| Vincent Kartheiser: This Mad Man is Mad About His Craft. And Vegetables. |
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On television’s Mad Men, Vincent Kartheiser plays Peter Campbell, a Junior Account Executive at the fictional ad agency, Sterling Cooper. In real life, Vincent Kartheiser is a chef’s dream.
Sure he’s a vegetarian, which might make some offal-loving chefs a little batty; but he doesn’t let it get in his way of digging into a menu. As a matter of fact, he relishes the opportunity to let a chef’s talent shine through. Kartheiser explains, “It’s really easy being a vegetarian. I never have a problem finding something to eat. I’m actually one of the few people who say ‘chef’s preference – please cook it how the chef chose it to be made’ rather than asking for everything on the side.”
Open less than a year, Rosenberger notes that already they’ve got a regular clientele coming in; from studio execs to partiers, to the guy who runs the coffee shop down the street. Despite the economy, the restaurant has been outpacing projected earnings and seeing more covers than anticipated. The menu is comprehensive; covering all the bases from breakfast to dinner and presented as a step up from classic diner food. Rosenberger comments on how they’ve managed to be so successful in this economy as he says, “We opened to contribute to the positive growth of this neighborhood. The whole area used to be run down and wasn’t a nice area. We want to contribute to a positive element with a low price point and good food and give back to the neighborhood that way. So a tremendous amount of thought was put into costing out - we made sure we compared and didn’t break certain barriers. We were careful to not break a price point that would intimidate people. There was also a tremendous amount of thought put into keeping the food at a certain quality level and at an affordable price that would draw them back again and again.” While diners may go nutty for Rosenberg’s menu, and there have been reports of late night dancing fueled by cupcakes and champagne, it’s a place where stars can quietly enjoy a meal with friends. Hollywood heavyweights like Lionel Richie, Danny Masterson and Paula Abdul have been spotted making pit stops for some late night food and, besides Kartheiser and his friends, many other young Hollywood faces like Lauren Conrad, Scott Speedman, Megan Fox, Gisele Bundchen, Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, Brody Jenner, and Audrina Patridge are also flocking to Kitchen 24. The lively pink and brown hued restaurant, designed by Kristofer Keith, evokes a retro feel in a contemporary setting, making everyone comfortable. gallery
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