Celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s gleaming new foodie mecca Tin Building opened with a bang at New York’s South Street Seaport on Wednesday.
Vongerichten threw a bash that brought out Brooke Shields, Martha Stewart, Vanessa Williams, Babyface, Questlove and former “The Real Housewives of New York City” stars Carole Radziwill, Dorinda Medley and Luann de Lesseps, who told us she’s getting ready for BravoCon and more cabaret shows.
The dazzling scene in the 53,000-square-foot, two-story dining room, including choreographed dancing “chefs” doing a routine in front of the building as the party began.
“Newsies” also greeted guests at the door, with fake newspapers explaining the building’s history. Meanwhile, artists were walking around on stilts. A woman with a lampshade on her head danced seductively for the Asian-themed market in the hall, which hides a secret Chinese restaurant, House of the Red Pearl.
Foodie magician Josh Beckerman ran out of time, but still managed to pull off some of his magic tricks. Beckerman, of course, told us, “It was a magical night!”
Domestic diva Stewart was wandering around with her longtime publicist, Susan Magrino, and we caught her indulging in a pile of caviar. Shields and her husband, Chris Henchy, courted Colin Cowie, who produced the event, in a vegan section where we also caught cool inner-city mom DJ Vashtie sampling the dishes.
Unfortunately, the news of the death of rapper Coolio put a damper on the evening for some guests. A devastated music publicist was sharing the latest news on their phone just as Questlove and Babyface were ushered into the secret restaurant/jazz lounge.
Other prominent figures at the opening included Indochine’s Jean-Marc Houmard, Sandra Ripert, Ann Dexter-Jones, Omar Hernandez, model Tommy Dunn, Fern Mallis and Michelle Hicks.