLE EDIE” BOOK SLATED FOR PUBLICATION FALL 09

"GREY GARDENS" LITTLE EDIE

TheBPlot has exclusive news about a new book, “Letters of Little Edie Beale:  Grey Gardens and Beyond” (Authorhouse) slated for publication Fall 2009, that reveals never-before-published personal letters from Little Edie, her commentary on the world and her family and more by noted “Grey Gardens” historian, Walter Newkirk.   

The first scoop and look about the book below.  An exclusive preview is coming soon, including an interview with Walter here at TheBPlot and in The Coaster next month. 

“Letters of Little Edie Beale: Grey Gardens and Beyond”, collected and edited by Walter Newkirk, is a sequel to ”memoraBEALEia:  A Private Scrapbook About Little Edie Beale of Grey Gardens“.  The tome will be available to the public the Fall of 2009 (pub date TBA) on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com and in bookstores nationwide.

“Letters of Little Edie Beale: Grey Gardens and Beyond”, will contain almost 100 transcripts of the most engaging and entertaining cards and letters written to the author by ”Little” Edie Beale from 1977-1987 and from 2000 up until a few months before Edie’s death in 2002. 

LITTLE EDIE’S UNIQUE REMEDY FOR AN EAR INFECTION…NEXT WEEK

In her facinating letters, Edie discusses her life post-Grey Gardens, politics, 9/11, her cousins Jackie and Lee, politics…and much, much more.

FIRST LOOK, NEW LITTLE EDIE BOOK

The book will also feature several pages of art  related to Edie and Grey Gardens by thirteen artists including Bruce Lennon, along with East Hampton residents Giovanni Gelardi, Lois Wright, Andrew Wargo, and Don Duga.

April 22, 1976, as a college journalist, author Walter Newkirk traveled to Grey Gardens, the Beale estate on Long Island, to interview Edie Beale about the movie documentary “Grey Gardens,” for his college newspaper, The Rutgers Daily Targum.  Thus began a decades-long friendship between Walter and Little Edie.   

During the amazing taped interview, Edie talked about her life, the department of health raid, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Lee Radziwill, Peter Beard, her brothers Phelan and Bouvier, Spanish music, and assorted other topics.  Mother Edith Beale is heard in the background.

That 72 minute, taped interview is available as a CD, “Little Edie Live! A Visit to Grey Gardens.”  It’s distributed on-demand by CreateSpace and can be found on Amazon.com ($14.99).  Its a must-have for any Grey Gardens lover.

The author dedicates his new book to Edie Beale, whose spirit and life on stage and film touches many people nationally and internationally.  Letters From Little Edie Beale is also dedicated to Rutgers University and the Rutgers Daily Targum for their marvelous and steadfast support of Newkirk’s books.  The Targum was, in fact, the genesis of his first book, and the catalyst for his friendship with Edie Beale.

FIRST LOOK #2, LITTLE EDIE BOOK

Walter Newkirk was inspired to compile the collection of letters from Little Edie  in this book by Barry Qualls, Vice President and Professor of English at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  He first became acquainted with Professor Qualls as a freshman at Rutgers in 1972 as a student in his class.

For TheBPlot’s recent exclusive four-part interview with Bouvier Beale – Little Edie’s nephew, click:

Part 1 – Memorial Day with Little Edie

Part 2 – Little Edie After Grey Gardens

Part 3 – Pride with Little Edie

Part 4 – Grey Gardens Web Exclusive

Richard@TheBPlot.com

THEBPLOT – THE AREA’S MOST-READ FEATURES SITE…WITH MORE OF THE EXCLUSIVES YOU WANT EACH WEEK

GREY GARDENS WEB EXCLUSIVE

Revealing parts of the interview that did not make it into the newspaper…

TBP: Your relative, John Davis, says he witnessed Little Edie climbing a tree and then burning her hair off, after a failed romance. What is the real story about Little Edie’s hair?

Bouvier: We never heard the story about Edie’s hair burning. We understood her to have Alopecia.

