Monday was one of those outrageous “I can’t believe the last 24 hours just happened to me” sort of days. I partied into the wee hours of the morning sipping champagne with Xavier Dolan at his fancy after party at Figo. Managed to find my way home (who knows how?) and was up 3 hours later barely alive, running around in the shower to get wet before hopping on my bike and peddling as fast as can be to the Soho Metropolitan Hotel for my first meeting of the day.
I was greeted outside the hotel by a gaggle of dapper black suited security who verified I wasn’t a crazy and moments later escorted me into the Wahlburgers dinning room. I surveyed the scene: spotting a bunch of buzzing PR girls, a chipper TV crew and the restaurants celebrity Chef Paul Wahlberg.
A lovely lady holding a clipboard popped over to say hello and handed me a release form. She chirped, “we need you to sign this before you’re filmed on the Wahlburgers TV show today for A&E.” My face went slack, my brain enjoyed a moment of solitary silence as my eyes bulged. I was sitting alone at the bar chugging a glass of water thinking, “if only I had known, I’d have worn something entirely different for my Reality TV debut.”
I spent the next hour noshing around a table with three Toronto media darlings. We chatted with Chef Paul while sampling his TIFF-treat specials including the A-Lister Burger (Canadian beef patty, shredded duck, cranberry relish, truffle mayo), addictive Jalapeno Popcorn Shrimp (dipped in honey garlic mayo) and a steaming bowl of Lobster Poutine (topped with onion rings, cheese curds and parmesan herb bechamel).
This was my third time meeting Paul. He’s been in Toronto for TIFF the last three years: a pop-up on the hotel rooftop a year before the restaurant officially opened (Mark dressed all casual sipping red wine while a litany of cougars clawed at him for shame), last years massive festival soiree at the freshly opened restaurant featuring special guests Donnie Wahlberg and sexy spouse Jenny McCarthy) and this years intimate media moment featuring an enormous burger-tastic feast shared with none other than Mark Wahlberg himself.
I pride myself on the fact that I specifically wore my Calvin Klein underwear for the interview. Let it be known that Mark Wahlberg was in town promoting his new flick Deepwater Horizon while also taking a lengthy 15 minutes to mingle with media.
When Marky Mark buys you a burger you tell people for the rest of your life, “it was the most romantic date I’ve ever been on.” I appreciate a man who enjoys the gym, lets his hair grow long and lush and also relishes in his short-natured-ness. But most importantly I croon hard for a man who romances me with crispy deep fried bits and pieces, gargantuan bacon burgers and creamy milkshakes that I can assert (based on first hand experience) brings all the boys to the yard.
