Inqlings: Palmyra's 'Mil' gets TV makeover

When Robert Irvine entered Villari's Milmarian restaurant in Palmyra in May, he says, he stepped into a "time warp."

The TV chef and producer Marc Summers were on a mission to remake the restaurant, which opened in 1948, for the Food Network show Restaurant: Impossible.

The series premieres at 10 p.m. Wednesday, and "the Mil" - a family spot on Route 73 - is the star.

Irvine's use of time warp was not a term of endearment.

Irvine said he smelled something off-putting when he sat down. "They told me it was the crab cakes," he said, "but it was the carpet. If that's the crab cakes, I told them, you need to throw them out." Irvine then threw out the Villaris so he and his crew could work for a day and a half. The menu, which had nearly 100 dishes, was remade. Locals chipped in, too. One guy, Irvine said, even redid the landscaping for free.

And, yes, the carpet was changed.

The work has held up well over nine months, said Paul Villari III, son of founders Paul and Helen Villari. "They were very professional, even though they were under a lot of pressure. They were patient with us."

But the show will be poignant for his family, and for the eatery's regulars. Patriarch Paul Villari Jr. died of cancer Dec. 28 at age 83.

The show, by the way, is looking for restaurants with charm, personality, and a need for improvement; apply via www.restaurantimpossible.com.

Blue Valentine, the Ryan Gosling-Michelle Williams flick that opened Friday, was shot partially in one of the themed fantasy suites at the Valley Forge Radisson. Gosling and Williams play a couple trying to save their marriage with a romantic getaway. Producers could have chosen "Caesar's Palace" or "Cottage in the Woods" or "Gilligan's Island" but opted for the "Star Gazer," a re-creation of a spaceship that rents for $129 to $365, depending on date. Tang extra.

Wednesday's episode of Friday Night Lights (9 p.m. on DirecTV's 101 Network) was shot last summer at Temple University. Featuring Connie Britton, whose character, Tami, is job-hunting at an East Coast university, it foreshadows the series' Feb. 9 finale.

A national radio public-service campaign to raise money to help those affected by last month's massive fire in Haifa, Israel, has Philly roots. When the Jewish National Fund launched Operation Carmel Renewal, JNF Philadelphia board member David Dinenberg of Grasso Holdings got on the line to Marc Rayfield of CBS Radio for airtime and adman David Neff of Neff Associates to write and direct the campaign. Neff, in turn, got Center City Film & Video's Jordan Schwartz to handle production. A call to Philly-bred agent Ari Greenburg of William Morris Endeavor got actor Elliott Gould, who voiced the spot last week.

West Philly native Quiara Alegria Hudes, who wrote the book for the musical In the Heights (opening Tuesday at the Academy of Music), will host a group from the Young Playwrights organization before Thursday's evening show. Hudes will give the kids a backstage tour, introduce them to the cast, and host a reception in the Academy Ballroom. Hudes, a Tony winner, was a member of the group, which produced the first play she ever wrote as a 10th grader.

WMMR midday personality Pierre Robert signed a four-year extension, announced Friday. Later this year, the "Good Citizen," 55, will mark his 30th anniversary with the station. Robert celebrated by breaking the rock station's format and playing an hour of Grateful Dead.

Shirley Min started Friday as anchor of WHYY's Delaware-themed First show (5:30 p.m. Fridays). Min, who grew up in Radnor, previously anchored/reported for the NBC station in Raleigh, N.C., and also did time at Fox29 and Philly 57. Her reports will also be published on the Delaware page of NewsWorks.org.

WBEB (B101) nighttimer Juan Varleta, an 11-year vet, has been promoted to music director, and longtime Philly personality Charlie Maxx has been tapped to do the B's night shift, starting Feb. 1.

Flyers broadcaster Steve Coates will meet and greet fans at the Philadelphia Home Show at the Convention Center at noon Monday. Comcast SportsNet's Marshall Harris will attend the show's "Guys Night" on Tuesday.

A topic that can make your hair curl: NBC Philadelphia's Nonstop digital channel says it's preparing a February rollout for Shear Gossip, billed as a "dishy inside look at the area's hottest salons." WCAU vet Eileen Matthews will host.