So what's a world-weary celebrity to do for kicks after having earned an Oscar or Emmy, been foot-printed for the Hollywood Walk of Fame and amassed enough loot to pave Rodeo Drive?
Why, open a restaurant, of course. Certainly the celebrity owner will be guaranteed the best seat in the house.
'Celebrities are no different than regular folks, and owning a restaurant is part of the American Dream for many,' says Annika Stensson, director of media relations for the National Restaurant Association, the business association for the restaurant industry. ``Sharing your favorite food with the world is a way of sharing yourself and your life, something that comes naturally to people in the public eye, be they actors, athletes or something else.'
While the food may not necessarily be better than at a restaurant owned by a local entrepreneur, Stensson says, ``It undoubtedly has the draw of that person's name. And if it's a restaurant in which the celebrity is truly vested, fans can get a taste of what their idol likes by eating in that establishment -- sharing his or her culinary vision, if you will.'
In fact, the vast majority of stars who own restaurants say they opened them to give their fans a taste of the foods they grew up with. The menu at Beso, a West Hollywood restaurant owned by Desperate Housewive's Eva Longoria Parker, stars her signature tortilla soup and guacamole.
Other stars opened restaurants to support their local community. In 1990, Robert De Niro decided to create a restaurant for the film community of his hometown Tribeca in New York City. Paul McCartney, Tom Cruise and many other Hollywood stars have been dining at Tribeca Grill ever since.
And rapper Jay-Z recently opened his third 40/40 Club sports bar so his celebrity pals would have a guaranteed place to chill in style, safe from the flash of paparazzi cameras.
'We wanted to create an atmosphere that's relaxed and, you know, cool -- people saying `What's up' to each other, having fun with each other,' Jay-Z says.
While most celebrity-owned restaurants are located in glam metros like New York City and Los Angeles, even cities with less-obvious sex appeal have become home to Hollywood heartthrob eateries.
Kevin Costner opened Jake's, atop the Midnight Star casino in downtown Deadwood, S.D., an area where he filmed Dances with Wolves, and country singer Toby Keith looked homeward when he opened I Love This Bar and Grill in Oklahoma City's hip Bricktown district. The restaurant serves the singer's own recipe for fried chicken and gravy to live or televised country tunes.
'The whole concept reflects my passion for Oklahoma,' Toby Keith says. ``We want to make sure that we have the best food in town, and I'm seeing to it.'
From coast to coast, here are eight celebrity-owned restaurants currently in the spotlight. (Some dishes cited from menus may be seasonal.)
HOLLYWOOD
Beso in Hollywood (owned by actress Eva Longoria Parker):
With the recent opening of Beso, the least domestic of the Desperate Housewives has proven that she's no spoiled princess after all. While celebrity TV chef Todd English is doing the actual cooking, Parker, a self-described foodie who claims her real-life persona is closer to the domestic Bree character in Desperate Housewives, was involved in everything from creating the menu to designing the decor and choosing the restaurant's furnishings.
Beso's fare runs the gamut from Parker's own recipes for tortilla soup and guacamole (both rumored to be as hot as the actress herself) to a variety of Latin, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean fusion fare. Hot items include paella, drunken shrimp, uptown specialty tacos, skirt steak in an Arabic bread salad, and steaks with barbecue sauce or chimmichurri sauce.
With its gold-beaded chandeliers, framed mirrors, gold satin drapes and extravagant bar, the decor of Beso is so glam it could almost pass for a 'Desperate Housewives' set -- which it practically does when Eva's three fellow Desperate Housewives join her for dinner at their own special table.
Details: Beso, 6350 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028; 323-467-7991.
AUSTIN
Bess Bistro in Austin (owned by actress Sandra Bullock):
'America's sweetheart' is now walking the talk as the ultimate green restaurateur. At Bess Bistro, which opened in 2006 in the old bank vault of a 1918 building, practically everything is eco-friendly.
The takeout containers are made of sugar cane, and the cutlery is made from potatoes. The restaurant's brick columns, iron railing and old timbers were all painstakingly restored, and even the furniture was recycled, including dining tables made from floorboards of a house Bullock owned.
Bess features a broad range of European and American cuisine, ranging from sophisticated dishes like croque monsieur, porcini-crusted halibut and steak frite to workaday American fare like shepherd's pie, cheeseburgers and macaroni and cheese.
You'll want to save your appetite for the array of calories-be-damned desserts. Diet-conscious divas like Madonna and Carmen Electra have reportedly succumbed to Bess' lemon tart and chocolate torte.
Details: Bess Bistro, 500 W. Sixth St., Austin, TX 78701; 512-477-2377 or www.bessbistro.com.
ATLANTIC CITY
The 40/40 Club in Atlantic City (owned by rapper Jay-Z):
When the rapper star opened his second 40/40 Club in Atlantic City, he spared no expense jetting in VIP pals like Magic Johnson, Serena Williams and Justin Timberlake. Today, the 15,000-square-foot, multilevel upscale sports bar/lounge dwarfs his original 40/40 Club in Manhattan. Furnished with more than 30 televisions airing sporting events, it also has several VIP rooms and a deluxe cigar lounge.
While the vibe is relaxed, the dress code is strictly formal, which means no gangsta gear makes it past the bouncers. At the grand opening, Beyonce set the tone by wearing enough 'ice' to sink the Titanic, while Alex Rodriguez, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird were dressed to the nines in designer suits.
Although the 40/40 Club is more of a bar scene than a restaurant, guests can water down the booze with 'Latin- Soul' snacks like fried deviled eggs and Southern-fried chicken sticks -- two of Jay-Z's favorite foods as a kid growing up in New York City.
Details: The 40/40 Club (Atlantic City branch), 2120 Atlantic Ave., Atlantic City, NJ 08401; 609-449-4040 or www.the4040club.com.