TBP: How much did Jackie Kennedy Onassis really pay to save her family from eviction from Grey Gardens. I have heard a spectrum of amounts. And did she pay Little Edie’s living expenses until she died, as rumored?

Bouvier: Jackie paid $25,000 to restore the home “to code.” We never heard that she helped Little Edie with her bills. There is no evidence of that.

TBP: What do you think your Grandmother and Little Edie would make of the ultra-iconic fame status they have achieved?

Bouvier: I think they would have loved the Broadway musical and HBO Film. Fame was not a priority but they would have appreciated the tributes.

TBP: What is the most common question you are asked about “Grey Gardens” and Little Edie?

Bouvier: There are so many questions. Mostly, we are asked “What Little Edie was like?” and “Why did this all happen?” The fans often think that no one cared for Edie and her mother but that is far from the truth. Everyone in the family tried to help them but at one point they decided that they would not leave Grey Gardens under any circumstances.

This is one of the reasons my wife, Eva, published the book “Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens: A Life in Pictures” to dispel the rumors.

TBP: What’s next?

Bouvier: We have no specifics yet however the next phase will include a book of Little Edie’s diaries and journals. More to come at GreyGardensCollections.com. Little Edie was an avid scrapbook keeper. During her lifetime she filled dozens of bound books with poetry, photos, party invitations, drawings and private musings the next book will offer a peek into that part of Edie’s life.

There are still 100 copies left of the limited edition coffee table book of private photos available online.

TBP: Tell us about the Grey Gardens Collection?

Bouvier: The website has started small but with amazing items – all inspired by the lifestyle at Grey Gardens during the glory days. The logo for the collection is actually Edie’s handwriting. The jewelry featured is cast from the originals Big Edie and Little Edie wore at Grey Gardens.

Richard@TheBPlot.com

LITTLE EDIE AFTER “GREY GARDENS”

So Major Summer 2009 kick-off continues with Part Two (click here for Part One) of my exclusive interview with Bouvier Beale Jr., first grandson of iconic Grey Gardens’ Big Edie and nephew of Little Edie – two women who loved the beach and sea as much as any dedicated Asbury Park-er. 

This week exclusive only found here, Bouvier discusses the “real” Little Edie and her life post-documentary release in 1976 and her mom’s death the following year.

TBP:  There has been so much fiction written and said about your family.  What’s true that we do not know about Little Edie? 

Bouvier:  Mostly, people don’t realize how talented and smart she was.  Her poetry, writings and drawings are amazing and her photographs of herself and the family are so important in showing everyone what she was like in her younger days while things were still divine at Grey Gardens.  Little Edie is a fashion icon and that was because of her style and creativity when it came to picking that “costume of the day.” 

My wife’s limited edition book “Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens, A Life in Pictures” (GreyGardensCollections.com) features many of Edie’s self-portraits and private family photos.  There are less than 100 copies of the book available now.

TBP:  What is misunderstood about Little Edie?

Bouvier:  Many feel that Edie was forced to go and take care of her mother and sacrificed her own life.  This is not truly the story, as she had no means of supporting herself.  Big Edie was always very generous with Little Edie and paid all her bills while she lived in New York City.  When the money was gone, Big Edie insisted that Little Edie come home out of necessity.  Little Edie had no choice.    

TBP:  I hear the love you and your wife, Eva, have for Little Edie.  In 1980, she came to your wedding in Montauk.

Bouvier:  She was always at family weddings and funerals.  I was recently watching movies of my wedding and loved seeing Edie having a great time and dancing with my father.  She was always, always the life of the party.    

She gave us two wedding gifts.  The first was incredibly special – she sang a special song for us at the wedding, “Toujours L’Amour” (I’ll Fly With You).  She also gave us a piece of family silver with a “B” engraved on it.  We still enjoy the memory of the song and the gift of silver. 

(Courtesy Beale Estate)

TBP:  What was the latter part of Little Edie’s life like? 

