Taping Day For Marilyn

Published March 16, 2012, 07:36 AM

Marilyn in the Big Apple: Day 3

Thursday was another big day in the Big Apple for Marilyn Hagerty, Herald columnist and Internet star. She spent much of the day doing interviews, including taping with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Her star grew brighter in the afternoon when her review of Olive Garden, the column that set the Internet on fire, surpassed 1 million hits on www.GrandForksHerald.com. That’s about the same number of hits as the website’s next nine most popular stories combined.

By: Herald Staff Report, Grand Forks Herald

Thursday was another big day in the Big Apple for Marilyn Hagerty, Herald columnist and Internet star.

She spent much of the day doing interviews, including taping with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Her star grew brighter in the afternoon when her review of Olive Garden, the column that set the Internet on fire, surpassed 1 million hits on www.GrandForksHerald.com. That’s about the same number of hits as the website’s next nine most popular stories combined.


Marilyn waits at the Wall Street Journal offices for her interview on Thursday in New York City.
(Ryan Babb, Forum Communications)
The first interview was with the Wall Street Journal, where she Skyped with her son Bob Hagerty, a writer for the Journal, and met Editor Robert Thomson. Earlier in the week, she visited the New York Times. Marilyn is in with elite media.

She does a quick radio interview while at the Journal before heading to Anderson Cooper’s set. Her segment involves Chef John DeLucie, the owner of the Crown restaurant where she lunched and did some shoots Wednesday. The Village Voice interviewed him earlier this year and said it’s the fanciest restaurant he’s opened yet.

DeLucie wrote on Twitter: “It was a pleasure to have the most famous critic in America, Marilyn Hagerty, as our guest at Crown!”

The Anderson Cooper segment is expected to air sometime Tuesday.

In the evening, Marilyn went to Le Bernardin, one the city’s finest restaurants, according to reviewers at the Michelin Guide and the New York Times who gave it their best ratings. She met Chef Eric Ripert, who tweeted to his friend Anthony Bourdain about it. Bourdain, the host of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations,” arranged for a reservation after declaring himself a Marilyn fan.

The meal includes such dishes as charred octopus and cod with truffle butter.

Marilyn flies out early today, escaping New York ahead of the parade and the accompanying traffic nightmare that awaits on St. Patrick’s Day. She says she can’t wait to attend the St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Grand Forks on Saturday.

On the Web: For more about Marilyn’s New York City trip, go to www.MarilynHagerty.com.