Friday night American Wine and Food Festival started off with a rager called Red Hot @ Red Seven. Only in its second year, Red Hot is a celebration of red meat, alcohol, cars, and everything else that made this country great. An expensive but doable $150 guaranteed unlimited kobe beef and caipirinhas -- a definite bargain.
The event was subdued at a fashionably late 8pm, made a little later by road construction and aggro drivers frustrated by the road construction. A host of servers immediately proffering Fiji water, cocktails, and all manner of bites and doots mellowed everyone out so everything was relaxed by the time we hit the patio.
Soon meat was flying off the grill and liquor was flowing. The well-dressed crowd, which ranged from 20-somethings to 80-somethings was friendly and ready for a good time. When the band started off a set with These Boots were Made for Walking, then slid into Bowie's Man Who Sold the World we knew it was going to be a rocking night. By 11pm, when the chefs were packing up, stragglers were still lounging around on comfy ottomans, and a lone roaming lothario was pedantically observing, "There are some great wines coming out of Argentina right now..." it was obvious Red Hot @ Red Seven had been a hit. Red lighting may have made it feel a little bit like partying in hell, but the food was pure heaven.
Part 2.
"Mesquite and oak grilled Snake River farms kobe flat iron steak with House Made Steak Sauce and heirloom Tomato Salad, Haute Goat "Triple Cream" Tuscan Olive oil and Micro Basil". From Ari Rosenson of Cut and Sidebar. This dish was so unbelievably good I blurted out the F-word. Later an extremely genteel lady approached me. She said, "Hi. I'm Judith, and yours was the most honest review I have heard all night." (Elise Thompson)




Elise, can I go with you next time? Damn girl, your having too much fun!