Even Jay-Z seemed tired of the place, instead frequenting locales like The Spotted Pig, a West Village gastropub he co-owns.

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"It's easier to do in a brewpub, when you can interact with people about it, " said Dave McLean, owner of San Francisco's Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery.

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At the celebrity hideout Chateau Marmont, the room service star is Carolynn Spence, who popularised the US gastropub trend at New York City's much-heralded Spotted Pig restaurant.

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Chef Timothy Bilton serves everything from Greedy Little Pig Yorkshire pork to locally stalked venison under the beams at this cosy gastropub, which featured in the Last of the Summer Wine TV series.

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Just down the block is Ford's Filling Station (www.fordsfillingstation.net), a gastropub run by the crafty chef Ben Ford, who prefers whole pig feasts and oven-roasted octopus to fedoras and bullwhips (yep, his dad is Harrison).

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College kids also fill the tables at Hong Kong, a hip restaurant, lounge and nightclub in Faneuil Hall and Daedalus, a gastropub in Harvard Square that has an attractive outdoor patio area.

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