The F.B.I. takedown of Mr. Zazi’s planned “martyrdom operation” began soon after police stopped him on his way into New York City last September. Using lawfully authorized search-and-surveillance techniques, agents quickly established that he was putting together the components for the same kind of explosive—known as TATP—that had been used in the London subway bombings. The Al Qaeda conspiracy to attack the New York subways, with the hapless Mr. Zazi as a suicide bomber, was extinguished.

Following his arrest, Mr. Zazi obtained counsel and, like many criminal defendants, seemed to be preparing to go to trial. Then came the drumbeat of criticism from the right, led by former officials of the Bush administration. Former White House press secretary Dana Perino declared in the National Review that the Zazi case provided a “cautionary tale” because the surveillance had been aborted, the case blown and the investigation ended “prematurely.” According to Ms. Perino, the suspect had lawyered up and “stopped talking.” Without applying instruments of torture, she worried, “any further cooperation Zazi may provide is up to him and his lawyer.” If only the Obama administration had declared Mr. Zazi to be an “enemy combatant” and applied “so-called enhanced interrogation techniques” to him, the results would have been far better.

The same complaints were heard, predictably, from former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, another frequent commentator in the right-wing media, who charged that the F.B.I. and the New York City Police Department had somehow botched the Zazi probe. As of last fall, such critics were predicting that the case would conclude with minor charges against the defendants, including Mr. Zazi—and a lost opportunity to pursue important investigative leads against Al Qaeda operatives both here and abroad.

The mistakes were made not by the F.B.I., however, but by its critics, whose dire predictions turned out to be entirely erroneous. Not only did Mr. Zazi plead guilty this week and detail the entire conspiracy in his confession, but he and at least one of his uncles, indicted in a separate sealed proceeding, are evidently cooperating in what Attorney General Eric Holder has described as an “ongoing investigation.”

A hint of the contours of that investigation could be found in the Justice Department’s summary of the case against Mr. Zazi. It explains that although he had traveled to Pakistan with the intention of joining the Taliban, he was “recruited by Al Qaeda” shortly after arriving there and taken to Waziristan for terror training. His indictment for conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country suggests that Mr. Zazi is talking about the individuals who trained and indoctrinated him and the places where that occurred.

Not surprisingly, the same caustic critics who tried to use the Zazi case to demand tribunals and torture instead of constitutional justice are paying scant attention to the outcome. But the attorney general spoke out clearly and convincingly about the broader meaning of this case when the defendant entered his plea:

“This demonstrates that our federal civilian criminal justice system … is a powerful tool in our fight against terrorism. … We have to couple it with what we do on the military side, what we do on the intelligence-gathering side. But to take this tool out of our hands, to denigrate the use of this tool, flies in the face of the facts.”

As American and Pakistani agents apprehend Taliban officials, and as the Justice Department uses lawful means to induce one terror suspect after another to cooperate, those facts ought to matter to anyone who cares about defeating Al Qaeda—rather than scoring cheap shots against the Constitution.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                jconason@observer.com

If Hollywood’s own Gossip Girl is to be believed, Josh Schwartz’s planned Gossip Girl spinoff won’t be coming to televisions this fall. As Deadline Hollywood Daily’s Nikki Finke “reported” last week, the potential series, which is built around show matriarch Lily van der Woodsen (née Rhodes) and her early years as a rebellious teenager in California, is probably “dead,” this despite the fact that Warner Brothers Television president Peter Roth a big fan (Warner Brothers is the parent company of The CW). Ms. Finke’s TOLDJA! negativity aside, last night’s episode of Gossip Girl, titled “Valley Girls”, served as a backdoor pilot to the now-questionable new series, and the results were decidedly mixed. The 1983-set flashbacks were a pastiche of tired clichés, lame jokes and bizarrely sepia-tinged film stock (who knew Southern California circa 1983 looked straight out of The Godfather?). Still, since it mildly had to do with Gossip Girl (and was one of the few episodes written this year by Mr. Schwartz and his co-producer Stephanie Savage), we were kinda hooked. Wondering what should stay and what should go if Lily (that’s the rumored title) actually goes to series? Here’s a checklist.

