Table of Contents
Introduction xiii
Part I The James Beard Awards, Civic Opera House, Chicago, May 1, 2017 3
Brooklyn 8
Fran and Lou's 15
Part II Back to the City 27
Playwrights Horizons 30
Restaurant 101 33
So This Is What It's Like 41
A Kick in the Dick 46
Althea 51
All Good Things Must Pass 55
Part III Life on the Water 59
Another World 66
Partners in Servitude 70
How Soft Is an Opening? 75
Success 80
And They Came … 84
Mimi 87
Extracurricular Activities 90
The All-Star 97
The River Café 100
The Call 105
It Begins 108
The Family That Dines Together … 111
The Trail 113
"Do Not Fuck Zees Up!" 121
Guilty 127
Jumpers 135
The Door 137
Mr. Debonair 143
The Donald 148
"Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In!" 152
Acting Proceeds Apace 163
Part IV Raoul's 167
The Meet 170
Another Beginning 173
The Raoul's Brothers 177
Service 181
Celebrity 184
Drag 188
Harvard 190
9/11/2001 193
The Mob Redux 195
Crushed 200
Part V Unwanted 203
Minetta Tavern 206
Hope 213
"Failure Is Simply the Opportunity to Begin Again, This Time More Intelligently"-Henry Ford 216
The Resurrection 221
Bobo 226
Part VI Starr Ship Coucou 231
Le Chef 233
Starr Man 235
Le Coucou 237
Iron Bottoms 244
Soufflé 247
The Arrival 251
Gone at Last 256
The Shah 264
Fashionistas 270
Mr. James Beard 275
The Awards 277
Epilogue 279
Author's Note 285
Acknowledgments 287