Celebrity Spotting + Good Food = :)

Some folks make a hobby of celebrity spotting in NYC. Personally, I’ve never been all that in to it, mostly because I probably wouldn’t recognize a lot of them anyways. But every now and then they’re hard to miss. This week’s example came over dinner at Bombay Talkie (though it appears they forgot to pay their web hosting company this month, maybe this link instead), our local Indian joint, which recently hit the NYC Michelin Guide — pretty impressive.

First up, the food was great, as usual. Portions seemed a little smaller than last time, and I think the prices may have gone up a dollar or two on the entrees (Tandoori shrimp was 4 jumbo shrimp for $20), but the food is good. Not a “typical” heavy Indian meal, but lighter and with lots of different flavors blended together. The spicy food still had flavor, not just heat, and the Malai Kofta had a great sauce that was more than just heavy yogurt. Plus we were actually able to get a table without any waiting. Maybe because it was the Tuesday after Labor Day and half the city was still on vacation, but we still got to sit and eat without waiting, which is somewhat rare there.

So, on to the spotting. About 6 or 7 years ago when we started going to our regular Italian place in the neighborhood, Wallace Shawn could often be found sitting in the back corner enjoying a meal. That stopped a few years back and I always just assumed he had left the neighborhood or was dining out on different days than we were. It would now seem that it is the latter of those two, as we ran in to him at Bombay Talkie this week. He was happily ensconced at a window table between two other couples, enjoying his meal and a newspaper. Eventually one of the adjoining tables figured it out (with a shout of “You were Cher’s teacher!” that all of us heard) and they seemed to have an enjoyable conversation for the rest of the time we were there.

So there it is…celebrity spotting, plus good Indian food.