Thursday, October 29, 2009

Vampire Ball - Part I - Let Your Fangs Hang Out

Last night, Wendy, Tom and I headed out to the Zingerman's 4th Annual Vampire Ball benefiting the local charity Food Gatherers, that provides food for those in need in Washtenaw County. As we tasted the great 6 course meal, it seemed that every plate conjured up memories of other restaurants and adventures, mostly in L.A.

The first course was Steak Tartare and Quail's Egg. This reminded Wendy and I of the time we went to Patina. We had saved our food budget for that night and still we were astounded by the prices. On our per diem, we could each have a glass of wine, Wendy a salad and me, tuna tartare. Not to be embarrassed by the situation, we casually told the waiter, "We just want something light. We have another event to go tonight." Being L.A., the land of the skinny, he thought nothing of it and still provided us with great service. Little did he know that our next event was the Dodgers game a couple miles down the road. As we zoomed there, changing into ball game gear in the car, our first stop in the park was the hot dog stand. We were starving!

Next up was a Normandian Bouillabaisse. This reminded us of Chimayo in Huntington Beach and my obsession for crab cakes one week. We spent 4 nights in search of the perfect crab cakes, going to obscure restaurants that were out of the way and they were right there at one of our favorite places. Mike just shook his head, and continued to drive us around, without saying a word!

3rd course was Loire Grape Salad. While our minds automatically drifted to France, it also made us think of the pomp and paparazzi frenzy that is The Ivy. A celebrity magnet, this restaurant has press camped out in front of it all the time. Lunch there was again an ordeal - fruit juice, lemonade, salad, asparagus and bread cost $60! As we basked in our fabulousness, we knew we would be eating fish taco's for dinner!

I'll talk about courses 4 - 6 tomorrow but we had a blast last night. Tarot card readings, a book reading by a local author, crazy table companions, and free beer and wine made the night a success! And all this fun for a good cause also!

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