OKLAHOMA CITY
I Love This Bar and Grill in Oklahoma City (owned by country singer Toby Keith):
Located in the city's entertainment district and named after the country singer's hit single, this restaurant/bar combines the culinary chops of a steak house with a honky- tonk vibe. Nab a seat on one of the 'redneck loveseats' and get ready to assault your waistline on down-home recipes, all reputedly taste-tested by Toby Keith.
Entrees range from fried okra and chicken-fried steak to prime ribs sold by the ounce (with an 8-ounce minimum). The menu also includes homemade pies and signature cocktails, like a bright blue Cabo Wabo margarita featuring rock singer Sammy Hagar's tequila.
If you're looking for a quiet night, you may not love this bar and grill. Loud music is played on 12 screens, and you might even catch a live performance by Toby or friends- of-Toby like Willie Nelson or Sting. On the other hand, if the music is to your taste, there's plenty more grits and gravy at Toby Keith's two branch restaurants in Las Vegas and Kansas City.
Details: Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill, 310 Johnny Bench Dr., Oklahoma City, OK 73104; 405-231-0254 or www.tobykeithsbar.com.
SUNDANCE
Tree Room at Sundance Resort, Sundance, Utah (owned by actor/producer Robert Redford):
A study in rustic elegance with candlelight, white- linen tablecloths and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking forests, Tree Room is decorated with American Indian art and artifacts from Redford's personal collection, creating a vibe that's part American Indian and part Butch Cassidy. It's exactly the sort of eatery you'd expect from a rustic-elegant tree hugger like Robert Redford, with a live tree growing from the middle of the dining room through the roof.
The menu is also rustic-elegant and revolves around critters that were once home on the range in these parts, including buffalo and venison. Everything is cooked on a grill or rotisserie with organically grown herbs, many of which are from Sundance's farm.
Appetizers range from peekytoe crab to citrus- marinated salmon, while main courses include pancetta- wrapped brook trout and Sundance pepper steak -- a popular with regulars like Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron and Bruce Willis, just a few stars who frequent the restaurant during the Sundance Film Festival.
Details: Tree Room, Sundance Resort, RR 3 Box A-1, Sundance, UT 84604; 801-223-4200 or www.sundanceresort.com/dine/tree_room.html.
DEADWOOD
Jake's in Deadwood, S.D. (owned by actor/director Kevin Costner):
If you're looking for celebrity-inspired fare in South Dakota, the buck (buffalo, elk) stops here. Costner began planning the project in historic Deadwood while filming Dances With Wolves. The restaurant claims to be the 'finest restaurant in South Dakota' and certainly is the only one where you can dine surrounded by Kevin's authentic costumes, props and memorabilia.
With its etched glass, hand-rubbed wood and polished brass, Jake's reflects the opulence of Deadwood during the 1890s Wild West era -- except for the food, which is strictly 1990s-style American. Appetizers run the gamut from escargot to seasonal dishes that include salmon, chicken, duck and lamb. The restaurant also has an award-winning wine list.
Costner also co-owns Epiphany in Santa Barbara, Calif. Located in a 1800s stagecoach stop, Epiphany features American cuisine made with European flair and the ambience of a Tuscan wine cellar.
Details: Jake's, 677 Main St., Deadwood, SD 57732; 605-578-1555 or www.themidnightstar.com.
MANHATTAN
Tribeca Grill in New York City (co-owned by actor/producer/director Robert De Niro):
De Niro founded the Tribeca Grill in 1990 to give his slumping Tribeca 'hood a boost. Today, the restaurant and neighborhood are both New York landmarks. Housed in a 1905 warehouse on the first two floors of De Niro's film production company, the restaurant's high ceilings, oversized windows and exposed brick mirror the area's industrial-chic vibe.
Tribeca serves the sort of robust, Mediterranean-style fare you'd expect from The Godfather crowd. Entrees range from glazed pork tenderloin with smoked ribs to T-bone steaks with homemade potato pirogues and seared sea scallops. The restaurant's extensive wine list boasts 1,800 selections, or you can grab a beer at what the restaurant calls its Cheers-like bar (where everyone knows your name, especially if you're a regular like Bill Murray or Sean Penn, who are investors).
When you have the kind of dinero De Niro has, it only makes sense to spread it around. In addition to the Tribeca Grill, which has become a New York City landmark, De Niro also opened Nobu, the city's hottest Japanese lunch spot, and owns several Italian restaurants in California and Las Vegas.
Details: Tribeca Grill, 375 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10013; 212-941-3900 or www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com.
SOUTH BEACH
Lario's in Miami Beach (partly owned by singer Gloria Estefan):
Located on Ocean Drive in the heart of South Beach across from the Atlantic, Lario's is Estefan's ode to Latin cuisine and music. Lario's serves home-style Cuban cuisine in a swank two-story eatery that turns into a swinging salsa joint on weekends, when a live Cuban band rocks the night with ear-deafening tunes, and trendies crowd the dance floor. BYO dancing shoes with your appetite, and you could go home with a calorie deficit like regulars Cindy Crawford and Kate Hudson apparently do.
Entrees range from simple arroz con pollo (chicken with rice) to sophisticated dishes like Cuban steak topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Or test the waters with the Cuban pupu platter of appetizers. For dessert, cool your taste buds on flan, a homemade custard in flavors ranging from coconut to chocolate.
Despite its celebrity pedigree, Lario's would be a bargain in any town, much less South Beach. But while you don't need to be a fat cat to eat here, if you're trying to lose weight, you may want to try that other South Beach diet.
Details: Lario's on the Beach, 820 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach 33139; 305-532-9577. (They also own the Costa d'Este hotel and its Oriente restaurant in Vero Beach.)
