Top Truffle

We Hear . . .

THAT sculptor Fernando Botero, who has an exhibition at the Marlborough Gallery, celebrated his birthday the other night with 50 friends, including Martha Stewart, at La Grenouille, which was decorated with reproductions of Botero's oversized nudes made of moss . . . THAT the 1.7-pound white truffle Nello Ballan brought back from Italy for regulars at his Madison Avenue eatery was the largest available - except for the 1.8-pound truffle that went to Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

Ex Top Cop Bernard Kerik Stops by Nello

Lyle Lovett and wife April hanging at Nello

Setting the Round Table at Nello

New Yorker shouts out Nello in Talk of the Town

From the current New Yorker: Such is pretty much the routine at the city’s annual wonk week, when midtown hotel lobbies and East Side restaurants swell with international eminences (Argentines at Nello’s, Congolese at the Waldorf), and the social order, for a brief moment, is realigned. Jalal Talabani snubs Woody Allen at Circo and is applauded anyway. Alyssa Milano stands ignored at the Sheraton while, nearby, the space-tourism entrepreneur Richard Branson is trailed by groupies. One veteran conventioneer, having just spent an afternoon at a panel with Warren Buffett, Barbra Streisand, John Glenn, and Shimon Peres, regarded the experience with a kind of weariness. “I feel the same way about classical music,” he said. “Six months later, I’ll look back and decide it was interesting.”

For the record, we wouldn't snub Woody Allen.

Heads of State make waves at Nello

Here's a quirky news story that started out quietly here at Nello last Sunday night, but ended up getting international legs. During U.N week, several heads of state (and their requisite delegations) wound up dining at Nello, as is their custom. Page Six, as is their custom, reported on where the visiting politicos wined and dined, including Nello. The Sept. 20 edition of our beloved right-leaning tab wryly noted that "left-leaning" Argentine President Nestor Kirchner had splurged on a late dinner here at the restaurant. The next day, Argentina's newspaper of record, La Nacion, picked up the Page Six scoop and called out their populist president's refined tastes. Whatever the political ramifications of Kirchner's late night meal, we can assure all interested Gauchos that Kirchner and his stylish wife Cristina were perfect guests, chatting amiably with our staff and fellow diners.

Serena Williams & Brandy at Nello Last Week

Sassy tennis ace Serena Williams and pop princess Brandy (who came into Nello sucking on a lollipop) mug for photogs over bellinis at lunch last week. The two pals graciously posed for paparazzi on Madison Avenue while they chatted. Snaps of the lunching ladies wound up in Page Six the next day.