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Table of Contents


March 9, 1998 Issue

"Business is incredible because of the stock market. When the market crashes, so will we."
-- Bar mitzvah planner Diane Beinstock Setchen, "Lucky Thirteen"

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FEATURES
Lucky Thirteen
BY RALPH GARDNER JR.

One proud father rented Radio City Music Hall for the night, another the Intrepid (with Natalie Cole as headliner). Extravagant bar (and bas) mitzvah bashes are booming right along with the stock market. As rabbis struggle to focus on the religious event, party planners with quarter-million-dollar budgets compete to keep jaded teenagers engaged. (Note: the Grucci fireworks barge starts at $20,000.)

Fête Accompli
BY RUTH J. KATZYou’re ready to party, and the occasion calls for a place that will surprise your cohorts and show off your good taste. Whether you’re hosting a handful of friends for your 30th or 300 of your nearest and dearest for a smashing wedding, here are dozens of spaces that will make your party memorable. From Romanesque ballrooms to mannequin-filled lofts, we’ve scouted the best Manhattan has to offer.

The Almost Perfect Couple
BY RUTH G. DAVIS AND BETH LANDMAN KEIL

In the past five years, Alison Spear and Carlos Gomez acquired million-dollar homes on Park Avenue and in the Hamptons, an extensive art collection, and a foothold in high society. Now Gomez is charged with embezzling more than $10 million from Citibank to support their fragile fantasy.

GOTHAM
What to eat instead of swordfish; attitude comes through at the Aalto show; Rudy’s apology script
GOTHAM STYLE Recombinant jeans; the return of huge restaurants

DEPARTMENTS
The National Interest
BY HANNA ROSIN

Dueling sleuths: Clinton’s team and Starr’s team compete for dirt

Restaurants
BY HAL RUBENSTEIN

Rabat redux: L’Orange Bleue’s food may not be purely Moroccan, but we’re not complaining

MARKETPLACE
Best Bets
BY CORKY POLLAN

Plates for dipping; a tiny shortwave; let your dog have a ball

Sales & Bargains
BY ONDINE COHANE

Save $100,000 on an apartment; orchids at carnation prices; bridalwear breaks

THE ARTS
Movies
BY DAVID DENBY

Welcome to the jungle: The funny if coarse and unconvincing Krippendorf’s Tribe

Books
BY WALTER KIRN

Mary Gordon’s Spending is at once trashy and clubby

Theater
BY JOHN SIMON

Mizlansky/Zilinsky is perky if padded; The Maiden’s Prayer, simply a mess

Art
BY MARK STEVENS

Ghosts in the machine: The inner workings of Léger and Close

Classical Music
BY PETER G. DAVIS

The once-unique Concertgebouw becomes, of all things, bland

CUE
New York Magazine's weekly guide to entertainment and the arts.

Intelligencer
(Gossip)