Celebrity diners

I was having dinner a few weeks ago at Morandi, Keith McNally's take on rustic Italian food in the West Village, when in walked John Slattery and his wife, Talia Balsam, better known to most as Roger Sterling and his fictional ex-wife, Mona. I am a huge Mad Men fan and quite excited to have an unexpected dinner date with the Sterlings.

Not only was my brush with celebrity diners exciting, but it was also quite rare -- despite the frequency with which I go out to eat and my New York City location, I almost never see famous people at restaurants (spotting one on the street is far more common). Which got me thinking about where else I *have* seen one dining a nearby table. Here's what I came up with:

Hillary Swank and an unidentifiable man sitting in a back corner table at I Trulli;

John Corzine, Natalie Morales, and Bobby Flay (not together) at Fresco by Scotto;

Mayor Bloomberg with his lady friend and another couple at Maialino;

New York Senator Chuck Schumer at Tamarind (my favorite Indian restaurant);

Angela Lansbury at Telepan;

Keri Russell (from Felicity) at the Red Cat; and

Bernadette Peters (does she count?) at Eleven Madison Park.

Judd saw Joan Allen at the Hillstone on 27th and Park last summer and my sister recently saw Alec Baldwin, Lucy Liu AND the Edge at Del Posto.

Where have you spotted a celebrity?