The Good!

All hail Andrew McCarthy! Playing Lily’s previously unreferenced father, Mr. McCarthy only appeared in the episode’s first five minutes, yet he was so perfectly smarmy, detached and charming that he instantly became our favorite part of the pilot. Working under a pair of Aviator sunglasses and wearing Guy Pearce’s suit from Memento, Mr. McCarthy got to play what seems to be a rarity in the Josh Schwartz-oeuvre: the well-meaning but flawed dad. Since most fathers Mr. Schwartz creates are either cool and hip (see: Gossip Girl’s Rufus Humphrey) or rich and heartless (see: Gossip Girl’s Bart Bass), this muddying of the water is progress. We also found Brittany Snow, as Young Lily, to be equally wonderful, even though the way her character was written she seemed more like Blair than future-daughter Serena.

The Bad!

If you’re a fan of Lost you’ll be happy to know that we finally found out where Libby has been hiding: she’s bringing down the Gossip Girl spinoff, one blank glance into space at a time. Cynthia Watros, the actress who played Libby on Lost and here appears as Lily’s mother CeCe, is so bland that she makes Blake Lively seem well, lively. Simply, she has to go. And maybe she can take Shiloh Fernandez, who plays Lily’s soon-to-be boyfriend, Owen, with her. Wooden and forced, with looks that combine all the bad parts of Robert Pattinson and Ed Westwick (believe us, there are bad parts), Mr. Fernandez manages to be an unappealing match for Ms. Snow. Also, not to nitpick, but why is Lily falling in love with Owen, and not Rufus, in the first place?

The Ugly!

As if the sepia-tones weren’t bad enough, the spinoff just looked plain cheap. The sets had a summer stock vibe; as if Mr. Schwartz and his team tried the best they could to make Silvercup Studios in Queens look like “Los Angeles.” It doesn’t work. Additionally, while we always appreciate Mr. Schwartz’s musical choices, scoring a montage of frantic clothes-changing to “Dancing with Myself” by Billy Idol was just plain cruel. Mr. Schwartz, we know you’re better than that!

We had hoped this spin-off would play like Less Than Zero combined with the "Amanda Righetti becomes a stripper" episode of The O.C.; however, even we never thought Mr. Schwartz would be able to nail down an actual Less Than Zero star for a key role. The casting is almost too perfect. Between this and the reports that Mr. McCarthy’s fellow Less Than Zero co-star Jami Gertz would be making an appearance on the upcoming season of Entourage, we can only assume that the '80s are officially back. Hopefully, Judd Nelson paid his phone bill.

The downside to all this great news is that Mr. McCarthy’s former series, Lipstick Jungle, has probably seen its chances of return dashed to less than zero (nyuck, nyuck). The surprisingly popular but lowly rated NBC series was pulled off the air last fall, but not officially "canceled," leaving the small hope for fans that it might return. However, in the last two weeks, co-stars Kim Raver and Lindsay Price both signed on to pilots for the upcoming television season, and, now that Mr. McCarthy is booked up, too, it seems like only a matter of time before NBC officially puts the series to death. Of course, since NBC did just renew Heroes for another season, so we guess anything is possible. Maybe Brooke Shields, the last remaining Lipstick Jungle star without another job, can do the whole show herself.

"It's like a Halloween dream sequence thing," one of them added. Indeed, the sidewalk was mostly occupied by a line of costumed extras (masqueraders and witches, mostly). Lipstick Jungle star Brooke Shields was reportedly not around, but we were told that she is expected on set at Franklin and Varick streets tomorrow (just saying!).

The tech-savvy Mr. Rasiej is hoping to beat out front-runner Betsy Gotbaum for the Democratic nomination on Sept. 13, and has been active in championing a very unique campaign proposal: providing New York City residents with low-cost wireless broadband Internet capabilities.

Outside of politics, Mr. Rasiej has been buying and renovating property for most of his adult life. However, with the primary only a week away, he admits that it’s nice to have a sleek apartment to return to after a long day on the stump.

