FOR waiters or waitresses longing for a shot at stardom, now’s the chance.
NBC’s summer reality TV show “The Restaurant” is looking for candidates to fill positions including waitstaff, sous chefs, bartenders and hostesses for the six-episode series.
A casting call will take place at 10 a.m. on April 22 and 23 at the now-defunct Commune at 12 E. 22nd St., where the show will be taped, and where its telegenic star, Rocco DiSpirito, will continue cooking after cameras stop rolling.
The show – whose producers include “Survivor” creator Mark Burnett – will follow DiSpirito, co-owner Jeffrey Chodorow and staff as they establish their new venture.
Fans will be able to visit the eatery and might even wind up on the show.
Bring a resume to the casting call.
* Campagna will be de-camping for the Upper East Side at the end of the year, according to its owner. The proprietor of the 10-year-old Italian eatery, Mark Strausman, says he’s moving from his present location, at 24 E. 21st St., to the tonier part of town because the area is in a state of decline.
“It’s not the same neighborhood,” he says. “It used to be called Silicon Alley, but no longer.
“So now you have to rely on the support of the neighborhood.”
Strausman, who runs Fred at Barneys – and began his culinary career as the chef of Coco Pazzo on East 74th Street – says he looks forward to bringing Campagna “to his home turf.”
* The cover story in the May issue of Food & Wine magazine lists the top 50 hotel restaurants in the country. Better make that 49 – one of the winners, Lespinasse, will close this Saturday.
“I think it was truly was one of the most elegant and delightful dining experiences in the city,” said Dana Cowin, editor in chief of Food & Wine. “The tables were so far apart, the service was so decadent and it had really, really good food.”
Really high prices too,including a $150 chicken-for-two.