Bouvier:  Few know all the places she lived after Grey Gardens – New York, Montreal and Florida and for a short period of time in California.  Edie’s mother told her not to go to California because of the earthquakes, but she came in the late 1990’s and loved it.  She did not experience an earth quake however she always wanted to go back to Florida.  I took her back to Florida in 1997 to find an apartment.  She continued to be amazing.  Aunt Edie knew exactly where she wanted to be – right near the beach.  I visited her in Bal Harbor frequently and took her out to “luncheon” as she called it.  She was always thrilled. 

TBP:  By the way, how did Grey Gardens get its name?  I have heard so many different stories.

Bouvier:  The home was always a seaside garden and its name came from the subdued colors in the originally lush, muted-tone garden.  Part of the garden – to the home’s left – was surrounded by a small brick wall to ensure seawater never got to it.

Next week, Little Edie’s connection to President Bill Clinton.

(Courtesy Beale Estate)

For more exclusive insight about two of our favorite ladies visit GreyGardensOnline.com.  The site features tons of revealing interviews with other Grey Gardens “players” such as the grocery delivery teen seen in the documentary, Robert Beyer and David Lewis, who briefly served as Little Edie’s accompanist at Reno Sweeney.  These are interviews not found anywhere else.  The site also features amazingly detailed facts about Grey Gardens and brilliant quotes from Little Edie, such as:

“Jackie was twelve years younger than I, and although I was never jealous of her, I never liked her.  You know what Jackie wanted?  She wanted the house.  Yes darling, that’s the truth, and she did everything she could to get it.  Then Jackie sent her sister Lee, who I’ve always been absolutely terrified of- I think she’s a big criminal.  Lee and her boyfriend came around and started to tear the house down with axes.  Don’t go near any of these people for God’s sake, they’re all insane!”

and

“Of course the house isn’t perfectly normal.  The house has to be done over.  You know how hard it is to get plumbers in the autumn.”

This column is dedicated to the memory of Scott Schechter.

Richard@TheBPlot.com

MEMORIAL DAY WITH LITTLE EDIE

The premier of summer is a great opportunity to talk about my favorite documentary, “Grey Gardens” – first released in 1976 exposing the lives of aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” respectively who lived in squalor and isolation for decades in the oceanside, formerly golden, 28-room mansion “Grey Gardens” in East Hampton.

It’s an iconic must see for your gay card and is beyond fascinating to any and everyone else.

An overlooked character in the documentary – which served as the basis for the 2006 Broadway musical and last month’s fantastic HBO Film – is the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean and beach play a strong and meaningful part in both ladies’ lives.

As we celebrate the sea, beach, summer and friends this Memorial Day Weekend, first grandson of Big Edie and cherished nephew of Little Edie, Mr. Bouvier Beale Jr., spoke with me in an exclusive and revealing interview. The Coaster and TheBPlot.com are the only outlets in the country in which you can read Bouvier’s comments about his family, right now.

COURTESY OF BEALE ESTATE

TBP: Congrats on the HBO Film.

Bouvier: Thank you. Talking with Jessica (Lange) and Drew (Barrymore) about my family’s life was wonderful.

TBP: Do you think the documentary and film captured the essence of your relatives well?

Bouvier: The documentary, of course, captures the personality of my grandmother but I feel it is one-sided and edited to create a certain image. HBO’s film is wonderful and captures my grandmother perfectly – presenting some of the story from the important years prior to the documentary. I hope now fans are seeing a different perspective of the “Edie’s”.

My wife just published a limited edition book “Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens, A Life in Pictures” that also provides a genuine look inside Grey Gardens and features never before seen photos.

TBP: The coffee table book is just fantastic and I loved the HBO film. One of the questions the film created was regarding Big Edie’s friend and pianist George “Gould” Strong. Set the record straight, was he gay?

Bouvier: People assume he was gay. He was definitely Big Edie’s soul mate. Music and the desire for companionship drew them together. She felt her husband was always absent…working.

At one point, Little Edie’s diary actually expresses a bit of competition between her and Gould, for her mother’s attention. Later, when Gould was sick, Little Edie writes that she sent Gould a note and he replied back thanking her.

