Dan Gross: 'Nails' hammers eatery for $700, but no tip crosses waiter's Palm

NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN CLARIFIED.

HOW DID BELEAGUERED and bankrupt Lenny Dykstra afford a $700+ meal at the Palm Friday night?

NBC 10.

Through a trade arrangement with the high-end steakhouse, the station provides guests of its Sunday night "Sports Final" with dinner at the Palm.

The former Phillies star took full advantage of the hospitality when he and an attractive blonde drank two bottles of $150 red wine, then had salads and surf-and-turf, in addition to crab cakes and assorted desserts to take back to their room at the Ritz-Carlton.

We're told that Dykstra, who may not have understood that he was responsible for a tip, signed his name on the bill and wrote "$200" on it but left no money.

Word is Palm GM Jim Haney covered the server's $200 tip.

Haney declined comment on Dykstra's dinner or the missing tip sitution.

Meanwhile, NBC 10's John Clark, who conducted the "Sports Final" interview at the Ritz-Carlton, caught up with "Nails" about his friend Charlie Sheen.

Dykstra swears that Sheen is clean and sober, and also says that much of Sheen's recent rants are jokes.

The interview is posted at NBCPhiladelphia.com.

Dykstra was in town for an appearance at the Philadelphia Sports and Memorabilia Show, at the Valley Forge Convention Center.

Incisor info on 'Bachelor' Ashley

Ashley Hebert, who was eliminated from "The Bachelor" last week, told us Friday that she's not sure if she'll stay in the area to practice dentistry after she graduates Penn dental school May 16.

In the meantime the Maine native, 26, can be seen at 8 tonight on "The Bachelor: The Girls Tell All" on ABC.

Lil' Kim wears local designer

Lil' Kim wore a silk shirt with gold thread from Carmelita Martell, of Carmelita Couture (17 N. 3rd), on MTV the other day.

The pint-size hip-hop princess and former Center City resident, who spent 10 months at the Federal Detention Center (7th & Arch) on a perjury rap, chose the $145 top, and has been outfitted in the past by Carmelita, who will be the featured designer at the April 8 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts Couture Show, at the Kimmel Center.

For more information, check out carmelitacouture.com.

Pool's out for summer

"Don't call me next week when we're sold out, because I won't be able to help you," said Nicole Cashman, while trying to quiet the crowd, which included Fox 29's John Bolaris, NBC 10's Jillian Mele and Dave Warren, and state Sen. Larry Farnese, during a speech at the pre-registration party Wednesday at Tendenza (969 N. 2nd) for the Arrow Swim Club project in Northern Liberties .

The PR and special-events professional and developer Bart Blatstein, who's behind the Piazza at Schmidt's and Liberties Walk, along the North 2nd St. corridor, are partners in the adult pool, which is offering 1,000 memberships at $1,000 starting today at arrowswimclub.com.

Members must be approved by a board.

Terry Gross in 'Beaver' picture

WHYY Fresh Air host Terry Gross plays herself in the upcoming Jodie Foster movie "The Beaver," which plays the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, next week, and which opens nationwide in May.

The movie stars Mel Gibson as a man who becomes famous for his talking beaver hand puppet. He ends up being interviewed on Fresh Air.

Gross, no relation to Your Humble Narrator, told NewsWorks.org's Dave Davies, also her fill-in host, that she wanted to learn more about filmmaking, about which she's done so many interviews in her years on radio.

"I thought, I've talked to so many actors and directors, it would be so interesting not only to observe, but to be part of the process," she told Davies, a former Daily News political writer.

Charitably minded

_ The 2011 Leprechaun 5 Mile Run/2 Mile Walk to benefit the Special Olympics starts at 9 a.m. Saturday outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Register online at active.com, keyword Leprechaun, for $25 or $15 for people 18 and under.

For more info, call 215-671-5069 ext. 5069, or e-mail leprechaunrun@comcast.net.

* The Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey hosts its 14th annual American Girl Doll Fashion Show, Saturday and Sunday at the Tavistock Country Club, in Haddonfield.

Young girls model American Girl Fashions while guests enjoy the show, an ice-cream party, raffles and more activities.

Tickets are $35. For more info, call 856-966-4663.

* The Maternity Care Coalition's A Tale of Two Cities with Dora the Explorer children's brunch and An Afternoon in Paris events take place Saturday at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel (12th and Market).

The events have separate admissions, and the afternoon luncheon also includes admission to the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Jean Marie Lacroix, now with Max and Me Catering, will provide food for the Parisian-themed luncheon with music, art and a fashion show. For info, visit momobile.org.

Visit PhillyGossip.com for Dan's latest updates or follow PhillyGossip on Twitter. Have a tip? Call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com. For recent columns, visit www.philly.com/DanGross.

CLARIFICATION

In the lead item of the column above, the fact that Lenny Dykstra wrote '$200' on the bill in question was left out of the initial posting of this story and has since been updated and included.