C.J.: Viewer didn't see what he thought he saw on Amelia Santaniello

WCCO-TV anchor Amelia Santaniello said viewer Steve didn't see what he thought in the knit top she was wearing on a recent newscast, but stay tuned.

"The decolletage was covered with a material that resembled hundreds of small, square prisms," wrote Steve in an e-mail that stressed the "black outfit deserves comment" — not appreciating just how much commentary he was providing the subject. "The prismatic effect revealed a well-outlined bosom and deep cleavage in black and white shadows or blurry reflections. Was anyone (Frank?) aware of the effect of studio lights? Was the top tested in advance? Is she going to wear it again? What night? :-) Is this an attempt to boost WCCO ratings? Frank [Vascellaro's] power tie looked great as he always looks good. My wife, Judy, reads your column regularly."

At first Santaniello had a little trouble recalling which article of clothing caught Steve's eye, but it came to her.

"I know what he's talking about; he's right it has little holes in it that give the appearance of my cleavage WHEN IT WASN'T. It was an optical illusion. I would never wear anything on TV that would reveal cleavage.

"And yes, Frank would have said something."

Will she wear it again? With a smile in her voice she said, "I might! He'll just have to tune in to find out."

Dehn's uproots

Dehn's Garden is pulling the plug early on its Hennepin Avenue stand. Bob Dehn told me Sunday that he and wife, Bonnie, won't be at the temporary Thursday location of the Farmers Market again this season.

I sensed that he didn't want to tell me exactly why, because he doesn't like complaining, even though there have been lots of gripes about the site chosen to host the market while Nicollet Mall is renovated. I asked Bob if he and Bonnie had experienced another flasher. He said no, but something else — an unpleasant urban experience — happened which I would just rather not share.

"I'm pretty opened-minded but not that open-minded," he said.

A few weeks ago another vendor — who also was not happy with the revenue generated at this temporary location — said she hoped that the talk of possibly moving to LaSalle next year was real.

Blue state, red meat

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders isn't considered the type of politician who offers up red meat issues. But he had the steak at Manny's last week.

"Where's Bernie?" Kip Clayton, vice president of marketing at Parasole Restaurant Holdings, asked via e-mail. "Stumping for votes at Manny's Thursday night. Even socialists have to eat [the] 65-day dry-aged steak."

The Vermont independent was in town for the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting.

While a T-shirt does not make a campaign, Sanders has the best ones I saw. "Feel the Bern" is just perfect, as are the caricatures of his distinctive mane.

Carrie dined out, too

In other celebrity dining sightings, Carrie Underwood, who performed at the State Fair, was at Lurcat Friday.

Drilling me for dental info

"Cecil" read the subject line of a JanetCharltonsHollywood.com e-mail that desired to know if I was a patient of the lion-hunting dentist from Eden Prairie.

I called the celebrity gossip blogger back to tell her that my dentist was not the most hated two-legged member of the animal kingdom, Walter Palmer. "It's just staggering," she said. "He's supposed to be an educated man. You would think a well-educated man would know better."

I told Charlton about Jimmy Kimmel saying that Palmer was the most hated man in America not advertising Jello pudding. "Don't you think that Bill Cosby is grateful beyond words for this guy's luck? I would be so grateful to be knocked off the front page. Sadly, I think people are more upset about this lion than 40 women. Cosby is probably booking an appointment [with Palmer] as we speak," joked Charlton.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on Fox 9's "Jason Show." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.