Barack Obama blew into town yesterday, smiled at DreamWorks execs, kissed a few babies and whipped up a cool million. (Actually, it was about $1.3 million.)

But while the press (and Jennifer Aniston) swooned over Obama's smile and clean, articulate yumminess, we had to wonder if his take was really all that great. Sure a $1.3 million one-night stand is impressive, but every week it seems Tina Daunt talks to a different Hillary operative who is hanging out in a hotel lobby, like a high-class hooker, collecting endorsements and checks.

Hopefully Ms. Daunt will tackle that topic in her column this week. Until then, we'll have to make do watching local reporters write "I (Heart) Obama" in Whiteout on their notebooks.

E! Online's The Answer Bitch tackles a question that has been on our minds: Why are some spectacularly mediocre restaurants lousy with power brokers and celebs?

The answer involves longevity, heavy-hitting investors, location and ito algebra. But basically, people eat at The Grill because it's where people eat. Get it?

Neither do we.

The Grill was busy today, but not busy-busy, if you know what we mean. The Fishbowl Baby enjoyed the fruit plate (not a bad menu option, by the way) and gave a giant, gassy smile to Rob Cowan and Matthew Baer. (That's the producer Matthew Baer, not the guy who did lead visual effects for Madagascar, though we're hoping either of them will morph Fishbowl Baby's face into a platypus or something for an upcoming film.)

Steven Bochco left just as we were arriving, and we heard we missed a glimpse of John O'Hurley, but at least Dan Cox was there to tell us about his latest project: A film-noir take on Pellicano.

We can't wait.

We eat at The Grill. That's just how we roll. Our spies aren't quite as plugged in -- but when we sent one of them to the Miracle Mile McDonald's today, they came back with great Mcnuggets of celebrity dish.

Jerry Ferrara and Kevin Dillon, otherwise known as Turtle and Drama found seats at the counter of the packed eatery, where Turtle enjoyed McNuggets and Drama downed a few hamburgers.

"This hits the spot, you know," he said, halfway through one.

Our spy said the be-ballcapped duo seemed like they hadn't seen each other in a while. Drama talked about a recent trip to Miami where he had driven around the keys. Turtle talked about an upcoming trip to NYC. And both talked about basketball.

Neither, it seems, want to play basketball in New York if it's under 40 degrees -- it sucks, apparently, to get psyched up to play and then not get to.

According to our greasy eavesdropper: They also talked "about a role Turtle is looking into in a movie with 'Chazz,' whom he's never met but Drama has and says great things about. I assume it's Chazz Palminteri, and the role sounds like it might be as his son or something like that."

Good work, spy. Now get your butt to Burger King.

The thing about taking a one-year-old as to lunch at The Grill is that when Candice Bergen is trying to leave the restaurant without making a scene, your stroller is bound to get in her way, leading to an awkward exchange of reluctant-but-polite hellos.

We hope she forgives us -- our young charge's stroller is huge.

Once inside, though, people were less put-upon by our lunch date. Joe Blaze gave the FBLA baby several kisses on the head and introduced him to his lunchmates: talent and literary agent Mickey Freiberg, of Acme Agents, and Chuck Binder, president of the talent management powerhouse Chuck Binder & Associates.

Elsewhere in the restaurant, attorney David Bortman was being very patient with the squirmy toddler. But maybe kindness toward harried women and hungry kids is to be expected from a guy who reps Women in Film.

OK. So, apparently, nobody in L.A. eats lunch during the Jewish High Holy Days because on this here Eve of Sukkot, we are finding ourselves meal-less, dateless and not at the Grill.

But just because we're starving doesn't mean you should. So here, via celebrities-eating.com, is a collection of what L.A.'s finest are chomping when they're not chowing on Wilshire and Rodeo.

We couldn't help but notice: Amid all the suits and ties and Blackberries, a congregation of "youth" was forming at the front of the restaurant -- seven in all, who looked confusedly at one another. We asked one of them, comedian Josh Nasar, what they were waiting for.

"I don't know," he said.

It wasn't a blow-off. He didn't know. Neither did his girlfriend or filmmaker Kevin Barton. Or actor Alec Mazo. All that these way-too-beautiful people knew was they were waiting -- an awful long time, mind you -- for media renaissance man Joe Blase to show up.

It turns out that he brought this gorgeous posse together for a TV show that he described to FBLA as "pure wackiness."

Friends, the guy lit up the restaurant like a 1,000-watt bulb. We have a feeling this thing is going to happen. Just remember, you heard it hear first.

OK, so today we had to eat at the bar, that's how packed the joint was. Plus our lunch date ditched us, so we felt quite lowly slinking by ourselves at the beggar's corner.

Agents we didn't recognize pretended to recognize us, and we all smiled politely at one another. FBLA was ready to declare the whole thing a bust, when in walked Fox liberal Roger Friedman with Premiere magazine Exec Editor Katherine Heintzelman. Both were in town for Premiere's "Women of Hollywood" party last night. And both were kind enough to chat this lonely fishy up while waiting for a table.

Roger finally did get seated, just after Ron Howard snagged the coveted Corner Table of Honor. Ron greeted Roger with a very merry handshake, which we're guessing took the sting off of Roger's being seated in the mid-section of the restaurant with all the hoi polloi. Hey, at least he got a seat.

They let us back into The Grill today (we didn't even need to use our Amy Pascal masks) where we spied former Sony exec Andy Kaplan and dined with Variety TV editor Michael Schneider who was so kind to break down Variety-speak for us.

"Prexy," of course, means president in the weird moonman language of the venerable trade. But "studio topper"?

"That's if you're too busy to look up the person's actual title," Schneider confides.

Instead of trying to remember if someone is the senior executive vice president of distribution assistant managers or the executive senior vice president of distribution managing assistants, "you just say 'studio topper.'"

What does it take to get new lingo introduced? Schneider says he's not sure, but he's been trying to get the trade to use the nickname The Cow Network for The CW (so far The Green Network seems to be the front-runner, on account of the net's atrociously green-tinted ad campaign).

Our choice would be The Unwatched Network, but that may be why nobody asks us.

They let us into The Grill today -- fools! -- where we gawked at Angie Harmon having lunch with a very large fella and listened as Dan Cox dished about his upcoming documentary, Running With Arnold.

The Alec Baldwin-narrated docu attempts to answer the question Californians have been asking for three years, "How did this happen?"

Cox hit the campaign trail with Schwarzenegger during the 11-week novelty campaign and has been shaking his head (on film) ever since. The movie is set for limited release in California next month -- "in time for the elections," Cox tells FBLA.

Will it affect change? Will it quash Arnold's re-election bid? The passionate film maker has an answer: "No."

"It won't change anything," Cox tells us rather morosely. "He's going to win."

Um... OK. Well, if he isn't going to drum up excitement about it, allow us: See Cox's film! He got an MFA from Brandeis, so it probably doesn't suck!