La Verdad steps up to the plate
Although the staff at La Verdad was hustling over the weekend to get everything at the new Lansdowne Street eatery ready in time for the Red Sox home opener tomorrow, chef/co-owner Ken Oringer said he isn't thinking about being across the street from Fenway Park. "I have to focus on what's going on in here," said Oringer the other night while serving up some of his authentic Mexican cuisine. Partner Michael Ginor, of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, is a little more realistic about being in the former Tiki Bar at the corner of Ipswich Street right out the back gates of the ballpark. "We have it set up as a taqueria right as you enter the front door. That's for those coming by for a quick meal," said Ginor, who added that on Thursdays through Saturdays, it will be open from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. But for partner Patrick Lyons, whose Lyons Group owns a chunk of Lansdowne Street, it's about the changing demographics of the Fenway area. "For the Red Sox games, that's 80 or so nights a year," said Lyons, who has two more high -end restaurants on Lansdowne Street in the planning stages. "It's about the rest of the year, earlier in the evenings, before the nightclubs get going." With Oringer, best known for his Back Bay restaurant Clio as well as Toro in the South End, La Verdad is serving up an ambitious menu. There are 14 kinds of tacos, including chile relleno, tripe, and lobster, and there's only one burrito in the lineup . And the place is already attracting a bit of attention. Spotted over the last few days as the eatery was putting its menu and staff through the paces were Sox CEO Larry Lucchino with his wife, Stacey; Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and his wife, Corinne; former Celtics player Walter McCarty; Fresh skincare cofounder Lev Glazman; and chefs Ming Tsai, Jasper White, Lydia Shire, Michael Schlow, and Todd English.
‘OC’ star Gallagher returns to Tufts
Even if he hadn't been summoned last week to receive an award, Peter Gallagher would've returned to Tufts at some point this spring. The actor's son, Jamey, is looking at colleges and condescended to consider the old man's alma mater. "His first impulse wasn't to run for the hills, so that's good," the star of "The O C " said on his way out of town. "My wife and I were really impressed with the growth on campus." (The actor's wife, Paula Har wood, also attended Tufts.) Gallagher, class of '77, was back to receive the Light on the Hill Award, which has been given to other esteemed Jumbos, such as actor Hank Azaria and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Gallagher shared a few words of wisdom -- "If you continue to show up, you might just find yourself somewhere you want to be" -- and also sang with the campus a cappella group the Beelzebubs. What did his kids -- he also has a daughter Kathryn -- think of his performance? "They've seen me on stage so many times it's like watching a plumber change a sink," he said.Former New Kids Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg were at the Celtics game against the Miami Heat on Friday night. (Wahlberg's been in Pittsburgh filming a Spike TV show called "The Killing Point " that's slated to air on the cable channel this summer.) Also spotted at the Celts game were comic actor Tommy Davidson, Bruins defenseman Jason York, and a posse of Patriots, including Matt Cassel , Larry Izzo, Wes Welker, Dan Koppen, Wesley Britt, and Mike Wright. . . . A t the Garden Saturday night for the Bruins final home game, Ray Bourque was in with his family ; he also introduced his niece, Amelie Jarry, who sang Canada's national anthem.
South End animal welfare activist James Costa was in the Big Apple for an event to benefit Farm Sanctuary at the Jivamukti Yoga School hosted by Russell Simmons and attended by Martina Navratilova, who played for the Boston Lobsters pro tennis team. . . . Worcester writer Caitlin McCarthy's script "Vera," based on the life of the late Weston resident Vera Laska, recently won the 2007 Buffalo Niagara Film Festival's screenplay competition. "Vera" is a finalist in the 2007 San Fernando Valley International Film Festival's screenplay competition and previously won as best script for the 2006 MafiaFest. An adapted historical drama, "Vera" follows Laska's life: from young teen who lasted three years as a Czech Resistance fighter, survived Auschwitz as a political prisoner, and escaped the Nazis during a death march. Actress Lucie Vondrackova of "Last Holiday" and TV's "Joan of Arc" has signed to star as Laska.
Alison Arnett of the Globe staff contributed to this column. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 