Sideswipe

"Just the two thanks..."

Grey Lynn's Delicious - named by this month's Metro magazine as Best Italian Restaurant and a regular winner in the Herald's Viva awards - must be doing a roaring trade despite a lack of popularity with citizen journalists reviewing the eatery on DineOut.co.nz. According to a healthy majority of these diners, while the food generally lives up to the name, the service seems to be indigestible. As one reviewer put it, "Vicious Delicious. For masochists only. Avoid."

Out of the 26 published reviews, posted between March 2004 and October 2005, 16 are scathing about the service. One reviewer claims he was unimpressed at not being able to buy a bottle of wine (it's offered by the glass only) and his party was kicked out for querying the policy. Another had "a run-in" when told by staff they could not make a reservation "and no, two of us could not be seated. We had to wait for the entire party to arrive."

Tales of being ejected from the premises, intolerance of children and general arrogance don't paint a pretty picture: "The rudest person there being the owner who seems to suffer from bouts of PMS (I can say this being a woman!)" proclaims a former diner. "The male staff member was very abrupt and rude...told us to get out and not come back...One member of our party went back to get his name so he could inform the owner...it turned out this guy was the owner!" said another. One couple complained they were told the restaurant "wasn't a creche and they didn't want children there". Surprisingly, Delicious still managed a 6.5 out of 10 score overall on the site.

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A reader called in to say how appalled she was with the Holmes interview with Lucy Lawless on Prime on Wednesday night, in which the f-word was thrown back and forth. Of Lawless, Sideswipe's lady caller said : "Lovely looking, in fact beautiful. But a foul, foul mouth."

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With yesterday's Stagecoach bus fire, the fifth in recent times, perhaps they should be selling travel insurance as an optional extra with your ticket...

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No, Stones Unturned: Apparently some folks are still confused by last Saturday's TimeOut report about the Rolling Stones not playing their old songs at their concerts here next weekend. There have been phone calls all week. But last Saturday was, of course, April 1 - and while there were a few clues in the item, the writer of said hoax had hoped the last paragraph reference to Fool to Cry might have given it away. Not to mention the very thought of the thing - the Stones not playing their old songs? So yes, Satisfaction is guaranteed. And here's some good and very real news for Stones fans - tomorrow's TimeOut carries Graham Reid's interview with Keith Richards and an appreciation of the band by guest writer Oscar Kightley of Sione's Wedding fame.