Before Lurcat, Lady Gaga ate at another D'Amico restaurant: 'We're just trying to be good hosts' – Star Tribune

Lady Gaga electrified local headlines when she was spotted dining at Café & Bar Lurcat, the venerable Loring Park restaurant, on July 30.
But it turns out that wasn’t her only meal at a D’Amico & Partners-owned restaurant that weekend. A day earlier, the singer stopped in to D’Amico & Sons in Edina, the restaurant group’s ownership now confirms.
Two vastly different restaurants from one dining empire served the same mega celebrity in two days: one, a glitzy dining room with starched linens and crystal chandeliers, the other a counter service deli. (Look through social media comments on any of the stories about her dinner at Lurcat, and you’ll find mention of several other businesses that may have been paid a visit by the prolific singer and “A Star Is Born” actress.)
Larry D’Amico, who co-owns D’Amico & Partners with his brother, Richard, doesn’t know if it was intentional or just an astonishing coincidence that Lady Gaga made it to two of his restaurants in one weekend. With 40 years in the business in the Twin Cities, the D’Amicos have had plenty of brushes with fame at their portfolio of Minneapolis and Naples, Fla., restaurants — but none like Gaga.
Larry D’Amico spoke with the Star Tribune about the unwritten rules of how to serve a celebrity, Mick Jagger’s favorite meal and more clues surrounding Lady Gaga’s culinary weekend in Minneapolis.
People have been thrilled to read that Lady Gaga ate at Lurcat. What do you make of it all?
Sunday night we went to the Guthrie to see “Into the Woods,” and on the way we stopped at Lurcat and we’re eating at the bar. And two tables walk in and they’re having dinner, and they wanted to know where she sat.
Have they just been mobbed?
I mean, we can sense an uptick, but we haven’t been mobbed. But people are really interested. Every single person I know, when I see them, they mention Lady Gaga.
You’ve had brushes with plenty of celebrities over the years. Could she be the biggest one?
Mick Jagger — is he bigger? I don’t know.
Depends on which demographic you’re talking to.
Yeah. Carrie Underwood, depends on which demographic, once again. But I think Lady Gaga is. You know, I’m hoping maybe later this week, Barbie and Ken come in.
Well, that would be amazing. So, what did you hear about Lady Gaga coming in the day before to D’Amico & Sons?
I talked to the director of D’Amico & Sons — this was Monday — and I said “Did you hear Lady Gaga was at Lurcat?” She says, “Larry, I don’t want to freak you out, but she was at D’Amico & Sons at like 3 o’clock on Saturday afternoon.” And I said, “Why didn’t you tell me?” She said, “Well, I wasn’t sure until I heard that she was in Lurcat. Because the employees called me and they said, ‘Lady Gaga is here, Lady Gaga is here!’ ” And she told them, “Go on, go back to work.” [Laughing.] So later on, we looked at the receipt and it was Lady Gaga.
She had her real name on the receipt?
No, no. And I’m not going to tell you who she was with, because then she may not come back. She was with someone else, and it was their name on the receipt.
OK, so that’s your proof. Do you know what she ordered?
They had two turkey avocado sandwiches, a side of chicken cherry salad with a side of balsamic dressing, and two glasses of water.
You’ve had a lot of restaurants over the years that have attracted celebrities. But D’Amico & Sons? Has that been a magnet for celebrities ever?
I don’t know. It’s fast casual, so you don’t really pay attention. But when these people come in, they don’t look like themselves. She had a baseball cap on. She’s 5’1″, she’s wearing flats and jeans and a baseball cap. But the younger people nowadays, they’re so into this, watching them online and stuff, they’ve kind of got an eye for it, more than I do.
Do you have any guesses as to why she went to two D’Amico restaurants in one weekend?
You know, I’m not gonna sit here and say they all come to us. We get our fair share. I think she might have been shopping in that area, because it’s 50th and France. And she wanted to get something quick and easy and maybe somebody told her to go there, I’m not sure.
So you think it’s a total coincidence that the two places she went are both your restaurants?
I can honestly say I don’t know, but I’m honored. But you can imagine if they were here for the weekend, I’m sure they ate two meals out every day. So they went somewhere else, too.
Of course. So, what other fun celebrity stories do you have?
I probably have more than I can remember. Prince would come in a lot. He’d go into Campiello Uptown. He’d go to Lurcat. He went to Masa a lot. He went to D’Amico Cucina a lot. Prince ate at all the restaurants in town. He was a great supporter of our restaurants.
Mick Jagger was big. He liked the French fries. He went [to Lurcat] for the pommes frites. Carrie Underwood, I don’t know why she went, but she drew a crowd when she was there. But over the years, Sophia Loren used to go to D’Amico Kitchen. Walter Matthau, Leonard Nimoy. Especially when they’re in town. Sophia and Walter were in that movie “Grumpy Old Men,” and she was there a couple times.
What happens now? Do you reach out to Lady Gaga’s people and invite her back?
I’m not saying too much. I know more than I’m telling you. I don’t want to say anything that may prevent her from coming back again. I want her to know she’s in good hands there. We’ll take care of you and we won’t say too much.
Any other stories from that weekend?
You know what she had at Lurcat?
I heard it was the filet mignon and the beet salad. What else?
The fried rice with the poached egg on it with shrimp and sausage. It’s a great dish. And he had the Korean barbecued salmon. He. [laughing]
Got it. A clue.
I never found out what they drank. But I was at home, my wife and I had our kids over and we were doing a little dinner cookout, and I got a text from Nick [Gonzales], the manager of the restaurant. He says, “Larry, you’re not gonna believe it. Lady Gaga’s here. And I’m not [kidding].” And I said, “Are you sure?” He says, “Yes, I know her.” And you can always count on the credit card receipt.
You didn’t run in there and catch a glimpse yourself?
No, I didn’t. We handled it well. No one made a spectacle, so people didn’t know. And we didn’t take pictures. If you do that, they’re not gonna come back.
Are there rules about how to treat celebrities when they come in?
We’re just trying to be good hosts.
Sharyn Jackson is a features reporter covering the Twin Cities’ vibrant food and drink scene.
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