PARKER: Gabby giveth and taketh away

By Penny Parker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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In the words of super model Heidi Klum, host of Bravo's hit reality series Project Runway, "One day you're in and the next day you're out."

So goes it in Pat "Gabby Gourmet" Miller's 2009 Restaurant Guide that hits bookshelves and select eateries today. This year in Gabby's "heavenly" category, the highest rating possible, Restaurant Kevin Taylor inside the Hotel Teatro was "aufed," Klum-speak for buh-bye.

Taylor's signature fine dining spot fell two ranks in the new restaurant review book to 4.5 pigs in Gabby's ratings system. This time Capital Grille and Rioja are the newbies in the heavenly ranking along with veterans Barolo Grill, Del Frisco's, Elway's Cherry Creek, Frasca Food & Wine, Fruition, L'Atelier and Mizuna.

"We had a couple of very unfortunate experiences," Miller said about Restaurant Kevin Taylor's fall from grace. "We had not very nice service, and the food was OK but not as wonderful as it has been."

About Cap Grille and Rioja's rise in the ranks, she said, "After several visits at both of them, they were fabulous. They do everything right, treat everybody wonderfully, and the service is beyond great; so they made it and deservedly so. In this economy, if I'm going out for a special treat, I want it to be fabulous."

The 2009 edition of the guide is bigger - 535 pages, up from 518 in 2008 - and costs two bucks more at $16.95. The lowest rating is 2.5 pigs, which means the rated restaurant is slightly better than "acceptable." Don't expect Gabby to skewer any restaurants - that's not the way she rolls. "We have to support everybody," she said.

TRESS TROT: A slew of hairstylists from local salons teased and tamed tresses on models during the 303 Magazine Hair Show on Sunday at the Expo Event Center, 35th and Walnut streets. Stunning and shocking styles included mohawks, chignons, braids, buns, pompadours, updos, frizz and curls, with models accessorized with rhinestone eyelashes, hair extensions and - in some cases - freaky frocks.

The show featured style segments from Shear Genius 2 finalists, our own Charlie Price, Nicole Obert (even tinier in person) and Daniel Lewis (such a doll). Those three in the final four of the Bravo reality series were beat out by Dee Adames.

Price showed off his trademark glam waves - a throwback to the 1940s - with local lovely Holly Kylberg in his model lineup. Obert chose hot hunks with pompadours, slicked-down Yuppie 'dos and a gamine bob. It won't shock fans of the show that Lewis relied on his Texan background and penchant for big hair. In the finale, his models came out spraying hair spray.

What was a shock, on purpose I'm guessing, was Matthew Morris Salon's portion of the show, with clothing from The Crypt, the S&M store on Broadway. Models sported lotsa leather, whips, billy clubs and kinky masks. "It's either S&M or a psych ward," said one attendee.

TRIBUTE: Longtime Denver musician Gerald Sanchez died recently, and a bunch of his musical friends are getting together for a jam/tribute/benefit at 5 this afternoon at Falling Rock, 19th and Blake streets in LoDo.

SCREEN SCENE: Kronke Sports Enterprise's go-to events guy Bradley Joseph is chairing Macy's Passport: Fashion Cinema, beginning at 7 tonight at the United Artists Denver Pavilions Theatre. The evening, a benefit for the Colorado AIDS Project, combines fashion, music and entertainment on the big screen.

Macy's is taking its runway-fashion-show movie to 27 markets as part of the department store's 150th birthday. Tickets are $25 at macys.com/ passport or at the door.

THE SEEN: Burton pro snowboarders Jeremy Jones, Heikki Sorsa and Keegan Valaika lunching, playing games and signing autographs at ESPN Zone on Tuesday.

EAVESDROPPING on a man at a poker tournament in Commerce City. "I shuffled the cards and I have corporal-tunnel syndrome."

Penny Parker's column appears Tuesday through Saturday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail parkerp@RockyMoun tainNews.com.

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