“I decided to live on Spring and Lafayette [to] simplify my life a little bit while I run for office,” said Mr. Rasiej. “Owning a house—even though it has great rewards—does require more time and work.”

Regardless of the final returns next week, Mr. Rasiej will hold onto his new pad in the recently renovated East River Savings Bank building, which he purchased through Maria Lopez of Prudential Douglas Elliman. The 1,770 square-foot corner apartment includes two bedrooms, three bathrooms, and 16 windows.

In addition to the apartment’s “great light and spacious rooms,” Mr. Rasiej adores the trendy neighborhood, which he describes as the “next major frontier in lower-Manhattan real-estate.”

Built in 1924, the Beaux-Arts building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert, who is also responsible for the Woolworth Building and the United States Customs House. The 14-story building was converted into condos by developer Shaya Boymelgreen in 2004. Attractively situated on the cusp of Soho and Nolita, the landmark building now includes 40 units.

While Mr. Rasiej is certainly more widely seen in the pages of the Metro section, he has made quite a bit of real-estate news in the past year.

Five years ago, he purchased a West Village townhouse and gut-renovated it.

“The last project was unique, because it was an old carriage house on a prime West Village street,” said Mr. Rasiej. “I had a unique opportunity to build a one-of-a-kind home with a three-car garage and three gardens.”

Apparently, the renovation was attractive enough for at least one celebrity. Last summer, actor Will Smith rented Mr. Rasiej’s four-story townhouse for $60,000 a month while the he was filming an upcoming movie in the city, according to the New York Post.

Then, in mid-April, Mr. Rasiej sold the 25-foot-wide townhouse for $8.95 million. Not too bad, considering that he’d purchased it for $2.12 million—thereby quadrupling his investment in only five years.

As both an Internet entrepreneur and a community activist, Mr. Rasiej is no stranger to New York City neighborhoods. Among his many accomplishments are founding the music venue Irving Plaza and spearheading a program to bring technological innovation to public-school students.

“One of the pleasures of living in New York is that it has lots of different neighborhoods with a fantastic selection of special buildings,” he said. “If you spend a lot of time walking around the streets of New York, occasionally you come across diamonds in the rough.”

However, pending the election returns, Mr. Rasiej will wait before starting another massive renovation project.

Although he is well known for juvenile film roles, actor Andrew McCarthy obviously has a penchant for antiques.

He recently sold his 161-year-old Bedford Street townhouse for $3.25 million, according to deed-transfer records.

“It had wonderful original details,” said listing broker Liz Dworkin of Eychner Associates Inc., who also represented the buyers. The unique West Village townhouse didn’t last long on the market, getting snatched up in only a few weeks for the asking price.

The four-story townhouse, which Mr. McCarthy has lived in since the late 80’s, featured original moldings and mantles, high ceilings, seven wood-burning fireplaces and a garden. The ground floor includes a separate entrance.

“It had great charm,” said Ms. Dworkin. “Because it faced east and west, it also had great light.”

The 19th-century townhouse includes three bedrooms, including a master bedroom and bath occupying the entire fourth floor.

The 42-year-old actor first achieved fame after starring in the 1980’s classics St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink, where he appeared alongside members of Hollywood’s Brat Pack, which included his co-stars Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson. Although best known for those iconic coming-of-age roles, it should be noted that Mr. McCarthy has appeared in at least 40 films.

Through his management, Mr. McCarthy didn’t return calls for comment.

Two years ago, veteran sportscaster Warner Wolf signed a contract on a luxury condo on Riverside Boulevard for $2.1 million, according to deed-transfer records. Since it was a new construction, these things take time: It was only a few weeks ago that Mr. Wolf finally closed on the apartment, which had originally listed for $2.283 million.

The 1,883-square-foot condo includes two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. The kitchen features top-of-the-line appliances.

The Costas Kondylis–designed building is one of several developed by Donald Trump on the Upper West Side. The 31-story building features a roof garden, a landscaped courtyard and a sunken terrace.

