Taco restaurant loves Ernest Borgnine

A story in today’s New York Times explains why Tortilla Flats, a Mexican restaurant in the West Village neighborhood, celebrates its 17th annual Ernest Borgnine Night next week. The festivities include an Ernest Borgnine Look-Alike Contest open to both men and women.

Since there couldn’t be a better time for local restaurants to lure customers into their dining rooms with festive promotions, why doesn’t some clever restaurateur host a night devoted to one of the many celebrities who hail from the Kansas City area, like Paul Rudd, Dee Wallace or Walt Bodine?

Or, better yet, since there’s an undeniably campy quality to the Tortilla Flats choice of “celebrity night,” restaurants might draw from Kansas City’s rich history as the home town of screen legends. Extra Virgin could host a Jean Harlow Night. The historic Savoy Grill — which was already 20 years old when ambitious Billie Cassin hopped a train to Los Angeles to start her movie career — could offer a Joan Crawford Night.

And surely some enterprising saloon could host the first official Seka Night?