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American pop star Billy Joel with Baduzzi restaurant owner Michael Dearth on Friday.
Billy Joel’s quiet visit to a Wynyard Quarter restaurant on Friday night was “awesome” for restaurateur Michael Dearth.
A self-described “hardcore Billy Joel fan”, Dearth told Stuff his restaurant, Baduzzi, was already full when he received a call at 6.30pm Friday evening asking if the American artist could come for dinner.
A table for two was arranged and Joel dined with his wife, Alexis Roderick, an equestrian and former financial services executive.
Dearth said the ‘Piano Man’, who is in town for a Saturday night concert, dined on prawns and a steak and was “super friendly”, talking about New York, Long Island where Joel is from, and Connecticut where Dearth grew up before moving to New Zealand 20 years ago.
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Dearth said Joel was looking for recommendations of where to take his young children in Auckland. The MasterChef NZ judge’s response was that Piha and visiting the Waitakere Ranges “to hug a kauri tree” were essential childhood experiences – “it’s our version of the redwoods”.
Dearth said Joel’s band members had been into his restaurant non-stop through the week. After first arriving for dinner on Wednesday, the band members returned for lunch and then dinner on Thursday, and drinks and dinner on Friday, he said.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
Stuff survey finds most Eden Park neighbours are in favour of more concerts. First published May 2019
Dearth said he enjoyed talking with the band members, discussing the veteran pop star’s prolific output and making plans to meet up in New York to take in a Yankee’s game and attend a Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden.
But first up, Dearth was mowing the lawns on Saturday afternoon before heading to Joel’s Eden Park concert.
It will be Joel’s first stadium show in New Zealand for 25 years.
