Gwyneth Paltrow a pain? New book ready to dish on celebs who can't be bothered with commoners

Sorry,Gwyneth Paltrow, it takes more than a spot on"Glee"to melt your ice-princess image.

Abbe Diaz, who spent several years as a maitre d' at some ofManhattan's poshest restaurants, has the dish on stars' bad behavior - and the regal"Country Strong"star is among those she roasts on her PXThis blog and the books it has spawned.

So while Paltrow tries to recast herself as a relatable mom (see the newGood Housekeepingcover),Diazmaintains she's got some work to do.

After serving Paltrow about a half dozen times in her years as a maitre d' (from 2000 to 2004), Diaz says the actress has a"passive-aggressive comportment… meant to unnerve the plebeians."

"If you're not worthy, it's like you're not there,"the author tells us, although she adds, Paltrow"likes boys" - servers, that is -"as long as they're cute and sweet."

Diaz first made a splash with insider restaurant gossip on her blog, PXThis."PX"stands for"personne extraordinaire" - French for"VIP"and restaurant code for celebrity bookings. She turned her experiences into the diary-style book"PX This."A second,"PX Me: How I Became a Published Author, Got Micro-Famous, and Married a Millionaire,"arrives in June. It will describe Diaz's brushes with Internet infamy, including feuds with Gawker and former employerJean-Georges Vongerichten.

Her celeb stories aren't all bile, however. She saysWill Smithis a"huge, huge"tipper -"like 100%."Stars like that seem to"remember what it's like to struggle a little bit for your cash,"she concludes.

But not all do: Ex-restaurateur (and a former Diaz boss)Brian McNallyonce expressed surprise thatEllen Barkinwasn't nicer to the staff - because he'd dated the actress back when she was waiting tables. Diaz dealt with Barkin several times when she dined withJulianne Moore, who was polite to the point of being apologetic."Overcompensating,"Diaz speculates.

Some stars aren't even nice to each other. Diaz recalls seeing designersMarc Jacobsand the lateAlexander McQueen, each with an entourage, at adjacent lunch tables— and each table acting like the other"wasn't even there."

The toughest customers, she says, are niche VIPs, like magazine editors, who go unnoticed by most NYers but are used to royal treatment within their worlds. Real A-listers hesitate to wield clout.

Once, for example, a colleague of Diaz's failed to recognizeHilary Swankand turned her away."She was a little surprised,"Diaz says, but clearly didn't want to say anything.

Fortunately, the misunderstanding was sorted out. Celebrities can count on happy endings - or at least a table.

Contact Gatecrasher:
Frank DiGiacomo:fdgiacomo@nydailynews.com
Carson Griffith:cgriffith@nydailynews.com
Molly Fischer:mfischer@nydailynews.com

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