Tag: restaurants

Nightly, his gravelly voice buzzed through the darkened dining rooms of the Palm restaurant in Buckhead like a Stoli-fueled chainsaw. If you had stepped inside the high-end Westin hotel steak and lobster dispensary even once, the Palm's general manager Willy Cellucci, impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, knew your name, your game, your brand of Scotch and probably the last four digits of the American Express gold card in your billfold. And whether you were Julia Roberts seeking a quiet table for Easter brunch or the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's green gossip columnist, sweaty and seeking scoop, Cellucci was the consummate host, throwing the best party in the city daily.

Several architects, interior designers, and restaurant conceptualists swivel their heads to look around the room, and a couple of them thoughtfully clear their throats.

The phone rang in Mike Virga’s office in Union, New Jersey, one morning three years ago: “I hear somebody going, ‘I want some of that good Lioni mozzarella. Come on, sell me some. It’s me, Giovanni.’"