Staib, whose passion for colonial cookery shows as chef-owner of City Tavern in Old City, is filming four episodes of his new TV series, A Taste of History, at Monticello in Charlottesville, Va.

He is among the first chefs since Thomas Jefferson's day to cook on the open hearth in the house's kitchen. He'll do dishes from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation's book Dining at Monticello. Staib dedicated his own new cookbook, The City Tavern Cookbook: Recipes From the Birthplace of American Cuisine, to Jefferson's memory.

Cooking wasn't easy back then. "It can be 800 degrees up his back, but he doesn't show it," says producer/director Jim Davey. "He's made of metal."

The series' air dates and channel have not been announced.

Margera on the mend

Margera, who turns 30 in September, had been filming the MTV series Nitro Circus on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and was partying. "When he works, he forgets to eat and drink," his mother said. "He's going to have to talk with somebody about this."

April Margera told me that Bam's wife, Missy, called 911 Sunday afternoon to report a "possible overdose." April Margera said that Missy Margera, who was at the couple's new Center City condo at the time, had spoken to him by phone and that he was "kind of out of it. He had taken an Ambien to make himself go to sleep." He also had been drinking vodka and beer, she said.

Celebrity circuit

Before wrapping his stage role in Grease, Taylor Hicks stopped at Distante (1510 Sansom St.) on Friday for un-Teen Angel duds: a tan linen safari-style tailored cut jacket, a pinstriped vest, and a black stretch viscose short-sleeved shirt.

Actress Sharon Gless' plane from Seattle to the QFest in Philly was delayed over the weekend. She told the fete's attendees that the flight had no food - only Sun Chips. But her troubles were not over. As she picked up the Gay Icon Award, she felt sick and was unable to make it to the VIP party.

Briefly noted

A sign of more movie work in Philly: The Producers Guild of America is setting up here, and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office will throw the PGA a welcome party at 6 p.m. Thursday at the former Washington Square restaurant, 210 W. Washington Square; the PGA is offering half-price membership. Speakers include John Hadity (the PGA's East Coast chair and producer of Shakespeare in Love, Emma, and The English Patient), producer David Picker (The Jerk, Ordinary People, Midnight Cowboy), and film office head Sharon Pinkenson. To attend: PGA.Philly@gmail.com.