Dan Gross | Holdups connected?

POLICE ARE investigating whether a recent gunpoint robbery at Ted's Montana Grill (Broad & Spruce) is connected to another at the Continental (138 Market).

The People Paper's Simone Weichselbaum reports that Ted's was robbed about 1 a.m Jan. 21 by a man in a ski mask who pointed a gun at a female manager and made off with $5,000 in cash.

We reported last week that the Continental had been robbed Jan. 18 by two men in ski masks who left with $10,000 of Stephen Starr's money. Police tell Weichselbaum they believe the crimes may be linked because high-end restaurants aren't robbed often.

Nobody from Ted's, owned by Ted Turner and known for its bison offerings, cared to comment last night on the robbery.

Jones smarting over loss of pal

"Whoa is me. Barbaro ran a good race, and I'm going to miss him. Here's hoping we can share a patch of ivy some day in the big winner's circle in the sky," said former Daily News columnist Smarty Jones yesterday, after we asked the stud to share his thoughts on the euthanization of his injured compadre Barbaro.

Rum Barrel on the Boardwalk?

We hear 610 WIP's Wing Bowl Commissioner Pat Croce is trying to bring his Rum Barrel bar, which he opened last year in Key West, to Atlantic City's Harrah's casino. The former Sixers president and motivational guru recently met with the hotel, but declined to discuss it yesterday.

Blavat's backing Brady

Congressman Bob Brady got an enthusiastic hand from the audience when Jerry Blavat introduced him as "the next mayor," during the Geator's show Sunday night at the Kimmel Center.

Brady later joined the Geator and some other pals for an after-party at the nearby Miraku (1326 Spruce), which stayed open late for the private party. The mayoral candidate stuck to fresh fruit at the Japanese restaurant where Kenny Vance of the Planetones, and developer Joe Grasso, currently fixing up the Curtis Center, also hung. Vance and the Planetones were part of Blavat's show, headlined by Ronnie Spector.

The Naked and the Dead Air

Speaking of the Kimmel Center, on Saturday the venue hosted "A Prairie Home Companion," Garrison Keillor's long-running radio variety show. Early in the show, listeners to the WHYY 91 FM broadcast of the concert heard two minutes of dead air. When the signal returned listeners report hearing part of an interview with author Norman Mailer. About a minute later, "Prairie" returned.

Smokers: Stay somewhere else

The Chestnut Hill Hotel (8229 Germantown) is completely smoke-free. The 140-year-old boutique hotel says its demand for smoking rooms has gone down, so all 36 rooms are now smoke-free. The hotel recently played host to Alyson Hannigan, of "How I Met Your Mother," and actor-husband Alexis Denisof, who were in town visiting his family. *

If you have something you'd like to share with Dan, call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com.