Clooney offers three little words

George Clooney dropped the "L" word the other day to his damsel in distress.

One of the world's hottest bachelors was overheard saying "I love you" to his companion, Sarah Larson of Las Vegas, while they waited for an ambulance after their motorcycle accident last week in New Jersey.

Larson, 28, suffered a broken toe and Clooney a broken rib.

According to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger, Clooney also comforted Larson with "it's going to be OK."

Larson and Clooney met during the "Ocean's Thirteen" premiere at CineVegas on June 6 at the Palms, where she worked as a cocktail server at Moon nightclub.

She was on crutches while accompanying him to Monday's premiere of Clooney's "Michael Clayton" in New York.

NO WHINING

Maverick chef Steve Martorano explains it as a case of putting his food ahead of profit.

The issue: Some would-be diners tell me they walked out of Café Martorano last week when informed of a new drink policy: Mixed drinks are prohibited with dinner at the South Philly-style restaurant at the Rio.

Martorano's spokesman, Alan Brown, confirmed the new policy, saying it went into effect about three or four weeks ago.

Wine and beer have been allowed at Martorano's popular Fort Lauderdale, Fla., eatery for 15 years, but hard liquor "ruins the taste, throws off the taste buds," Brown said.

"They can drink before or after, but he's requesting you have wine with dinner," Brown added.

"Anyone who is a real foodie," Brown said, will applaud Martorano's action.

"He really wants people to taste his food. He's breaking the rules. He doesn't care about making money. It breaks the mold of anything in the restaurant business," Brown said.

A local attorney e-mailed me to say he walked out with his dinner party because several members of his group didn't drink wine.

"What do you order with a cheese steak? White or red?" the attorney said.

Martorano, heavily tattooed and often wearing a wife beater T-shirt, admits his hard-edged restaurant "is not for everybody." The music is often mind-numbingly loud, along with scenes from some of the most violent mob scenes in movies.

In an interview in Vegas magazine's July issue, he said, "I threw a guy out the other day" for asking that the music volume be lowered.

When Martorano refused, the customer said, "What do you mean 'no,' I'm a customer."

"I don't give a (expletive) who you are. This is what we are and what we do here.

"The customer is not always right," Martorano told Vegas magazine.

"Whoever invented that had to be a customer. If you go see Sinatra sing and you're spending $500 a ticket, what do you do, raise your hand and holler out to him that you want to hear 'My Way' because he's not singing it? You spend $500 to let him do what he does. Let me do what I do."

SIGHTINGS

Anthony LaPaglia of "Without a Trace" and "CSI" veteran Gary Dourdan, shooting scenes at Planet Hollywood Resort on Monday. Their characters were searching for a suspect in the poker room, and the actors did a chase scene in the casino. It was part of a three-day shoot for the eighth season of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." ... "Spamalot" star John O'Hurley, catching some fast food at McDonald's at Hualapai and Charleston. ... Joseph McGinty Nichol, the producer of the TV show "The OC" and director of "Charlie's Angels" and "Charlie's Angels Full Throttle," hanging out in the sand at Mandalay Bay Beach on Saturday at the Rock 'n Roll Wine Amplified Festival featuring Sugar Ray. Nichol, better known as McG, is good friends with Mark McGrath, the lead singer of Sugar Ray.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Just a couple of hours ago, Britney Spears was charged with an accident she was involved in a month ago. A car accident -- not her performance at the VMAs." -- Jimmy Kimmel

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.