Chock-full of amenities, the white-glove building includes a health club with two pools, a children’s playroom, a party room and even a video-screening room where Mr. Wolf can bellow his famous catch phrase, “Let’s go to the videotape!” (Not surprisingly, that was also the title of his 2000 autobiography.)

Let’s hope Mr. Wolf has more luck than he did several years ago in a high-end Tribeca condominium.

Along with celebrity buyers that included actor Billy Crystal and Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis, Mr. Wolf purchased a three-bedroom apartment at 27 N. Moore, which was being converted to a luxury residence called the Ice House.

A couple of years later, Mr. Wolf and several other unhappy residents filed a lawsuit claiming that the building’s developer, Jack Lefkowitz, performed haphazard construction work, including inadequate finishes.

In February 2002, a settlement was a reached that granted the condo board control of 6,000 square feet of commercial space. Despite the favorable settlement, Mr. Wolf sold his 3,642-square-foot apartment for $4.45 million a year later, pocketing $2 million in the process.

The 67-year-old sportscaster is a living legend in New York sports, with over four decades of broadcast coverage. It was in 1969 that he first uttered his memorable catch phrase, during a tape malfunction while watching a Warriors-Bucks game. For decades, Mr. Wolf appeared on the 11 p.m. local news on Channel 2, the CBS affiliate. After a network shake-up in 2004, he switched back to radio and is currently appearing on WABC-770 AM’s morning show, Curtis and Kuby, and also on ESPN radio.

Mr. Wolf couldn’t be reached for comment.

Recent Transactions in the Real Estate Market

45 Barrow Street

Four-story, 2,940-square-foot townhouse.

Asking: $2.65 million. Selling: $2.90 million.

Time on the market: seven months.

Taxes: $10,375 per year.

THIS OLD HOUSE Although working in high finance, the couple who purchased this 19th-century townhouse must also have a penchant for history. “You’re talking Gangs of New York era,” said Brett Baccus of the Corcoran Group, who represented the seller, a single corporate-communications professional. He had lived in the historic house for over two decades and was looking for something smaller. Although a relic of the city’s past, not everything in the house is that old; it had been architecturally redone in 1991. With almost 3,000 square feet of interior space, the 10-room townhouse is currently configured with an “English basement” that could be used as a rental. However, the new buyers will follow their newly married hearts and convert the place back to what it once was many years back: a single-family home. Dee Simonson, also of the Corcoran Group, represented the buyers.

Tell him that a long time ago when he was young, and you were younger, you admired the way he screwed up his face in consternation and the manner in which he always ran his fingers through his hair. It seemed emblematic of some generational angst, a moody, grumbling counterpoint to the insufferable optimism of Ronald Reagan and, for that matter, Emilio Estevez. Tell him that you identified with him.

Then duck.

"You seem to be wanting something that's validating something in your own thing because you had an experience with it," Mr. McCarthy replied when The Observer said some of those very things to him over lunch on Aug. 15 at Joe Allen, the Restaurant Row theater hangout. He was wearing an interesting combination of gray twill dungarees (no belt) and a beige-colored linen shirt. Those full cheeks are gone; he's skinny now.

His voice was raised in frustration, and he pointed his finger across the table. Meantime, he was loading bales of salad into his mouth more like a feral panda than the well-bred preppy he played in the 80's.

He chewed and continued. He was talking about the Brat Pack, the group of young actors with whom he was lumped in the 80's. "So you want it to have been something. And it wasn't something! It didn't exist! You all had the experience that you wanted to be part of–this kind of group, with success, and it just wasn't. That's not what it was in my experience. But people don't believe that. They just hear frustration when in fact what I'm saying is that's something that you put on us . That's the magic of the movies. You put that on us. It didn't have anything to do with me!"

Mr. McCarthy seemed to be evincing a familiar emotion. Yes, it was the same rage that rose up in Blane, the status-blind "richie" in Pretty in Pink , during the prom scene finale where he finally challenges bad richie James Spader's character for disrespecting Molly Ringwald. The Observer chose not to point it out to him.

Was his life sort of like being trailed by the maudlin equivalent of get-a-life Star Trek fans?

