The Grand Prix was off and revving Wednesday night at Lucky Strike Lanes.
Jason Priestley and wife Naomi Lowde led the jammed room of revelers in games of bowling, pool and poker – with a stop to paint plaster faces for next year’s Mask Project. His mask was a woman’s face with “90210” across the forehead.
B-list celebs who made the scene included Anthony Edwards (“Top Gun,” “ER”), Barenaked Lady Steven Page, “The Shield’s” Benito Martinez, “Rumble Man” Michael Buffer and last year’s race winner Sebastien Bourdais of Paul Newman’s team.
I was sick at home, but talked to Edwards on his cell during the fete. “You’re not missing a thing – crummy party,” he joked. I heard the Lucky Strike soiree exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Edwards was in town to support his buddy Priestley, racing in general, and his cause, Cure Autism Now. He said he would probably bowl and play poker Wednesday night. “I have no poker face, so I’ll lose right away. I don’t win at games. I’m the guy who dies in ‘Top Gun,’ remember?”
EATS!
You read here last month that Venanzio Momo was set to open Via in the Ice House. It’s serving practice meals to friends and family this week, open to the public Aug. 22. It looks great and will be the new LoDo hot spot, so check it out soonest.
The boys from Vesta Dipping Grill are opening Steuben’s at 523 E. 17th Ave. next summer. It’s now a garage, and it’ll need a complete buildout. Owner Josh Wolkon says it will be “a great neighborhood restaurant” modeled after the neighborhood joints that thrive and survive in NYC.
Bill Ferguson, head guy at Avenue Grill and Great Northern Taverns, is opening the first of several Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Ques at Stapleton on Sept. 12.
The price-friendly Public House has opened at 1920 Blake St.
And Josephina’s closes on Larimer Square on Saturday after a 31-year run. It smelled like an old sock, but I’ll miss it anyway.
Get real
“American Idol 5” tryouts hit Denver on Sept. 11 – plenty of deets to follow, trust me. It was to be held at the Pepsi Center, but that was cut last week. Organizers now searching for a new location big enough to hold the hopefuls.
And we have a guy on “Survivor: Guatemala,” to debut on CBS on Sept. 15. Jim Lynch is a 63-year-old retired fire captain from Northglenn. He is this season’s oldest outcast. The next oldest is former NFL quarterback Gary Hogeboom, who turns 47 on Aug. 21.
City spirit
Sightem: Former Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenburg at a performance of “Oklahoma” at the Country Dinner Playhouse … Joe and Debbie Sakic’s End of Summer Celebrity Bash is Thursday at Inverness with Opie Gone Bad and ESPN hockey announcer Darren Pang. Call 303-371-9250, ext. 219 … Be among the first to see inside the incredible Ellie Caulkins Opera House at Thursday night’s Historic Denver party. Call 303-534-5288 … Sez who: “It’s no longer a question of staying healthy. It’s a questions of finding a sickness you like.” Jackie Mason
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Husted also appears on Fox 31 News. You can reach him at 303-820-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com.
