Side Dish

James Gandolfini got whacked yesterday - by a taxi. The "Sopranos" star was riding his Vespa up Hudson near Clarkson around 10:30 a.m. when a cab knocked him off his scooter. Passerby Sameer Sheikh told The News that the cabbie and passers-by helped the TV mobster to his feet. "I'm all right," he said. "I'm fine." Gandolfini's rep doubted the scratched-up actor would pursue a claim against the cabbie. His Vespa is in the repair shop. ... Private eye Anthony Pellicano's former wife of 20 years is shopping a book. Kat Pellicano, who has testified before a grand jury in her ex's wiretapping case, promises she'll talk about his famous clients in her memoir, "Listening In." Vanity Fair writer John Connolly, who has recently clashed with Kat, says: "I would suggest that whoever publishes her book do some serious vetting." ... Rosie O'Donnell and her new "View" teammate Joy Behar are just two of the talents who will do standup Monday at Carolines on Broadway (at 50th St.). Mario Cantone, Colin Quinn, Judy Gold, Susie Essman, John Pinette and others will remember Madeline Kahn, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer in 1999. This is the fifth year club owner Caroline Hirsch and husband Andrew Fox have hosted the benefit for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund [see www.ocrf.org.]. ... Tweezer-thin Maureen Dowd thinks she gained weight from those hotel- room snacks on tour for her hilarious book "Are Men Necessary?" "At 5 p.m. it was Oreos, at 8 p.m., the Pringles," Dowd confessed to us last week.

With Jo Piazza and Chris Rovzar