High life | 3 May 2008

New York

So there I was, at the Waverly Inn, Graydon Carter’s little toy, which has been the hottest ticket in the Big Bagel for two years, when the booth next to mine filled up with young people, all of them scruffy and dressed like the homeless, their girls rather plain and some of them even ugly. Par for the course, I thought to myself, then I noticed everyone looking at them. My son and daughter, with whom I was celebrating Greek Easter, set me straight. The boys were Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Robert Downey Jr, the last two unknown to me, Leo baby hiding under a 19th-century working-man’s hat. Truth be told, I was expecting the worst, but to my delight the large group was not only extremely quiet, but also very polite. I made sure no one at my table looked their way, but when I sneaked a look I was surprised how normal and undistinguished the group was.