Ins and Outs of ‘Fast’ Food

Social Climes has discovered that take-out food is passe compared to take- in food, though most restaurants are probably hoping this new trend will quickly fade. A growing number of diners in L. A. are bringing prepackaged frozen diet cuisine into some surprisingly fine restaurants. Some eateries will warm up a brought-in meal for free; others charge a couple of bucks.

Le Dome and Campanile will oblige, as will Morton’s, where several diners have brought in low-cal dishes by diet guru du jour Carrie Latt Wiatt, wife of ICM president Jim Wiatt.

At City restaurant, waiters recall only one diner who brought in an entire meal, but say a handful of their customers bring in soup packets and request hot water on the side.

Is this what diet counselors are telling their clients to do? They are at Jenny Craig and Nutri/System Weight Loss Centers, where the staff recommends the practice--as long as dieters phone ahead to make sure the restaurant doesn’t mind if you they tote their own grub.

Late L.A. Law

It’s not often we get a near-hysterical call close to midnight--especially about shopping. But last week we were rung up by a prosecuting attorney--an otherwise calm, sensible woman--who after work had gone to the recent opening of the Loehmann’s Clearance Center in Los Angeles.

It sounded important, so we typed while she ranted:

“My god, it was incredible ! It was an absolute madhouse ! I waited in line for three hours to get in! I can’t believe I was at that store for six hours!

“It’s such a scene! Someone was in the dressing room screaming because a $2,000 dress was marked down to $45. I bought seven items of clothing and the total was under $100! I bought a jacket for $7! Can you believe that!? There were hundreds of people. I left at 10:30 p.m. It was a frenzy! A women’s feeding frenzy! But I like what I bought.”

Photographic Mind

While out doing our Social Climing, we often come in contact with the paparazzi-- sometimes too much contact.

Here’s part of a discussion we had with one photog after the industry screening of “X,” regarding the rising cost of film: “John Major took the British pound out of the European market, the dollar took a hike, the Japanese had to make an adjustment on the gray market and the price of film took a 30% hike in one day!”

So why is a mind like that lurking in front of movie theaters when there’s an opening in the Treasury?