Rainbow Room

'The Rainbow Room" at Theater of Arts dramatizes one of the few singles scenes that hasn't been milked to death: a gay women's bar. Otherwise, to the credit of playwright Lenore Carlson and director Lenore Willard, the slice-of-life in this neighborhood saloon might be unfolding in a gay male bar or a straight bar--or wherever you find jealousy, intrigue, obsession, deception.

I have a confession to make: I hate brunch buffets, those all you-can-eat affairs where, faced with a selection as long as a football field, you promptly lose your mind and pile your plate to the point you're confronting far more than you can realistically consume or appreciate. And some people don't stop there. I think the moment I swore off such extravagances was a Sunday morning at the Rainbow Room in New York. The buffet there is famous for the view, and for the fact that the buffet spread slowly revolves like a turntable.

I have a confession to make: I hate brunch buffets, those all you-can-eat affairs where, faced with a selection as long as a football field, you promptly lose your mind and pile your plate to the point you're confronting far more than you can realistically consume or appreciate. And some people don't stop there. I think the moment I swore off such extravagances was a Sunday morning at the Rainbow Room in New York. The buffet there is famous for the view, and for the fact that the buffet spread slowly revolves like a turntable.

And now for a review in English . . . please ["Welcome to His Jungle" by Ann Powers, Nov. 23]. What a long-winded diatribe that is completely useless other than illustrating why art critics are deluded, self-important wannabes. What is a rococo guitar riff? What is florid loveliness? If "November Rain" moves you, the joke is on you. Posted by: Steve -- I respect music critics for their reviews, good and bad, as a music fan. But this may be the first time in my 30-plus years any critic has talked loud and said nothing.

New York's venerable Rainbow Room restaurant is set to close its doors Dec. 19 after 64 years.

And now for a review in English . . . please ["Welcome to His Jungle" by Ann Powers, Nov. 23]. What a long-winded diatribe that is completely useless other than illustrating why art critics are deluded, self-important wannabes. What is a rococo guitar riff? What is florid loveliness? If "November Rain" moves you, the joke is on you. Posted by: Steve -- I respect music critics for their reviews, good and bad, as a music fan. But this may be the first time in my 30-plus years any critic has talked loud and said nothing.

The perfect Hollywood restaurant has just opened in New York. "It's like being in the movies," says mastermind Joseph Baum. "These days, people are looking for a little relief." In this case, you spell relief RAINBOW --the most glamorous, luxurious and, at more than $20 million, most expensive restaurant ever built in the United States. The Rainbow Room, open barely 3 months, has already received dozens of rave reviews.

It was a place so classy, Keith Richards wore a necktie. A place so full of stars, that one evening Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra came separately for drinks, and the maitre d' sat them next to Bob Hope at Rosemary Clooney's wedding. But on Saturday night, the Rainbow Room danced its last dance. For the first time since a major remodeling in the 1980s, there won't be a stroke-of-midnight conga line snaking through the club on New Year's Eve.

The platform boots, the Spandex, the big hair, the dog collars--the Rainbow Bar & Grill has seen it all during three decades as playroom of choice to the Sunset Strip's flamboyant rock 'n' roll strutters. Oh, if those walls could talk. From the bustling side patio and parking lot pickup scene to the dining room's dimly lit red leather booths to the intimate "Over the Rainbow Room" upstairs, where the Beatles once hung out, the place exudes decadent cachet.

Admit it. You are face to face with another New Year's Eve and you have no clue what you are going to do tonight. Another year gone and how will you greet the new one--dancing the night away at some L.A. hot spot? Or planted in front of the TV watching "Sesame Street Stays Up Late!"? Or worse, standing in the kitchen in your bathrobe, banging on a pot? Los Angeles is a place where the last-minute clamor for a reservation is a rite of winter. And why not?

The platform boots, the Spandex, the big hair, the dog collars--the Rainbow Bar & Grill has seen it all during three decades as playroom of choice to the Sunset Strip's flamboyant rock 'n' roll strutters. Oh, if those walls could talk. From the bustling side patio and parking lot pickup scene to the dining room's dimly lit red leather booths to the intimate "Over the Rainbow Room" upstairs, where the Beatles once hung out, the place exudes decadent cachet.

It was a place so classy, Keith Richards wore a necktie. A place so full of stars, that one evening Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra came separately for drinks, and the maitre d' sat them next to Bob Hope at Rosemary Clooney's wedding. But on Saturday night, the Rainbow Room danced its last dance. For the first time since a major remodeling in the 1980s, there won't be a stroke-of-midnight conga line snaking through the club on New Year's Eve.

New York's venerable Rainbow Room restaurant is set to close its doors Dec. 19 after 64 years.

Admit it. You are face to face with another New Year's Eve and you have no clue what you are going to do tonight. Another year gone and how will you greet the new one--dancing the night away at some L.A. hot spot? Or planted in front of the TV watching "Sesame Street Stays Up Late!"? Or worse, standing in the kitchen in your bathrobe, banging on a pot? Los Angeles is a place where the last-minute clamor for a reservation is a rite of winter. And why not?

The perfect Hollywood restaurant has just opened in New York. "It's like being in the movies," says mastermind Joseph Baum. "These days, people are looking for a little relief." In this case, you spell relief RAINBOW --the most glamorous, luxurious and, at more than $20 million, most expensive restaurant ever built in the United States. The Rainbow Room, open barely 3 months, has already received dozens of rave reviews.

'The Rainbow Room" at Theater of Arts dramatizes one of the few singles scenes that hasn't been milked to death: a gay women's bar. Otherwise, to the credit of playwright Lenore Carlson and director Lenore Willard, the slice-of-life in this neighborhood saloon might be unfolding in a gay male bar or a straight bar--or wherever you find jealousy, intrigue, obsession, deception.

Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but on Jan. 5 he will be in New York, the opening attraction at a new intimate (80-seat) club called Stairway to the Stars. The boite, another sign of a revival of cabaret and old-time elegance in Gotham, is located high the RCA Building that also houses the recently refurbished Rainbow Room.

Designated drivers may drink as much as they like--as long as they stick to lime rickies, lemon daisies and other non-alcoholic drinks dreamed up by Dale DeGroff, head bartender at the Rainbow Room in Manhattan. DeGroff has compiled his recipes into a booklet available free of charge; call (800) 967-4663. There's even a spicy wine toddy in the group. It's made with white Zinfandel . . . alcohol-free white Zin, of course.