EE RR’s Oscar Night: Wolfgang Puck at the Kodak
EXECUTIVE DINING by Fifi Chao
Our executive editor, Rick Reiff, may have lamented in his Insider column about turning 50. But after the surprise party that his lady friend, Sherri Kurdziel, gave him last week, I think he’s liking the big number much better.
They just don’t throw parties like this anymore. It was an ongoing gala event that lasted for eight hours.
Rick was enticed by Sherri to the Westin Hotel lobby at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon to meet his good friends Terry and Judy Jones, supposedly so the foursome could get to L.A. for an early dinner and the theater. It was a ruse to get him on a bus, where more than four dozen of us were waiting to yell “Surprise!”
We were off to a private dining room in the new Kodak Theater,home of the Academy Awards,a destination that all of us knew about, except for Rick. While he remained in the dark, he was in high spirits playing a game that Sherri invented to keep all of us occupied on the hour-long ride into Hollywood. We each had to guess clues that lead us to the name of some celebrity, the purpose being to look for that celeb’s picture as our “name” card for dinner seating later in the evening. Very good entertainment.
Wylie Aitken, trial lawyer from Aitken, Aitken & Cohn, and his wife Bette were on the bus with us. Larry Thomas of the Irvine Company and girlfriend Terry Cope helped keep things going, as did Ed and Dixie Arnold. Ed’s a KOCE news anchor. Murray Rudin, partner in private equity firm Riordan, Lewis & Haden, and his wife Lori, added to the frivolity. Richard Reisman, OCBJ publisher, was there with Delphine Channel.
Adding greatly to the happy atmosphere was Sherri’s great uncle, Mario Tomasino, who was the Warner Bros. prop master. What a character and, at 89, what an inspiration he is! He regaled us with stories that fit in perfectly with the theme of Hollywood and the days of the glamour era. Linda Scheck, Mario’s daughter, is the executive director of the Orange County Alzheimer’s Association. She added some good laughs with her stories of knowing Rick through Sherri. She was there with her husband, lawyer Ed.
Longtime friends of so many of us, former county supervisor Harriett Wieder and husband Irv, were there to share sentimental stories about Rick during the past decade. I only wish this column were long enough to list more of the stellar attendees.
We arrived at the Kodak Theater only to be met by another contingent of guests who were already in L.A., thus surprising Rick even more. We were ushered into this glamorous room replete with plenty of cushy couches and offered cocktails,I noticed lots of martinis,and special tidbits to munch on, thanks to America’s most well known chef, Wolfgang Puck.
We were treated to Wolf’s special food all evening, thanks to Sherri’s employment as his representative. I would have loved to have all my readers taste the tiny tartlet shells filled with baba ghanoush,pureed roasted eggplant and tahini. They were silky and decadent. There were tiny open-faced cheeseburgers, the size of a quarter. Plump shrimp were dappled with classic cocktail sauce and there were tiny slices of the most delicious pizza.
Sherri had planned a roast.
Up to the podium at the front of the room stepped the most gorgeous blonde who immediately had us in stitches and began telling stories that for some reason found Rick covering his face. Having Eva Franchi, good friend of Sherri and widow of famed singer Sergio Franchi, there to host the evening was a coup. She’d flown in from Connecticut just to do this for Rick. And topping off the celebrity guest list was a special appearance by Lassie!
But the most precious moment came when Rick’s parents, Toni and Dick Reiff, stepped out. Sherri had flown them in from Chicago as a special surprise. Orange County public relations maven Gloria Zigner,there with husband Irv Goldberg,added a few zingers. Sherri spliced together a wonderful video of Rick in all his alter egos in the yearly CHOC Follies, which Gloria produces. There were flashes of Rick in his commentary on KOCE. Who does this guy think he is? A Pulitzer, a Golden Mike, a weekly columnist, recognition for his singing and acting skills, a person special enough to have a party like this thrown for him?
After plenty of laughs at Rick’s expense, we were ushered into the other part of the room, which was resplendent with round tables set in finery. We wandered about looking for the celebrity photo that matched the identity we were given on the bus.
Atop our place plates were custom-designed small folders sealed with a piece of movie film that held our own “star” with our names in bronze, just like on the Walk of Fame outside and in keeping perfectly with the theme. On parchment was the autographed menu for the evening that Wolf built around classics of the ’50s from Hollywood’s most famed restaurants.
To be accurate, the first course was typical, creative Wolfgang Puck, and the rest of the menu was retro. Before we began, I gave a brief history of the restaurants represented and mentioned some of the stars who frequented them. We had a trio of appetizers on a rectangular plate,grilled tuna with three-peppercorn crust, a rosette of smoked salmon on a blini with a tophat of caviar and California sushi roll.
Then we slipped into nostalgia with the Bombay Salad of shrimp and crab from the Bullock’s Wilshire Tea Room (1929-1993), tournedo of beef with truffle and Madeira sauce from La Rue (1945-1969), saut & #233;ed whitefish from Perino’s (1932-1985), asparagus and rice from Musso and Franks (1919 and still serving), cherries Romanoff from the Coconut Grove (1921-1989) and the Brown Derby’s famed black bottom pie. It was fantastic.
Throughout the dinner, we urged Rick to sing a little Sinatra, a version of “New York, New York,” which Rick had some time ago rewritten with words about Newport and other familiar OC things, and a few of his other favorites.
In case you’ve missed this part of his personality, the guy has a voice. Just when we thought the evening had wound down, we were in for yet another surprise. We were off to see Argus Hamilton, comedy contributor to the Business Journal, at the Comedy Club. What a highlight to an already smashing party. By 11:30 p.m., we were in cars and on the bus, heading back to OC. I think this will go down as prime memorabilia for all of us.
