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St. Petersburg Times (US)
St. Petersburg, Florida, newspaper
August 21, 1999

SideBern's tantalizes Tori Amos' taste buds

Who was that enjoying foie gras, shrimp and steak at SideBern's in Tampa on Thursday night? Songbird Tori Amos and her husband, Mark Hawley, in town for Amos' sold-out concert with Alanis Morrissette at the Ice Palace on Friday.

"My staff was out-of-their-mind crazy" over the celebrity sighting, said Jeannie Pierola, the restaurant's chef/partner. "She was incredible. What was so great was that she ate, like, everything."

The kitchen sent the singer a palate-tempting dish of Cavillon melon (Pierola calls it the "truffles of melon, kind of a small, super-intense cantaloupe"), arugula and seared foie gras with a vanilla-bean and port reduction sauce. Then, the couple had a shrimp dish and steaks and some wine. After dinner they offered tickets and backstage passes to Pierola, the sommelier and their server.

"She's so gracious," Pierola said of Amos, whose agent called the restaurant Friday to say "it was the best food she's ever had on tour."

Late Friday afternoon, Pierola had conducted the daily specials meeting at SideBern's and was headed off duty to hear her newest celebrity customer perform.

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