Monday, April 20, 2009

Cote du Coeur 2009

One of the best perks of my job is that I get to attend a lot of great events and parties. This past Friday, I was lucky enough to spend the evening at the Hilton Anatole for the annual Cotes du Coeur ball benefiting the American Heart Association. My BFF, Elise, was my date for the evening and we felt like Cinderellas going to the ball in our new chariot - the Chevy Traverse!



This event is a fine wine auction and celebrity chef dinner. There were approximately 1,500 people there to enjoy the gourmet offerings of many of Dallas' finest restaurants. Richard Chamberlin was the "lead chef". Other participants were Nana, Rosewood Mansion, Charlie Palmer, French Room, Del Frisco, Abacus and more.

The restaurants had stations along the perimeter of the ball room. You wandered from station to station and tried the various cuisines. Each plate was 3-4 bites. I nearly made it around the entire room. The food was fantastic! There was scallops, quail, rabbit, gnocchi, lamb chops, peppered steak and mashed potatoes, braised short-ribs and so much more!


After the dinner the crowd was shepherded into a new ballroom where there was dancing and libations galore. The whole night was kind-of a Moulin Rouge theme with can-can dancers, painted jesters on stilts, that kind of thing.
We hadn't been at the after-party for five minutes when some tipsy broad asked one of the dancers, who was
supposed to be dancing on the banquet seating, to hop down so she could dance on top of the banquet (see photo). Who says old people don't know how to party! 

I love black-tie events because they always provide the best people watching. You see some really great gowns and some really tacky, awful dresses. Both are most entertaining to me. The auction raised a ton of money for the charity and we had a great time.

Me with Chef Kent Rathbun from Abacus, Jasper's and Blue Plate Kitchen


Elise, Me and Beth B. drooling over the fabulous dessert. It was a hard chocolate ball with caramel sauce over it. You cracked it open and inside was pound cake with strawberries and blueberries in a vanilla mousse. OMG. It was to die for.