Most people think of Kathie Lee Gifford as the boisterous, on-air “Today” show host who enjoys the occasional early morning libation, along with co-host Hoda Kotb. The feisty redhead can also handle a scandal, which she’ll prove again when her Broadway play, “Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson,” opens on Nov. 15. Gifford spent 12 years writing the book and lyrics for the musical, which tells the tale of the early 20th-century evangelist and media icon. “I have never come across anybody who has lived a life that comes anywhere near [hers],” Gifford says of McPherson, who was kidnapped twice by the Klu Klux Klan. “I don’t know anybody who was kidnapped once by the Klu Klux Klan!” boasts the 59-year-old, who splits her time between Greenwich, Conn., and the Upper West Side. This is her New York.
1. The Sea Grill, 19 W. 49th St., near Rockefeller Plaza
“It’s great in the winter to sit there and have lunch and watch all the skaters. One of the “Today” stage managers, Kate, is a great skater. I’ll just be sitting there eating my sushi, and all of a sudden, there she goes, with her red hair, doing a Hamill camel, skating by! It’s sort of surreal . . . instead of counting us down [before we go live], she’s doing twirls.”
2. Frankie & Johnnie’s Steakhouse, 269 W. 45th St., between Shubert Alley and Eighth Avenue
“Hoda [Kotb] and I go every Wednesday to the theater, so we often go to Frankie & Johnnie’s. I get the shrimp scampi with rice and steamed spinach. Oh my gosh, it’s unbelievable! And say hello to Mario there!
And Ana Maria! They are so lovely. That’s really old-time New York.”
3. Wolfgang’s, 250 W. 41st St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues
“Have you ever had the schlag at Wolfgang’s? Oh my gosh! It’s this huge bowl of the thickest, richest whipped cream, and when I go there, they give me a big bowl and I like to go around schlaging strangers. I asked this one guy, ‘Have you ever been schlaged?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, just this morning.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I didn’t mean that!’ He ended up being an executive at QVC, and he sent me a big 8-by-10 framed picture of me schlaging him. I have it at home. It’s a real keepsake.”
4. Fresco by Scotto, 34 E. 52nd St., near Madison Avenue
“We have had many birthday celebrations at Fresco. I was friends with the Scotto family long before I joined the ‘Today’ show family. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Before I worked at the ‘Today’ show, I went in one time and Al Roker was sitting next to me. He had this huge plate of what looked like grits in front of him. And I asked Anthony Scotto what that was, and he said polenta. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I have to have that!’ The polenta there is the most outrageous polenta you’ve ever had in your life.”
5. Neary’s Pub, 358 East 57th St., between First and Second avenues
“My favorite place in the world is Neary’s Pub. It’s nearby where Frank and I lived when we were first married. It was like our kitchen. And there’s a leprechaun there, named Jimmy Neary. He will greet you at the door, and you will fall in love. Jimmy Neary was the first person to know that my husband I were about to have a child, a little boy, who we named Cody. So there’s a banquette called ‘Cody’s corner.’ And Jimmy had a sign made up . It’s that kind of a place.”
6. Rainbow Room, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, near 50th Street
“Hoda and I had our first lunch at the Rainbow Room . . . it started at 1 o’clock and ended at 5 o’clock, when they had to shoo us out because the dinner scene was coming in. When you go out to lunch with someone, you learn almost anything you need to know about that person. After one lunch with Hoda, I knew we would be friends for the rest of our lives. We talked about losing our daddies. We talked about life. We talked about how both of us had been through a divorce. She had just been through breast cancer, I had been through my own challenges in life. It’s all about sharing life with someone. Our sacred ground is our common ground.”
7. The Copacabana, 268 W. 47th St., near Eighth Avenue
“We’re going to be at the Copacabana for our opening-night party. Our show takes place in the 1920s, so I thought it would be fun if we had an old Hollywood glamour opening-night party where the women wear their gowns and men wear their tuxedos, which you never see anymore unless you go to the Met. And who goes to the Met? Broadway’s become very, very casual, and I think it’d be fun to get dolled up. I haven’t had a moment to pick out my Spanx, much less my dress.”