"Sort of, but Star Trek actually has some very profound messages going on," he said. " Star Trek is different."

Once upon a time, people dreamed of hanging out with Judd Nelson, shopping at Aca Joe with Rob Lowe, passing notes to Ally Sheedy. But when Andrew McCarthy dropped out of New York University to take a part in the 1983 film Class –which entailed having an on-screen affair with Jacqueline Bisset–nothing changed in his life, except that, he says, "chicks wanted to fuck me who didn't before."

These days, at 37 years old, with 33 films since Pretty in Pink, the New Jersey native speaks of the "stigmatizing effect" of these movies–some of which reportedly earned him close to a million bucks. He makes Pretty in Pink sound like genital herpes. ("I have to work a little harder because of the stigma.… You never shed it.") Worst of all, he claims he was never even in the Brat Pack. He claims he's never even met the Brat Pack's geek mascot, Anthony Michael Hall!

"[The Brat Pack] didn't exist. It … did … not … exist!" he said. By this time, his salmon steak had arrived, and he was talking loudly again. "We never hung out–well, they may have hung out. I don't know their phone numbers! I've never talked to a single one of them since we wrapped [ St. Elmo's Fire ]! It's all just some lazy fucking journalist lumping it all together."

The journalist to whom he's referring is David Blum, who wrote the June 1985 New York magazine cover story "Hollywood's Brat Pack"–which coined the term. Mr. Blum, who now writes for television and magazines, said that by not including himself in the Brat Pack, Mr. McCarthy is being something of a revisionist historian. "Draw your own conclusions," he said. "Anybody who was remotely connected to St. Elmo's Fire has to carry that with them for the rest of their lives."

Back in 1985, Mr. Blum was assigned a story about how actor, writer and director Emilio Estevez was trying to turn himself into the 80's answer to Orson Welles. Shortly before the release of St. Elmo's Fire , Mr. Blum went out in Los Angeles with Mr. Estevez and his friends, among them Judd Nelson and Rob Lowe. He then changed the focus of the article to include all of the acting young lions in Hollywood, with the notable exception of Mr. McCarthy, who had been considered something of a loner on the set and who was not there that night.

New York magazine hit the stands and immediately created a stir in Hollywood. The stars were angry, and their publicists all got on the phone and chewed out then- New York editor Ed Kosner. "I always thought [Mr. McCarthy's] anger had something to do with the original cover photo for the piece," said Mr. Blum. "We used a publicity still from St. Elmo's Fire … . Andrew McCarthy was also in that picture, but because I didn't talk to him or really deal with him much in the story, we actually cropped him out."

All these years later, Mr. McCarthy still remembers that New York magazine story. In fact, he uses the photograph as evidence that he was never, ever a member of the Brat Pack. "That was my elbow!" he said of the only part of his anatomy that made the cover. But it was something written within the article that stung the most. While Mr. Estevez was dubbed "the unofficial president," Tom Cruise "the hottest of them all," and Sean Penn the heir to Robert De Niro's acting throne, Mr. McCarthy received only this passing mention, and worse, it was a jab from one of his own: "[O]f Andrew McCarthy, one of the New York-based actors in St. Elmo's Fire , a co-star says, 'He plays all his roles with too much of the same intensity. I don't think he'll make it.'"

For a moment, Mr. McCarthy's chalkboard green eyes betrayed more hurt than anger. "Whenever you have a contemporary trash you in some nasty way, it usually means they're envious," he said.

Like the Matt Dillon movie, that was then, this is now. A few of those mentioned in the Brat Pack story–notably, Mr. Cruise, Mr. Penn, Matthew Broderick and Nicolas Cage–somehow emerged from the Brat Pack association untouched by the curse. Others associated with the teen ensemble films, like Demi Moore and Robert Downey Jr. (prison notwithstanding), managed to eke out a decent living far past 1985.