TBP: The film ends in 1977 with Little Edie performing in the New York City nightclub Reno Sweeney. What was the backstory there?

Bouvier: I have seen the contract that she had for that club. After modeling as a teen and young adult, it was one of her very first jobs (at 60 years of age) and she decided not to continue it quickly. My father and Jackie (Kennedy Onassis) did not really approve of those performances so everyone was pleased Edie’s show was short-lived. (End)

The amazing picture book is sold at GreyGardensCollections.com, along with a number of other beautiful products inspired by Little Edie and Grey Gardens, including reproductions of their famous jewelry, cast from the originals.

GREYGARDENSCOLLECTIONS.COM

Next week, Bouvier discusses Little Edie’s life after Grey Gardens and how the home got its moniker. In two weeks, secrets revealed about Little Edie and Bill Clinton and what she thought about Asbury Park.

COURTESY OF BEALE ESTATE

Richard@TheBPlot.com

CHEF SECRETS

SPRING BREAK 2009

I could only describe it as adorable when I learned the other day that the hot Russian model, with six-pack abs and just right everything else I was watching on MTV Spring Break was talking about something that could be “supersized” when he was describing his favorite American meal indulgence.

“They say it is a…umm…McRib…sandwich,” delicious model said, smiling and laughing. “I eat at McDonalds all the time. McRib has no bones.”

Hot Model Guy must have just gone on an audition for a McDonald’s commercial – his fierce beach body gave no hint of a regular diet of Mc-dining.

What’s your favorite food secret extravagance? I spoke with a few local culinary talents about what they crave when their own fare is not on the menu.

Michael Rathsmith and Bobby Johnson (25-year residents of Asbury Park) of Clementine’s in Avon:

“We will go to the Olive Garden, sit at the bar and eat breadsticks. I order the gorgonzola pasta with short ribs on top and take half home for lunch the next day. Bobby gets the stuffed chicken marsala. One other place we love is Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Route 66. We get burgers with jalapeño peppers, mayo, mustard and ketchup and regular fries. It’s so good.”

Michael also shared that he set up the restaurant’s outdoor tables last weekend featuring new Clementine-colored sun umbrellas.

Ken Le of Munch:

“I love Thai food, especially Pad Thai. I am actually having that tonight at Teak in Red Bank. I also love spare ribs from anywhere but my ultimate comfort food is a fresh baked ham.”

Beginning May 15, Munch will be open for dinner on ArtsCAP’s Collide-A-Scope Fridays. May 15 is the first day of the Tri-City Arts Tour, too.

Jeffrey Haveson from Restaurant Plan B:

“Ice cream anywhere anytime. Does not matter what kind – Breyer’s, Dairy Queen – I just love ice cream. I’ll have a Klondike bar for lunch sometimes.”

Marilyn Schlossbach, Langosta Lounge:

“My favorite place to go is Vic’s in Bradley Beach – I worked their as a waitress when I was younger – and my favorite thing to order, with my husband Scott, is a white pie with broccoli, garlic and ricotta. Their garlic bread is the best and I always get the chopped antipasto salad with herb dressing.”

I’ll take all of the above, including the model.

Briefly: The Center’s 16th Annual Center a la Carte happens next Friday (May 8). It is summer’s unofficial coming out. Call for tickets.

Cheers to this year’s participating restaurants: Asbury Park Roastery, Belmonte’s, Bistro Ole, Branches Catering, Carmines, Culinary Education Center of Monmouth County, Ducky Life Tea, The Harrison, Il Pavone Gelateria, Jesse’s Café, Kessler’s Catering, Laila’s, Langosta Lounge, Lusty Lobster, The Mix Lounge and Food Bar, Moonstruck, Mumford’s Culinary Center, Munch, Perfect Perk, Plan B, Silk Catering, Starbucks, Synaxis at the Shore, Taka, Tasty Pantry by Elaine, Windmill.

Finally, this is the last weekend to attend ReVision Theatre’s “Kingdom”. Please go. My mom loved it. I loved it. You will love the songs, story and dynamic cast.

Richard@TheBPlot.com