Brian Lawrence Live

Feb. 9-Feb. 12
I got an invitation to attend the Grammy Awards show this year and so, with some last-minute scheduling switches and flight bookings, I flew out to LA early Saturday morning and landed at 10 a.m. Of course it was sunny and warm— a pleasant change from the dreary February weather back in Charm City. After picking up my fire-engine red Mustang, I cruised up La Cienega to Melrose Avenue, did a little browsing and got some lunch at the cafe at Fred Segal. Then I headed over to West Hollywood to The Standard hotel, the hipster hangout created by Andre Balazs, to get in a little pool time. I met up with WCBM radio’s Tom Moore, who had flown out the preceding Tuesday. And later, we were joined by the rest of our pack: John Hargrave, owner of Sky Lounge, and Jeff Bunting, who’d flown in from Nashville. Dinner that night was at the Chateau Marmont, and we were joined by my best friend from college, Darren Bevill, who now lives in LA and works as an actor and screenwriter. At one adjoining table was Mariska Hargitay from “Law & Order,” and at another was film actor Michael Madsen, best known for his role in “Reservoir Dogs.” Madsen actually came over and hung out at out table for a bit. It turns out that a friend of Darren’s had worked on a film with Madsen two years ago. After dinner, we hit a private party that was going on at the Chateau, then retired to one of the garden bungalows.
The next day was show day, so by 2:30 we were driving down Wilshire Blvd. to the Staples Center downtown. We managed to sneak into the red carpet entrance and spent about half an hour wandering the red carpet where I met Wolfgang Puck and Andy Williams. Joey Fatone was doing interviews for “The Insider” and Kojo was doing interviews for TV Guide channel. The “Entertainment Tonight” crews were everywhere. The next day John saw footage of us in the background as Mika was being interviewed. Then it was in to the three and a half hour show. At one point Seal walked right past me, wearing an all-white suit. Afterwards, we drove up to the Beverly Hills Hotel, where the Sony/BMG after-party was getting underway. In the course of the party, which was held in the main ballroom and outdoor terrace, I met John Mayer, Josh Groban, Brad Paisley, Chris Daughtry, and Nicole Ritchie & Joel Madden. At one point, Aretha Franklin swept past. Throughout the evening I saw JC Chasez, Carrie Underwood, Chase Crawford, Blake Lewis, Tony Bennett, Arista Records’ Clive Davis, Pink and Jason Davis (better known as “Gummi Bear” in the tabloids). Courtney Love showed up on the late side. Beyonce was apparently at the party for 10 minutes, but I didn’t see her. We headed out to hit Sky Bar and then finished the evening back at Bar Marmont.
The following day we tried to have lunch at Musso & Frank’s Grille in West Hollywood, but it turned out to be closed on Mondays, so I called The Ivy and secured a last-minute lunch reservation there. The chopped salad there rules! The spaghetti with chicken meatballs was great as well. Mischa Barton was seated nearby and David Arquette strode past at one point. The afternoon was spent cruising through Malibu and up the Pacific Coast Highway for a drive. I was catching a red-eye back to Baltimore that night, and Jeff had already departed for Nashville. John and Tom hit up Koi and Hyde that night, where they spied Janet Jackson, but alas, I missed out on that.

Thursday, Feb. 7
The last time I attended this event was probably about 5 years ago. This year, I was invited to be one of the celebrity judges of this food-and-dessert extravaganza that benefits Healthcare for the Homeless. I arrived at M&T Bank Stadium at 5:30 to begin the daunting task of judging the some 60 food vendors’ creations— both chocolate-based and others. Luckily, my pal Max Weiss from Baltimore magazine was also a judge, and we set out to conquer the lot. Max has done this before, and clues me in to a few basic rules: “Ask for a small portion. Only take a bite or two. And walk away from the table as soon as they give you the sample— then you can spit it out or throw it away without offending them.” Sounded logical. The first few food booths, it actually seemed fun. A chicken stew made with cocoa dumplings was a pleasant surprise from the Admiral Fell Inn. A tuna sushi on a cucumber slice with wasabi glaze from Cuisine Catering was delightful. Their cucumber mojito was perfect. Then I started to glance around and realize just how many booths had to be covered. Yikes. Along the way, I met new-to-town celebrity chef Warren Brown of Cake Love. And caught up with fellow judges Lars Rusins of Baltimore Foodies and Monyka Berrocosa of Women’s Wine & Dine. The booths we could hit before the hungry crowds started stampeding through made the job easier, but as soon as the place started to fill up, I found myself cutting into the front of the lines, gesturing to my big red Judge’s ribbon as I desperately tried to cover ground. By our 7 o’clock deadline, I was tired, full, bloated and cranky. The judges convened to report our findings in 8 different categories. My top picks: the steak and mashed potatoes from Capital Grille, that cucumber mojito, a chicken mole from Sascha’s, chocolate fondue from Glarus, and a Maryland Crab soup from some vendor whose name is lost to me. I tried to ignore those guests getting the free foot massages near the entrance and headed back into the main room, where the crowd was estimated to be above the 1,600-mark. People in long lines waiting for a tiny sampling of food at every station. People shoveling food into their maws in every direction. They seemed to be having a good time. I met up with some friends near the Baltimore Eats table hung out for another hour, taking in the scene.

Max had to rush off to the Center Club, where Baltimore’s ‘Top Singles’ party was going on, and she was kind enough to extend an invitation to me, and I couldn’t pass it up. So I trundled over to the Club and waded into the crowded scene there. Sipping some Moet champagne, I ran into Edie Brown, Sandra Creamer, Susan Raneri, Trent Waite, Scott McHale and Eric Brennan, one of the bachelors who’d been auctioned off for $1000 earlier. The crowd was jovial and crammed into the main room dancing to the fun ‘80s band The Real Geniuses. There was no doubt that most were there in search of a mate. Toward the end of the evening, it looked like many were going home alone.

Friday, Feb. 1
I took a 7:18 a.m. train up to New York this morning to spend the day in the city and see some of the collection shows in the tents for Fashion Week. I joined Helga Surratt of About Faces, make-up maven Giella and Edie Brown for lunch at Kellari on 44th St., then we trouped two blocks (in the rain) over to the tents for an afternoon of fashion shows. First up: menswear line Duckie Brown, where the entire collection was done in shades of black and dark grey. Menswear designer John Barlett was in the front row for the show. Next up, Rubin Singer, a relatively new women’s line, with a show of dramatic shapes and sophisticated looks. And the biggest show of the day: BCBG Max Azria— this was one of the hot-ticket shows, held in the largest tent with the biggest crowd and a smattering of celebrities. Too bad the collection itself was sort of a letdown: uninspired and ordinary, bordering on boring. After chugging some coffee in the sponsors’ courtesy tent, I caught the 6 o’clock Acela back to Baltimore, getting in in time to join some friends for a late dinner at Lemongrass.

Thursday, Jan. 31
The private back room at Morton’s Steak House was the scene of a “send-off to smoking” party as some 60 or so guests gathered for a cigar dinner to mourn the end of smoking in Maryland bars and restaurants. It was a boisterous crowd that lit up pre-dinner Davidoff cigars and chatted, then sat down to a filet mignon dinner. More cigars followed the appetizer course and accompanied the dessert course. I was reminded of my college fraternity days, when we regularly held smokers as part of our rush season. The event was duly recorded by the media: there were camera crews from three local TV stations on hand, as well as photogrpahers from several local periodicals.I enjoyed speaking with Susan Raneri, David Nevins, Judy de Joia and Lou Licata, among many others. Good food, good crowd, good cigars.

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