And truth be told, so did Mr. McCarthy. There were the dogs like 1995's Dream Man ; the forgottens like 1997's Stag , about a bunch of guys who accidentally kill a stripper at a stag party. There were a couple of pretty good ones, too, like 1994's Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle . Good or bad, he was always working. "I have a wonderful career," he said, perched over his salad. "I'm in a Broadway play, a Tony-winning play. You know, it's not going badly."

He got tapped to play Clifford in Warren Leight's Tony Award-winning play, Side Man , a part previously played by both Party of Five 's Scott Wolfe and Christian Slater (two guys who most certainly would have been members of the Brat Pack if only they'd gotten started a little earlier), after playing A Long Day's Journey Into Night and Horton Foote's The Death of Papa at the Hartford Stage last season. Ironically, Mr. McCarthy, who seems to be forever running away from anything smelling of juvenilia, reverts to playing a 9-year-old for much of his time on stage in the memory play. He plays Clifford with a mix of vulnerability and bitterness.

And people still recognize him, of course. Apparently, 1989's hide-the-body flick Weekend at Bernie's made a dent. He said that an inordinate number of truck drivers stick their heads out their windows and yell, "Hey, where's Bernie?"

Others are not so kind. Mr. McCarthy is occasionally confronted by sidewalk critics. "They'll say, 'Why did you do that movie? That sucked!'" he said, shaking his head at the memory. "So why are you coming up and bothering me then? Go fuck off!"

The Rich Shall Inherit Mortimer's

Thanks to the efforts of a certain community as galvanized as a velvet Red Cross in a deluge, Mortimer's, the society watering hole scorched a year ago by the death of proprietor Glenn Bernbaum, will be reborn, renewed and improved, on Labor Day or very soon thereafter.

As attorney Richard Golub explained recently, he was retained, in accordance with Bernbaum's will, to "close Mortimer's down." But this spring, the death of Mortimer's and the dearth of agreeable restaurants in the 10021 ZIP code were being compared to a month of Sundays "in the Gobi desert," to quote House & Garden editor at large Carolina Irving. To resurrect it, parched investors were found from the restaurant's inner circle: Nan Kempner, Mario Buatta, Anne Eisenhower, Gale Hayman, financier James Arcara and 15 or so other regulars made pledges.

They didn't raise enough to outbid Jean de Noyer, the owner of La Goulue, for the Mortimer's building at 1057 Lexington Avenue, but it was enough to take over the lease of the Kiosk, a restaurant owned by Nell Campbell and Eamon Roche two blocks south, a location Bernbaum would have considered "downtown." The rebirth of the restaurant was organized by Robert Caravaggi, longtime maître d' of Mortimer's, Stephen Attoe, the restaurant's chef for nearly 20 years, and Peter Geraghty, Bernbaum's personal assistant in charge of its finances for the past five years. Mr. Caravaggi said they raised about $500,000 toward the new space, not a great fortune to float a restaurant in this neighborhood, but a start nonetheless.

"I think I understand why he didn't leave any provisions for keeping Mortimer's going," said Mr. Attoe of his former boss. "Glenn couldn't deal with his emotions, so he made his death as impersonal as he could."

More likely, Bernbaum didn't need anyone pointing out the sins of the father once he was gone. Inside his new E-shaped dining room on April 19, Mr. Caravaggi revealed what would be different about the new Mortimer's. "None of this looking people over the way Glenn did. That worked for him, for a while. We only worked for him; it wasn't our policy," he said, clearing his throat.

Indeed, like all great divas, Mortimer's is benefiting from some ace surgery and repositioning. For instance, it's no longer called Mortimer's. It's new name and trademark is Swifty's, for Bernbaum's pug, who predeceased his owner. Decorators Anne Eisenhower and Mario Buatta are performing the last of several gentle procedures (apricot walls). And Mr. Buatta is putting the finishing touches on a logo.

"We're taking the best of Mortimer's … the food, the ambiance, the social mix and improving upon the worst. We're a little more youthful," said Mr. Caravaggi. "We want this to be an inclusive restaurant and we don't want to exclude anybody."

