Tom Brokaw dined last night with the restaurateur Danny Meyer at the CNN Grill, a watering hole of sorts right outside the convention gates where members of the media can be seen all week sheepishly eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner for free. CNN set the thing up over the weekend, outfitting with new signage, new paint, and twelve TVs what used to be (and will be again once the convention leaves town) the Eagle Street Bar & Grill. Overseeing operations in the kitchen is Michael Romanos, the star chef from Mr. Meyer’s banner New York spot, the Union Square Cafe.
"I had fried chicken and uh… what else did I have? Barbecued potato chips," said Mr. Meyer. "It was awesome."
Earlier, Mr. Meyer was in the convention center watching the proceedings.
"I’m only here for today and tomorrow," he said, "so I went in for about two or three speeches tonight because I’m here, I gotta go do it. I saw George Bush on TV, which I could have done from home, Laura Bush, and um… a bunch of people I’ve never heard of."
The enthusiasm in the arena had not overwhelmed him.
"It was quiet," he said. "I was really interested in listening to what people were saying. I felt like I was a real fly on the wall. I heard delegates saying, you know, too bad Laura Bush didn’t run for president, because she might have even been stronger than her husband."
Had Mr. Brokaw shared with him any intriguing theories about what was happening? No! They talked about fly fishing.
"He’s been eating in our restaurants for years," Mr. Meyer said, "so we talk about fly fishing. I kinda feel like if he’s in here tonight, you leave him alone."
Mr. Brokaw, for his part, seemed pretty nonplussed about the whole thing anyway.
"You know, Denver worked well for the Democrats, and I think that on an improv basis these guys are doing pretty well," he said, shortly after putting away a hamburger and a martini. "It’s a tough one. I think it’s somewhere in the middle. It’s not as exciting — but given the last two, Boston and New York, I think this one measures up."
Did Mr. Brokaw think Sarah Palin was going to drop out of the race?
"No," he said. "Listen, we haven’t heard from her! How about we give her a chance? And then we go from there. Everybody tries to get ahead of the curve these days. And that’s all I have to say."
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