The restaurant will accept reservations; Mortimer's didn't for parties under six unless you were a friend of Bernbaum's. He sat you only if, and when, he wanted to. Amusing at first, while the demand for tables lasted, that policy backfired when people gave up trying. Often in the last years, one would look in at night and see, say, Brooke Astor at Table 1A in the window, a few of the tables behind her filled with genteel sorts, and the restaurant otherwise empty in candlelight.

Mr. Attoe described the new menu as "smaller, more condensed … offering more specials in season. "Risottos, pastas, game … But we'll have Mortimer's favorites. The chopped salads, chicken salad, twinburgers, crabcakes and soufflés to order." There'll be lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Catering is also available.

"To tell you the truth," said Nan Kempner, "I didn't like the way Glenn left his staff. These boys are terrific. They worked for him practically from the beginning. I was delighted to invest. It'll be fun and delicious and intimate and filled with pals with the same great food. Yum …"

Part of the allure of Mortimer's was its (relatively) low prices. "The rich love a bargain in food, but they don't care how much a drink costs," Bernbaum used to say. "Our prices will be in line with Mortimer's–moderate to medium," said Mr. Caravaggi. "Our wine list will be excellent and well priced."

Mr. Caravaggi wants to clear the tables near the bar after about 10:30 P.M. each night, to draw people in for a nightcap or late supper. There are French doors on Lexington Avenue to open in the summer. A launch party for Swifty's will be held "about a month after we open, after we've worked the kinks out," Mr. Caravaggi said.

Something else: The restaurant is small. If the back room is more commodious than the front room, and the kitchen is downstairs, where's the best table at Swifty's?

"Wherever you are," purred Mr. Caravaggi.

–William Norwich

The Transom Also Hears

… The long hard road of Keith Richards' face ended in a wry smile. "It's the first time we've met and basically we agree on everything," said the Rolling Stone as he cocked his mug at the woman sitting next to him. Mr. Richards was referring to actress Lauren Bacall, his tablemate at the post-premiere party for Albert Brooks' new movie, The Muse . The Bacall-Richards pairing was the talk of the evening, but actually it was typical of the eclectic crowd gathered in the private upstairs room of Le Cirque 2000.

Like Mr. Richards and Ms. Bacall, everybody seemed to be in a sociable frame of mind. Police Commissioner Howard Safir kept jumping out of his chair to eagerly press flesh with the celebrity crowd, especially Harvey Keitel and Mr. Richards. Meanwhile, Mr. Keitel, who earlier had been concerned about who was at his table, seemed to hit it off with the newly single Andie MacDowell, who co-stars in The Muse . Also in the room were Happiness director Todd Solondz, Howard Stern sidekick Robin Quivers, Heather Locklear, Richie Sambora and Sopranos star and E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt.

Even Mr. Brooks seemed determined to see everyone happy. After his first question-and-answer with The Transom, Mr. Brooks concluded, "They're not great quotes, but I just got here." Later in the evening, he gave it another go. Asked about the cameo appearances that directors Martin Scorsese and James Cameron make in his film (a highly caffeinated Mr. Scorsese tells Mr. Brooks' character that he wants to remake Raging Bull with "a really, really thin guy–thin but angry"), Mr. Brooks replied: "It even surprised me a little bit because Scorsese does not like to fly.… He was asking me all these non-movie questions like, well, how windy is it out there [in Los Angeles]? He was asking me aeronautical questions. Is LAX safe?" Mr. Brooks' voice took on a weary, yet reassuring tone. "Yes, Marty, Yes.

"And [James] Cameron called me back. I didn't know her." The Transom laughed, thinking Mr. Brooks was being funny, but he quickly corrected his gender mistake. "Him," he said. Apparently, Mr. Brooks had been distracted. "I just saw Robin Quivers. I have to say hello to her," he said, walking away.

As for Mr. Richards, his being in total agreement with Ms. Bacall might have been a smart bit of self-preservation. When The Transom admitted that we were not aware that she was opening in Noël Coward's Waiting in the Wings in December, Ms. Bacall replied, "I can see you're right up-to-date," and immediately gave us the distinct impression that the conversation was over.

Frank DiGiacomo is on vacation.